Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" video satirizes and challenges media representations of her as having a "boy-crazy" image and being unfaithful in relationships. The video portrays two sides of Swift - the innocent persona presented to the public versus her actual personality, which is depicted as more complex. Many elements of the video, such as costumes, props, and imagery, represent this duality and push back on stereotypes promoted by the media. Swift presents herself in contradictory ways to mock the simplistic labels imposed on her.

1. How are media representations of Taylor Swift challenged in the video ‘Blank Space’?
Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ video was released in 2014 with great attention to the satirical attitudein Blank
Space in which Swift had responded to the media comments and negative attitude towards her relationships
and the unflattering‘boy-crazy’ image shehas accumulated. Swift responded to the media’s depictions by
mocking the stereotypes, she challenges the ideas by the use of lyricswhich throughout she uses paradoxical
languagefor example, the opening lineis ‘niceto meet you, where you been?’. The re-occurringparadoxes
constructthe sense that Swift has two sides to her, and that the media create one image of her and yet sheis
actually somethingvery different. Swift also responseto the media’s strong ideologies through the imagery
throughout the video. The video re-creates a fairy-tale,with connotations of Snow White, however the original
Snow White fairy-taleis twisted in that Taylor Swift plays the evil witch and is usingher evil powers to control
the ‘boyfriend’ in the video. Once again this is an example of showingtwo-sides to a story, the fairy-talestory
is being changed justas Swift’s own personal lifeis beingchanged and portrayed in an inaccurate
representation.
A noticeablefactor of the mise-en-scene of this screenshotis the fairy-talereplication through the use of props,colour,costume and
lighting.The lavish propsdramatise the wealth and vanity of the famous pop star,such as the strikingchandelier thathangs,centre
of shot, above Swift’s princess likebed.As well as the two white horses,which melodramatically suggestthe high-maintenance
characteristicsSwiftsupposedly,possesses.The white horses also coincidewith the fairy-taleideology thatis reinforced throughout
the video, for example in a particular shotthere are fairy-likecreatures which flutter and dance off shot, almostunnoticeably.
The lightingand
colours suggesta
utopian atmosphere,
this is reciprocated
throughout the music
video, strongly
suggestingthe media’s
representation plays
off the idea that Swift
lives in an unrealistic
state of mind, in which
she has complete
power and control of
her lifeand littleelse
matters except for her
wealthy lifestyleand
‘long listof lovers’.
A strikingaspectof this shot is thatnearly everything in this shotis a cream/white shade,
however, Swift’s costume is all black,which highly contrasts againstthe cream, luxurious bed she
sits on.This links again to the fairy-talerepresentation, however she is not being shown as the
princess,in factsheis the witch. The black costume strongly suggests the evilness of her
character,therefore implyingthe media view her as a spiteful character due to the heartless ways
in which she supposedly moves from one guy to the next without much empathy towards the
guys that leave. An alternativeinterpretation of the black costume may be that Swift taints
everything around her, shetaints the purity and innocence of the guys she meets leavingthe men
with only one option to leave her, therefore resultingin continuous failed relationships.

2. How are media representations of Taylor Swift challenged in the video ‘Blank Space’?
The composition of this shotuses rule of
thirds,placingboth Swift’s and the male
character’s eyes on the same line.This
creates a sense of equality between the two
of them, however this then contrasts with
the fact that the male’s eyes are almostnot
visiblewhereas Swift’s eyes areprominently
shown glaringdirectly athim.This suggests
that the composition of the shot is to create
intense confliction between them. Resulting
in Swift dominatingover the male character.
The dominationSwifthasoverhermale partnerisalsoreinforcedthroughthe use of focusonher,whereasthe male
character isout of focus,as he isbeingobjectifiedandhaslittle power withinthe narrative.Thisistoreinforce the
ideologiesof the mediaandthe factSwiftsupposedlyhasalot of control overher partners,andthe lyricswithinher
songsconveyheras beingcontrollingandslightlymadoverthe relationships.Thisideaof Swiftobjectifyinghermale
partners,contraststhe typical societyviewsonthe rolesof male andfemales,whereinfemalesare oftenobjectifiedby
the males,especiallyinmusicvideosforexample RobinThicke’s‘BlurredLines’.
Once the camera shots involveboth Swift and her male friend, a relationship between them is revealed. For example this over -the-
head shot reveals how un-connected the two of them are, as he sits on his phone with only his lower body in shot, whilstSwift
stairs directly into thecamera, making only a connection with her audience. The fact that the male character has only half o f his
body in shot, shows the inequality between them both, itshows his irrelevanceas Swiftis portrayed in the media for havinga lack
of caretowards the men she is with because of how quickly shesupposedly moves on from them to the next ‘victim’.
The use of props in this shot play a vital rolein symbolisingspecific detailsSwiftis keen to portray about herself in a satirical response
towards the negative media comments. Throughout the video Swift uses various techniques to suggest there are two-sides to her,
and the way in which she is presented and the way in which she really is.Shealso reinforces the two sides to which the character she
plays in the video has – ‘the media Swift’ – in which she appears to be sweet and innocent yet turns almostpsychotic and showing
major hostility.This idea is symbolically represented through the props, specifically theloveheart sweets shown. These sweets are
black and white, symbolisingSwift’s appearanceof being admirably charmingand pure(represented through the white love h earts),
which then contrasts againsttheblack lovehearts which therefore symboliseSwift’s darker sideof her being madly overprotective
and almostmentally unstable.In this shot Swift also has her hand placed directly on to her heart highlightingto the audience,the
sweets used as a prop link to her heart and the way she is presented.
Swift’s costume and props also link to create an
image of her character.She is surrounded by sweets,
by specifically fillingher surroundingby sweets
reinforces the idea that Swift herself is sweet, almost
sickly sweet. She is tryingto reinforce this imageby
even havinga costume that replicates a sweet. She’s
attempting to give this kind,caringimpression to the
male; she uses this falserepresentation to add to the
over-the-top, falserepresentations the media make
of her.