*raises glass* this web weave is dedicated to my most beloved @doppelgangerism and @justanapparatus
look what you made me do music video, taylor swift
"becoming a self: the role of authenticity in being and time", charles guignon (x)
look what you made me do music video, taylor swift
look what you made me do live at the eras tour, taylor swift
reputation prologue, taylor swift
the lucky one lyric video, taylor swift
delicate music video, taylor swift
blank space live at the eras tour, taylor swift
mirrorball, taylor swift
"confronting the inessential: the projection of the self in the writing of sylvia plath", melissa santos (x)
ready for it? music video, taylor swift
dear reader, taylor swift
taylor swift and the eras tour commercial, capital one
look what you made me do: behind the scenes - the taylor mountain, taylor swift,
karma music video, taylor swift
style music video, taylor swift
fortnight music video, taylor swift
"untrue to one's own self: sartre's the transcendence of the ego", iker garcia (x)
anti-hero music video, taylor swift
midnights prologue, taylor swift
fortnight music video, taylor swift
anti-hero live at the eras tour, taylor swift
the archer, taylor swift
you belong with me music video, taylor swift
the archer - first live performance, taylor swift
if you're anything like me, taylor swift
anti-hero music video, taylor swift
midnights prologue, taylor swift
the bell jar, sylvia plath
out of the woods music video, taylor swift
"the uncomfortable self: emily dickinson's reflections on consciousness", charlotte kupsh (x)
in regards to 'daylight' being taylor's metaphor for coming out...& the failed coming out of 2019...look at these lyrics from the songs 'daylight' 'the alchemy' and 'fresh out the slammer':
after all, she did say: 'Come one, come all, it's happenin' again'
In her videos, Taylor has continually played with the idea of herself as a person versus as a brand. These portrayals have almost been adversarial in nature. Think about the relationship between the two life sized Anti-Hero Taylors. The hooded robot Taylor who got to exist in the world while her bare counterpart was trapped in glass. Etc.
The Fortnight video introduces similar characters but flips the script because there isn’t a me versus her dynamic anymore. Instead, there is a story about coming together.
A scene by scene breakdown:
Taylor Swift™️ is chained to a bed in a white gown with a spicy slit and garter. A faceless nurse enters walking upside down on the ceiling (a continued theme suggestive of PR games). The nurse presents “Forget Him” pills, arguably reminiscent of a dark time where the world thought they could “cure” homosexuality. After Taylor Swift™️ begrudgingly takes her dose, the nurse unchains her.
We then see Taylor Swift™️ approach a two way mirror and wipe the mask off her face, revealing face tattoos we know to be Post Malone’s in real life. This reveal is setting the scene that within this video Post Malone represents Taylor’s inner self, her true soul behind the veil of celebrity. I’ll call him True Taylor.
Next, the mask is back and we see Taylor Swift™️ walk out of the observation room and into the workspace. She goes from wearing a leggy white gown with garter to a fully covered black poet-esque dress. She isn’t dressed for voyeuristic eyes anymore, she’s dressed to work on her art. I love this light to dark transition because black can be seen as the absence of light. Fitting for a tortured poet who can’t live her truth in public with her sunny muse by her side.
Note that we don’t get to see black dress Taylor Swift™️ through the two way mirror. She exists behind the bright lights of fame, making art in a room hidden from our view. Maybe the pills numb her enough to twist the art for an audience who likes to her to be chained to a bed while they watch her suffer.
But wait Taylor Swift™️ and True Taylor are collaborating. They start work separately but their art eventually drifts out of their typewriters, combining into a white light that bursts into a rainbow. Remember how I said black light is the absence of light? Well white light is comprised of all hues on the visible light spectrum.
We know there are layers to Taylor’s music: the surface layers chock full with to red herrings for the grocery line Swifties and the deeper layers of Taylor’s truth. They both exist in the art, swirled together.
