Taylor Swift: Language and Representations blog tasks

Narrative

Go to our Media Magazine archive (issue MM79) and read the feature All Too Well on Taylor Swift and how she controls her own narrative. Answer the following questions: 

1) Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her earlier albums? 

• In 2005, aged just 15, Swift signed a record deal with the label which gave it ownership of the masters to her first six studio albums. Swift’s deal with Big Machine ended in 2018 and she signed with Republic Records, but the masters remained with her former label, which was subsequently purchased by American businessman Scooter Braun for a reported $300m – with his purchase of the label, Braun became the owner of Swift’s masters, which he sold to Disney’s Shamrock Holdings (a private investment firm run by the Disney family) in late 2020 on the condition that he would continue to financially profit from them. Swift quickly announced her intentions to re-record her Big Machine albums, which would give her complete ownership of the records and nullify Braun’s involvement.

2) Why did Taylor Swift choose to make the short film 'All Too Well'? 

• Not only is the song ‘All Too Well’ autobiographical, but in the world of the film Her takes control of the narrative herself – the same way that Swift does by writing the song and making the film. For both Swift and Her, art comes out of grief, and that art is not only a way of dealing with their grief, but of choosing to tell their own stories themselves, rather than waiting for other people to tell them first. This is important for both artists, because narrative dictates public image, and public image dictates all. For both women to take control of that is a powerful and understandable move – but it isn’t the first time Swift has had to do it.

3) What other examples are provided in the article of Taylor Swift using media to construct her own image? 

• Since the original release of Red all the way back in 2012, Swift has been forced to control virtually every aspect of her public image. Many aspects of her follow-up album 1989 (2014) were a direct response to criticisms about her private life: the entirety of ‘Shake It Off’ is dedicated to telling Swift’s haters how little she cares for their opinions, while the video for ‘Bad Blood’ is yet another showcase of her filmmaking talents.  The video sees Swift create a pseudo-dystopian London and pack it with female singers and models, each playing members of various factions, with Swift and fellow singer Selena Gomez taking on the lead roles as the heads of the two groups. The video’s narrative charts a feud between Swift and Gomez’s characters, alleged to be based on Swift’s fallout with Katy Perry. As with All Too Well: The Short Film, we see Swift using not only her music, but her visual output too, to tell her stories herself. Though the settings and messages of the two are completely different (‘Bad Blood’ being something of a fantastical action flick, while All Too Well is much more of a heartbreaker), their ultimate purpose is the same: to allow Swift to tell the story in her own words, and through that maintain control of her image.

Taylor Swift textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Taylor Swift's website and social media. 

1) Go to Taylor Swift's website. What do you notice about the media language choices - text, font, images, page design, links?

• Colour scheme: black/white/grey, gives a classic & sophisticated look
• Typography: Serif, fits with colour scheme
• Logo, brand identity
• Top menu: website convention
• Image analysis: quite revealing, Mulvey's male gaze, van Zoonen seen as spectacle, sex role stereotypes --> does the image dehumanize TS by cutting off her face?
• Front page of store: Physical media, cassette, CD, vinyl, Chances for fans to collect physical items, build on nostalgic 80s/90s feel, references senior swifties (older gen) 
• Branding similar to Nirvana: reflects nostalgic aspects of modern culture. Culture reboots or reuses previous texts --> intertextuality or textual poaching- Jenkins
• Disney+ massive media conglomerate and mainstream brand is arguably perfect fit for TS
• Directed projects section reflects swifts status in contemporary culture, power to direct her own music videos

2) Now visit her Eras tour microsite. What do you notice about the construction of this site in terms of images and website conventions? 

• Top menu reinforces opportunities to either spend money or interact with fans
• Design + colour- grainy, nostalgic feel to the design and colour grading --> reflects TSs ability to reinvent herself as an artist + celebrity: Neale, repetition and difference 
• Social media links, fan interaction
• Representations- photography arguably still contains elements of male gaze
• Can also represent all her different 'eras' 

3) Visit Taylor Swift's Twitter feed. Analyse her use of tweets/posts - are they promoting her music, her tour, or something else? Can you find any that are socially or politically oriented? 

• Banner image shows consistency or brand across different platforms
• Bio promoting her album
• 95.2M following emphasises her power + influence
• Kelly Clarkson tweet: origin of Taylor's version re-recording project which shows her power as an artist
• Political influence: she has since endorsed Kamala Harris in presidential race
• Tweet reflects TSs feminist credentials and support for female artists- US culture wars, TS would be considered 'woke' or liberal in the debate

4) Look at Taylor Swift's Instagram account. What do you notice about the selection and construction of images, reels and posts?  

• 283M following also emphasises her power + influence
• 0 following shows Instagram account is just used as a promotional device
• Pinned post to promote album: rest of feed promotes her tour
• Royal post from Wembley reflects her incredible reach and mainstream influence --> mutually beneficial photo OP

5) Research Taylor Swift across any other social media accounts - e.g. Facebook. Do you notice any differences in how she represents herself on different platforms? Comment on text, images or tone/content.  

• On YouTube, Taylor Swift has 60.1 million subscribers, emphasising her power and influence again. Her profile picture and banner are consistent with her Twitter and Instagram, reinforcing her Tortured Poets' Department era.

A/A* extension tasks

Read this academic history of celebrity culture and social contexts. How much can we find that is relevant to the kind of celebrity persona Taylor Swift has created? 

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Read Written and Directed by Taylor Swift in Media Magazine MM84 - a feature on Swift's music videos including how she is using her Instagram channel to position herself as an up-and-coming director as well as music star. You can find this in our Media Magazine archive here.

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Finally, consider this question: How does the construction of Taylor Swift's online presence reflect the social and cultural changes of the last 10 years?

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