Open on Taylor Swift lying on the ground in a deserted waste land. Around her is toilet paper, a skateboard, a few tarps, and many other pieces of trash and debris. She does not appear to be the usual classy and put together Taylor Swift. She has short blond hair, heavy makeup and chic rocker clothing . She looks scared and confused. The flashbacks start, she is with a tattooed, punk rock guy. He is dangerous, “his world moved too fast and burned too bright” but Swift is too captivated by him to care. By the time she falls for him he is already gone and the damage has been done.
Taylor Swift’s fans range from small children to adults, but the average age group is in their preteens. In “I Knew You Were Trouble” Swift has a grunge look. Her hair is tousled and dyed red at the ends, her makeup is dark and dirty and her clothes have a rocker chic vibe. Preteen girls struggle with their identity. They change their appearances because they fear they will not be pretty or cool enough. Swift usually appears to be beautiful and classy. In the beginning of the video she is wearing a lacey white tank top and a blue sweater, her makeup is natural and her hair is straight. Once she meets the boy she begins to change, she starts wearing dark rocker clothing like him. Throughout the video she looks at herself in the mirror of a dingy bathroom. She does not like what she sees, she is unhappy with who she has become. Swift says, “I think that the worst part of it all wasn’t losing him, it was losing me.” She shows the audience that it is not worth it to change who you are to look pretty or cool to someone else.
Just like any other Taylor Swift song, “I Knew You Were Trouble” teaches the audience a lesson about relationships. The music video outlines a dysfunctional couple. From the moment they met they started on a downward spiral. He was wild; in the video he drives with his feet, hops on railroad tracks and gets into fights. She knew that he was bad for her from the start but she did not care. She makes all the efforts but he does not notice. In the video he never tries to make things better. Swift loads the video with all the emotions you feel during a breakup. She feels lost, betrayed, and questions herself.
In her acceptance speech at the VMAs she is confident and glamorous, she references the person who inspired the song and she shows her fans she has moved on.
Thanks Emily, this is a very well-written and engaging explanation of the video. You were smart to choose a good video. I am not usually a big TS fan, but I liked this video. Unlike so many videos these days, this one had a logical narrative plot. I liked that it ended as it began. You have a real knack for including specifics in your writing. Your writing has great appeal because of this. I also really like that you perfectly synthesize the song lyrics with your analysis. This was very professional. Good job.
ReplyDeleteMy only complaint about this post is that I wished you linked all of your detailed analysis to a purpose. You don't even really identify a purpose. In the end, you write that the video "teaches the audience a lesson about relationships," but you never tell us what you interpret that lesson to be. In the end, this felt more like a really good summary than an analysis. Be careful of this in your future analyses.