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1. How is class represented in Taylor
Swift’s video ‘Love Story’? (2008)
BY CONNOR SOUTHWELL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E

2. Love Story – Taylor Swift - Context
The song was released on the 12th September 2008 in America, and sung by popular artist, Taylor Swift. The video involves a
couple who fall in love in fanatical scenery during the Elizabethan period but also in a high school setting. It was part of Swift’s
album ‘Fearless’ and it has sold 3,977,000 legal digital downloads in the United States. It has been a significantly successful
song for Swift, and one which really spearheaded her insurgence to fame. In regards of the technical side of her video, it was
directed by Trey Fanjoy, someone who Swift used exclusively to direct her videos in the embryonic stage of her career. Fanjoy is
described as an ‘emotive and compelling storyteller’. She has been described as a ‘rocket launcher’ as she has helped to
developed the careers of artists such as Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton and others. Fanjoy is one of the
most acclaimed music video directors in the business. Swift discusses the music video by saying "This is a song I wrote when I
was dating a guy who wasn't exactly the popular choice. His situation was a little complicated, but I didn’t care. I started this
song with the line, 'This love is difficult, but it's real.' When I wrote the ending to this song, I felt like it was the ending every girl
wants to go with her love story. It's the ending that I want. You want a guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, what anyone
says. He just says, 'Marry me, Juliet, I love you, and that's all I really know.‘ In comparison with other videos from the pop genre,
it conforms significantly as in Katy Perry’s video ‘Hot n Cold’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTHNpusq654), Perry herself
acts the protagonist living within the narrative and this is a style adopted by Swift to reinforce her brand identity to consumers.

3. Does Taylor Swift conform to the ‘Post
Feminist Icon Theory?’
“Lara Croft, Lady Gaga and Madonna for example could be identified as post feminist icons as they exhibit the
stereotypical characteristics of both the male and female – strength, courage, control and logic but also are willing to be
sexualized for the male gaze. This control element of their own representation is crucial in understanding the theory”. –
Angela McRobbie
In the video, Swift is presented as a strong force as she holds power over her lover who is left to attempt to impress her, but she is
also presented in a voyeuristic way with a white dress in a way which grants Swift with the power. This idea of feminist sees her shot
in the centre of the frame frequently in order to portray her as somebody who is keen to avoid oppression. This screenshot (See
Slide 4) epitomises Swift’s desires to present women in a powerful and strong light as oppose to the over sexualised and ill-informed
representations presented by the media. The back light is symbolising how women are now treated in a fairer light in more
contemporary time periods. Interestingly, despite some voyeuristic treatment of Swift, there is no objectification of Swift’s body and
this only adds to her feministic representation in which she is conforming too. By setting it in the Elizabethan period, she is
juxtaposing feminism with a time period in whereby women's rights were minimal. Is this Swift making a point to society or
celebrating how society has developed in the late 20th and early 21st century? I think it’s the former. Swift is presenting a powerful
feminist in the Elizabethan period and is saying how feminism should be timeless and equality is not tailored or packaged to a
certain time period or setting but should be indiscriminately of any person, period etc. By complying to this theory, she is presenting
herself as an influential, inspiration and aspiration figure to her young target audience who are increasing swayed to buying her
records. Furthermore, she is achieving a female audience keen to change things socially and politically, which is important to the
movement of feminism as a whole. This isn’t a hedonistic approach to the video, but one which is pro-women, and that’s something
which is positive.

4. Swift is framed in the centre of the
shot which portrays her in a
positive and powerful light.
She is
subverting
stereotypes of
women in the
1800’s by being
powerful and
opting to marry
for love.
The light coming from behind Swift connotes the more positive and equal views, by
placing Swift in an era whereby woman weren’t strong or powerful, it juxtaposes her
character and amplifies the message she is attempting to tell, one whereby women
should be equal to men.
By setting this
story in a
utopian setting
using
expensive
costume and
opting for a
period
whereby
promiscuous
relationships
were forbidden
adds to the
narrative.