But here is where things start to feel different. We cut to True Taylor and Taylor Swift™️ away from all those faceless people - they are alone in the middle of a road. That in itself is ridiculously symbolic of being on the way to somewhere (maybe brighter days). But there’s more because they are dressed identically, laying inside Taylor’s head that is made up of their art. This scene is like bonking us on the head that these two people are one and the same.
Note: The silhouette here is from the Style video which also portrays Taylor’s inner self as a man.
Taylor Swift™️ runs to True Taylor and they embrace in the middle of the road as pages of their art float around them. In the chaos, Taylor Swift™️ reaches out to True Taylor.
Maybe this scene is suggesting the public version of Taylor is ready to embrace her real self.
Then we see Taylor Swift™️ strapped to a table, wild hair from dropping the hairpins we saw in the opening scene. The drugs aren’t working, it must be time to escalate to shock therapy. The men around her gather and there is literally a sign in the background that says “Master Control”.
But one of the men in the room making decisions for the brand is actually True Taylor, who has been there all this time.
Enough is enough when True Taylor can’t take the pain and pulls the plug on the procedure, freeing public persona Taylor from torture.
Next we see True Taylor, familiarly encased behind glass, on a phone call. Perhaps making plans while safe from the rain. Taylor Swift™️ is elevated on a pedestal, out in the storm, in her best dress FEARLESS! Credit to @rep-princess-witch who put the fearless connection together in another post.
I’ll say it again, that is the huge difference in this video compared to others. Here, Taylor Swift™️ is not an antagonist, she is ready to brave the storm.
So what does she do? She’s back in the workspace burning all the files. It’s not without emotion but it’s necessary. We then see a stoic Taylor Swift™️ with no regrets.
After burning the files she’s back in the observation room. It’s time to fight back against the voyeurs and she does so my smashing the glass between her and them. She regains her agency by squashing their ability to hide. Shes deserting her past life.
Note: We don’t see True Taylor back inside. This fight is specifically for Taylor’s public persona.
In the closing seen, we see True Taylor leave shelter, step outside into the storm, and reach for Taylor Swift™️. The person and the public persona are weathering the storm hand in hand.
*Please check out @heyitsmoog on TikTok - he shared thoughts there that inspired me to make this post.*
the gay cousins of the family
fuck. so. i hate myself. bc this gives SUCH a different meaning to 'did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed'. um.
so The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is for SURE about so many things, like scooter braun, scot swift, the music industry at large, her fans, etc. but. what about taylor talking to herself? she is The Man after all. so what about True Queer Taylor talking to Public Persona Taylor? i need to sleep but!!
bro...hold on...shes also referencing the failed coming out of 2019. and has been ever since folklore. lover came out in august. 'august slipped away like a bottle of wine cuz you were never mine'...going insane. she tells the story of her life through love songs bc she knows thats the only way to get & keep people's attention. 'I'm still trying everything To keep you looking at me'
You said some things that I can't unabsorb
You turned me into an idea of sorts
You needed me, but you needed drugs more
And I couldn't watch it happen
I changed into goddesses, villains and fools
Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules
All to outrun my desertion of you
And you just watched it
this play was about us. how the public viewed the ME! and 'you need to calm down' songs & music videos. she gave so many signs. she tried to tell us a million little times. she reinvented herself over and over to try and make us see. some of us did, most of her fans and the world at large didn't. now shes burning all her past lives. shes going to come out and destroy everything she built in the name of being her true self.
the more i listen to TTPD the more convinced I become shes not talking about being in love in any of the songs at all & all the references to muses are just red herrings for fans to look past, & shes really just talking about her relationship with the music industry & her fanbase
"Betty" live from the Academy of Country Music Awards (September 2020)
Taylor Swift and Hayley Kiyoko performed an acoustic version of "Delicate" during the Jack Antonoff-organized Ally Coalition Talent Show! (December 2018)
Forever in our minds. 🏳️🌈
Okay hear me out
she was so far out of the closet at this point its crazy how some people can still deny it
Taylor right now: