Music Video Analyse

Taylor Swift Music Videos analyses

In the video in the opening of the video we se Taylor playing the character catastrophe, With a person that we presume is working with her she then looks in her mirror which looks directly through us and Taylor looks in the mirror as well both looking at each other. As both are breaking the fourth wall in doing this we see that neither trust each other and tells bring us back to reality as this tells us that both of them are putting on personas for the video. After this the camera pans and Taylor gives the camera a quick look over her shoulder in an attempt to look suductive to the watcher. This is part of the “gaze” to try and appeal to the people watching.

Next After being kicked out the window the camera takes Taylor point of view in which we are directly looking at the other women who were fighting in the office this is breaking the fourth wall but instead of grounding the viewer to makes us more agitated than anything else as we are looking from the perspective of someone who was just kicked out the windows by the person we are looking at.

After falling in to the car Taylor break the fourth wall yet again, this is to more explain what was happening so its actually closer to soliloquy then anything else as she explains how they “’Cause baby, now we've got bad blood, You know it used to be mad love”. While the Camera does move Taylor follows the camera while singing.

From the context we are given in the song at this point we can see that the characters in the music video are shown to be wearing revealing clothes, but we can assume that the characters are doing this because they want to. Not for to benefit of any other person. As the song progressives we can see that all the women  in the video, of which nearly all the speaking characters are women, are dressed in a similar fashion and we presume it is for themselves.

The male gaze in this video I believe is less prominent as the women are doing what we can assume they want to. Expanding the scope from this one music video we can see Taylor Swift music videos while she does often does have a revealing wardrobe choice she never really conforms to the submissive role that women who are subject to the Gaze often do. For instance in the Music Video “Blank Space” she uses men for entertainment then sends them packing this is the opposite of the Male Gaze. As Taylor is the one Gazing at the men and using them but still manages to keep them thinking they are in control. In doing this she often breaks the fourth wall while singing or doing some of the outlandish things she does to remind the viewer that this isn’t her its a persona that she is playing for the sake of the music video.