5. What is the representation Swift creates
and how is the representation created?
Swift seeks to create superiority amongst the upper class as she presents a sense of wealth and sophistication within her music
video. This is done in a quota of ways, including through technical elements but also with the time period the narrative is set in. By
setting it in an era whereby class status had a big impact on the way people led their lives is really clever and interesting. Its clear
Swift’s production team are trying to emphasise the impact of class, and how this can affect something like a relationship, as
couples were expected to marry based on status and love wasn’t needed for marriage. This links to the ideas discussed in
modernism, whereby class status’ were fixed and you couldn’t progress or regress despite what you in your life, and thus Swift
has tried to present this fixed society with fixed minds on attitudes like feminism, class movement etc. One way this is achieved is
through mise-en-scene. The props and costumes are all emblems of the upper class status in the 1800’s. Candles, swanky
dresses and parties which involved dancing, this was very much the hegemony of the Elizabethan era and the production team
have encapsulated that wonderfully within this video. The dress which Swift is wearing is white and this colour symbolism leans
towards presenting her as angelic and pure. This aids the representation of superiority as compared to the lower /working classes,
Swift is seen in a sophiscated dress which contrasts to the rags and cheaper clothes which they would be during this period, and
their noticeable absence highlights how inferior they are, they are seen as unimportant and their story isn’t one which is worthy of
telling. The range of costumes on display is something integral to the representation. From Swift’s white dress to the suit adopted
by the male lover interest in the video (See slide 6) and this presents the class held by the characters in a greater and brighter
light, but also reinforces the challenges that being a member of a certain class entails.

6. The necktie which is being worn
by Swift’s lover is typical of the
upper classes in the 1800’s and
thus illustrates the class of the
pair to the audience.
The light in the image is representational of the pairs love, as it shines bright and is romantic. This use of prop is
clever, as it shows both symbolic connotations and also aids representation as it is typical of the upper class to
have a lantern like one shown in the image.

7. What are the factors that influenced these
representations?
There are a variety of mitigating factors as to why this representation has been implemented into this video. The first of which being
the strong intertextual reference to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and opting to set this in the period in which the play was set in places a
monumental influence on class as was in the era of the video. The relationship explored through the narrative is reliant on class
structure in order for it to be cohesive. In fact, the class structure has been raised from middle class to the upper class, and that only
reiterates the superiority of the upper class which is the aim in order to create a fanatical approach as oppose to the middle class
setting shown. The composition presents Swift with a low angle, so as an audience we are looking up to her (see slide 8) means that
she is down on us an audience (representing the lower classes) and Swift acts as an aspirational figure, and despite this composition
of her, as an audience, we adhere ourselves to her as oppose to seeing her as an arrogant character, which is mainly due to the
sophistication of Swift and also the awe in which she is seen with the audience, partially through the brand identity and easy
identification of her as a warm and recognisable figure. Furthermore, this representation of class is something shown through the
blocking of actors, as they dance in the hall, and the synchronisation of the dancing is symbolic to how attitudes in the class status is
fixed, rehearsed and false . The women within the video are seen wearing 1800 ball gowns and the men are seen wearing
waistcoats and suits which were typical of this time genre but also a symbol of the upper class in this period. That distinctly allows the
audience to establish the time period and the two establishing shots, first of the school and then the castle, is key to establishing a
change in time period from reality vs. utopia, does this mean that the ‘perfect world’ is devoid of all lower classes? The colour of her
dress connotes purity and innocence, something which holds her in higher regard than if she was wearing something commonly
associated as lower class and this would have had a destrimental impact on how she is portrayed by the audience, through the use
of this purity, the audience are in awe of her because of this angelic representation we have of her.

8. Swift has been shot from a low angle to show her female dominance over society at this point. As an audience,
we represent society, and we are looking up to this angelic influence who seemingly has significant power over
us due to her insurgence in regards to fame. Her messages, one of feminism an equality, are easier to convey.
The castle characterises the utopian narrative in which
Swift’s narrative is set in. It amplifies this sense of class
which Swift has attempted to create in order to convey
this sense of superiority and appeal to a younger
demographic of audience by making the music video
contain the essence of a fairy-tale.

9. What / who is foregrounded / backgrounded? Are there are
any notable absences?
Swift is a protagonist and thus is fore grounded throughout the video, with the reoccurring low angled shot
reinforcing her control upon the situation and this makes her respected as a character and the audiences viewpoint
is adhered to her as she strong, sophisticated and of a higher class. Furthermore, the close up’s ensure the
audience are clear that this is her fanatical story and the cross cutting between her in this Elizabethan setting and
the high school setting contrasts nicely and creates that ‘dream like state’ the audience gets whilst consuming the
video. She is portrayed as an angelic figure standing on a balcony of a castle and the non diegetic back lighting and
naturalistic lighting adopted represents her as a figure of deity and this makes her an aspirational figure to the
audience. The notable absence of any figures from the lower classes seem to highlight their insignificance and
imperfection compared to upper classes. This creates a quite discriminatory music video whereby a range of figures
haven’t been included, why? It symbolises the lack of importance that these lower classes had in this period and
how they were dehumanised and exploited by the upper classes. In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet are two
young people who are in love and their families have forbidden them to be together. In the end of the play, Romeo
and Juliet are so willing to do anything to be together, they just end up dying together. In contrast, the video has a
happy ending, unlike the tragic ending of the play. Taylor made her song have a happy ending as this is the ending
every teenage girl is hoping for. If the ending was sad, it may have not been as popular.

