O.K., TSwift killed it and this is coming from someone who is not a diehard Taylor Swift fan. Although I’ve loved her music all the way from her first album to 1989, but often times she makes me cringe, especially when she tries to act. So naturally, I cringed quite a few times in this music video BUT that is pretty much irrelevant considering the message of the video.
If you don’t see the dripping satire in this music video, you need to go back to grade school. Taylor is pretty much giving the middle finger to the media who has torn her apart for singing about relationships, being a serial-dater, and essentially just showing her feelings. The media portrays her as crazy, so she’s giving them crazy. Lots of it, from stabbing a heart shaped cake to destroying her boyfriend’s car with a golf club. The over-dramatization just points out how smart and tactical Taylor is in delivering a big FU to the media and haters. Instead of swearing she’s not a crazy psycho ex- girlfriend in interview after interview, she decides to show the public just how crazy they think she is. Taylor sings, “Ain’t it funny rumors fly/ And I know you heard about me/ So hey, let’s be friends/ I’m dying to see how this one ends.” The media preys on her relationships for good, often comical, far-from-true stories, and Swift is well-aware of that.
Personally, I’ve never understood why she gets so much flack for singing about guys she’s dated. Doesn’t ever singer ever who is actually talented enough to write their own lyrics do that? From Michael Jackson to Ed Sheeran, songs about personal relationships are practically written in the bylaws of the music industry. The only thing is, Taylor’s dating life is scrutinized by the public, so it’s always somewhat obvious who she’s singing about.
No matter what she does, she will always have this reputation of being needy and a guy’s worst nightmare, so she might as well have fun with it. She gets to throw a pot of flowers at a gorgeous male model’s face and light his clothes on fire, all the while dancing in an Oscar De la Renta gown, sounds like fun to me. This Taylor 2.0 is refreshing. She’s not just a pretty face, too ignorant or scared to respond to all the name-calling around her. Don’t say she didn’t warn you.