At one point in the lavish video to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” she brings her male counterpart in close to growl something we’ve long suspected of the pop music icon: “Darling I’m a nightmare, dressed like daydream.”
In the new video directed by Joseph Kahn, Swift continues her career maneuvering. “Shake It Off” was light, a blur of quick takes, showing off a range of outfits and situations Swift felt the need to mock. She’s not the typical pop star, and “Shake It Off” was her clever way of showing that.
“Blank Space” is different. “Blank Space” is essentially a response to all the “haters” who joke that Swift falls in and out of love too easily and too quickly burns those who seemingly fall in kind. Like Drake’s “Started from the Bottom,” this is persona building. This is strutting. “Blank Space” isn’t frenetic and fun like “Shake It Off,” it actually builds drama pretty well—from Swift and male model Sean O’Pry lounging around in his mansion, to (spoiler alert) their chaotic breakup, and Swift’s triumphant victory as she claims, “I’ve got a blank space baby, / And I’ll write your name.”
Swift and her theatrical expressions don’t care what we say about her, because she writes the songs. She’s not apologizing, and really, why should she? She’s not making fun of herself, as many of us expect that she might at this stage in her career. She is celebrating herself, and she is pretty darn good at that.
Featured Image Courtesy of Big Machine Records