10. At whom is this representation targeted? How do you
know? What effect might this representation have on
the audience?
Richard Dyer, an academic who has studied stardom writes, ‘A star is an image – not a real person – that is
constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising, magazines, as well
as films and music).’ This is sometimes referred to as a star persona. Pop artists are media constructs. Pop
artists are mediated by managers and publicists and Swift is no different. In her earlier days, she was represented
as an innocent and sophisticated artist who performed country style music, however, recently she has fallen victim
to the glorification of women and objectification of herself to conform to the Male Gaze theory, which is evident in
her music video for ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. This representation was designed to make Swift commercial
and conform to a younger audience. This innocence helps present her a idol to her audience, and this persona
was adopted to increase her global fan base as humans adore those who we can relate and aspire to emulate.
This is also more likely to adhere itself to a younger audience, and this means censoring music to sure it is a
viable option for that teenage audience to consume and that means being recognisable and suitable in the eyes of
parents. The use of brand identity shots and close ups combined with non diegetic warm lights reinforce this
warmth in which the audience see her in, and that is more likely to make her compatible to a younger audience.
This is a clever distribution of Swift as a media construct as it will entice young audiences, but, as we have seen
more recently, Swift has rebranded herself to be controversial and fearsome, thus shifting with her audience which
would have grown up from ‘Love Story’, this widens her audience and thus the revenue she creates.

11. The use of close up allows for Goodwin’s theory of brand identity to be enforced here. Swift is
using a direct mode of address to appeal to the audience and this adds personality and creates
a connection between the audience and performer, allowing her to adhere herself to a wider
audience, thus creating a star persona.
Swift is seen wearing a crown to further reinforce this idea of wealth, utopia and superiority whilst being shot on
the eye level of the audience, which creates this equality she desires as a feminist and the close up also adds
personality and emotive responses to her song through her use of facial expressions.

12. To what extent does the representation
rely on stereotypes?
The representation is heavily reliant on the stereotype of the upper class, conforming to conventions established in the media by
programmes like Downton Abbey, which present the upper class as smartly dressed, socially acclaimed and pragmatic individuals.
This is something inhabited by those extras in the video, with the scene in the dancing hall symbolising how they are all conforming
to this hegemony of being upper class and the superiority complex which comes with it. However, by adopting intertextual reference
of Romeo and Juliet, Swift is subverting these stereotypes by involving in promiscuity centred around love rather than class status
and this is subverting the usual stereotypes seen in the aforementioned programme but also in literature such as ‘An Inspector
Calls’ whereby Sheila Birling is engaged to Gerald Croft due to their class status, and whilst in the video Swift’s lover isn’t of a
differing status, that isn’t the sole reason for their relationship, which would have been the case in the authentic period if this video
was a real event. Had this video of been centred around a lower class couple, the narrative would have collapsed and
fundamentally failed as the effect would be lost, so its important to the narrative that this is the structure. The diegetic nature of the
tea light (Slide 13) symbolises hope that the pair experience since their love is blossoming but also acts a class symbol as these
lights were only owned by the upper classes and thus is a rejection of lower class influence. The light creates a romantic
atmosphere and that is something which helps the narrative and the audience to lean in the favour of the couple who are ‘against
the odds’ in regard to class status. The media represents the upper class in high esteem, with newspapers like The Guardian and
The Independent, this is their audience and thus the representation is quite a positive one. This representation is of sophistication,
elegance and they are held in higher regard than the lower classes, and in this video, Swift is conforming this representation of
classy and elegant through costume, characterisation but also in the manner she is shot, which is with close ups presenting her as
an approachable and warm figure when, in reality, she may not be, and that is something which is as an audience we buy into and
look up too, despite her major reconstruction into someone a bit more hedonistic, Swift still holds significant power over her
audience.

13. How will it influence our music video?
It has made me think twice about how class can be incorporated into music videos with the purpose of create a
dream like or ideologist situation whereby fantasy takes the starring roles. It has also reinforced how integral costume
and mise-en-scene can be with a music video, as it can really exemplify the video but also help create a certain
representation and the effect this can have on our audience makes the themes and messages deeper and creates
an audience with is active as it seeks to dissect the information we present through technical elements as oppose to
spoon feeding our audience with information and create a passive one. As our song is about love, the theme of class
could be used to show our protagonist was in love with someone but barriers from the class structure system which
means love is forbidden and marriage is entirely based on class status which is restrictive and only allows those in an
upper class to marry those of the same class would be an interesting concept. It also allows for beautiful mise-en-
scene, costume and lighting. This is something which we could use to create an element of deity and post feminism
in our protagonist to create a positive message which will, in turn, benefit our brand identity. Representation can be
so important and add a further dimension to our music video.