Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women more than 150 years ago, but as fans will know, its themes still resonate deeply today.
Tellingly, Greta Gerwig's highly acclaimed new film adaptation of Alcott's novel exploring female empowerment is having its awards chances dashed because so few men are going to see it.
Emma Watson, who plays eldest March sister Meg in the film, has made a welcome and very topical comparison between the professional plight of Jo March and Taylor Swift's ongoing copyright battle.
In Alcott's novel, budding novelist Jo – played by Saoirse Ronan in the film – lobbies to retain the copyright to her unpublished novel. Swift is currently ensconced in a very public feud with music mogul Scooter Braun after he acquired the masters (and thus full ownership of) her first six albums by buying out her original record label.
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"Right now," Watson told Variety, "the Taylor Swift situation is a great example of, you know, you’re young and you’re talented and someone wants to buy your work, but having ownership at the end of the day is super, super important because you don’t know what someone’s going to decide to do with that."
Earlier this month, Swift took aim at Braun during an awards show acceptance speech, saying that music is too often "bought up like real estate", and noting that it had "happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent".
Ronan has also compared Swift's plight to that of Jo March while promoting Little Women.
"Taylor Swift just released an album [this year's Lover] and it’s the first album she’s ever owned," the actress said on This Morning. "We really wanted to use this opportunity to honour this and fight for her work."
Greta Gerwig's Little Women, which also stars Laura Dern, Florence Pugh and Meryl Streep, is in UK cinemas now.
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