Taylor Swift Commentary PDF

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This is a summary of two of Taylor Swift songs with cites....

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Ellie Tonquest Cowan 4th Period 20 Feb. 2022 Taylor Swift: It’s More Than Just Music There is no doubt that Taylor Swift is one of the most influential women in the history of the Music Industry. She has gone from a breakthrough with a fake country accent, to a pop “girly,” to making not one, but two indie albums. But with great public influence comes public judgment, which Swift has to face for almost no reason other than society's standard of dating too many men, “staying out too late,” or that she has “nothing in her brain.” Because of how much she was scrutinized, especially after releasing her third album, Speak Now, and fourth album, Red (now Red: Taylors version), Swift completely transitioned from country to pop, and wrote the banger known as “Blank Space.” “Blank Space” was released on October 27, 2014 as the second single from her fifth album, 1989, which just so happens to be the most decorated pop album in history. By this time in Swift’s career, ‘Swifties’ were obsessed with the hidden clues and easter eggs that she hides in her songs, normally hinting at who the song could potentially be about. On the contrary, “Blank Space” is actually one of the songs on 1989 that doesn't revolve around a certain green eyed, boy band heartthrob. Taylor Swift wrote “Blank Space” as a response to the media that painted her as a “psycho serial dater girl” (Taylor’s words, not mine), that runs through a few men or “boy toys” every couple months. This is shown in the lines “Find out what you want/Be that girl for a month,” and “I can make the bad guys good for the weekend.” Overall, this song depicts how

women are supposed to act sophisticated and refined, especially when in the spotlight, yet when it's perceived that they don’t, they are immediately seen as manipulative and calculating. Throughout the “Blank Space” music video, there are also many over exaggerations and underlying messages of her behavior to her boyfriend(s), such as when she cuts his clothes up, destroys his Shelby AC Cobra, and throws a vase at him while screaming and crying. Once again, Swift is trying to convey the narrative of the “psycho serial dater girl.” I think that one of the best examples of Swift relating her lyrics to the visuals is at the beginning of the music video; Swift is dressed in a slightly risque black outfit, completely contrasting the white room around her, perfectly depicting the line “And, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” Swift does a great job of creating a satirical song about the media’s complete obsession with her relationships. Speaking of a “complete obsession with her relationships,” the next song is Taylor Swift’s commentary on feminism, and lack therof, in the music industry. “The Man” was released on August 23, 2019 and was the fourth and final single on Swift’s seventh album, Lover. When Taylor Swift released Lover in 2019, fans immediately noticed the much more upfront way that Swift presented herself, especially with the song “The Man.” “The Man” is about blatant sexism and the double standard, objectification, and misogyny that many men and women face throughout their everyday life. Swift describes what her life would be like “if she was the man” and that she’s “So sick of running as fast as I can/Wondering if I'd get there quicker/If I was a man,” calling out the double standard of working hard, if not harder than a man, yet, still not getting the recognition deserved. Swift also calls out Leonardo DiCaprio with the line “I'd be just like Leo/In Saint-Tropez,” referencing the

fact that DiCaprio is well known for partying and dating supermodels, while Swift was shamed for dating. In “The Man” music video, Taylor takes on a persona “Tyler Swift” and uses him to convey the messages of her song. Tyler acts very promiscuous, irresponsible, and wild. He is seen obnoxiously smoking a cigar while “manspreading”, peeing on a wall, partying with supermodels, acting like a “playboy” at the bar, and finally, throwing a fit after losing a tennis match with seemingly no consequences. The tennis match scene mirrors that of John McEnroe who openly yelled and complained at officials without a filter, showing the contrast between Serena Williams who was fined $17,000 for doing seemingly the same thing. Swift is basically showing us an example that women have to be calm, but for men “it’s okay to be mad.” Swift has actually addressed this in an interview saying that, “Okay: A man does something, it's 'strategic'; a woman does the same thing, it's 'calculated,'" Swift replied. "A man is allowed to 'react'; a woman can only 'over-react.” Swift has also been to court for a sexual assault case in 2017 after former DJ David Mueller groped her. She has spoken openly about the harsh comments people made such as: “Why didn't you scream? Why didn't you react quicker? Why didn't you stand further away from him?” with that, Swift says, “I was so angry. I was angry that I had to be there, I was angry that this happens to women, I was angry that all the details had been twisted.” She sued Mueller for a dollar, showing that she wasn't in for the money, but for the principle. Her personal experiences just make the lines from The Man, “When everyone believes ya/whats that like” and “What I was wearing/if I was rude” such a punch to the gut. Both of these songs show that Taylor Swift is great at capturing a feeling or thought, and turning it into a whole story that you can blast on full volume. Whether it's a satirical song about

a crazy, psychopath girl that lures men into her trap, a commentary on workplace sexism and the double standards in our lives, or a run-of-the-mill love song, Taylor Swift’s music is there for us all.

“Belleswift17 | Taylor Swift Album, Taylor Swift Tim Mcgraw, Taylor Swift First Album.” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/739505201290329237/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022. “Blank Space.” Youtube, 10 Nov. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg. Accessed 20 Feb. 2022. Larocca, Courteney. “Taylor Swift Is the Artist of the Decade.” Insider, Insider Inc, 13 Dec. 2019, https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-artist-of-the-decade-2010s-2019-12. Morgan, David. “Taylor Swift: ‘There's a Different Vocabulary for Men and Women in the Music Industry.’” Cbsnews, CBS Interactive Inc, 25 Aug. 2019, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-preview-sexist-labels-in-the-music-industry Rivas, Mekita. “Taylor Swift’s Sexual Assault Case: The DJ, The Groping, & The $1 Lawsuit.” refinery29, Vice Media Group, 31 Jan. 2020, https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/01/9328556/taylor-swift-david-mueller-sexual-as sault-groping-case. Swift, Taylor Swift A. The Man. Performance by Taylor A Swift, Youtube, 27 Feb. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0. Accessed 20 Feb. 2022. Taylor Swift - Blank Space. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.

Title: Evermore (Taylor Swift Album) - Wikipedia. https://www.google.com/imgres. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022. Title: Taylor Swift: Folklore Album Review | Pitchfork. https://www.google.com/imgres. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022....