How are media representations of Taylor Swift challenged in the video ‘Blank Space’?

Taylor swift analysis (1) from Anna Dunbar

Goodwin's theory of music videos

Goodwin's theory of music videos from Anna Dunbar

Song Review

Overkill: This song proves to be catchy due to the engaging and catchy riff that repeats throughout, making the song easy to get stuck in your head, the song also has clear sections, including a verse which starts the song off subtly with louder lyrics with a quieter beat, it then goes straight into the chorus which shows a wider range of dynamics with the lyrics and beat stronger and louder. This pattern is repeated throughout and then concludes with an outro that focuses purely on the lyrics with a single beat of a drum. At the end of a verse the dynamics become softer whilst building to a climax, the instruments become less complex with only percussion instruments and the vocals. The beat is slower, which then climaxes to louder, stronger percussion instruments and a guitar, whilst the vocals are stronger and are layered over top. The clear beat is evident throughout due to the constant use of drums and symbols. The lyrics are appropriate, however they do not prove to show inspiration as it only talks about the love for the beat of the song, the lyrics do not inspire me as they are not addressing any important or audience grabbing topics. I would suggest the genre of this song is electronic, however the genre is not extremely evident, and the genre may cross-over with other genres such as pop. I do not have any clear music video ideas, however I can imagine the focus of the music video being on the female singing with her band.

 Everything comes down: The riff that is used throughout makes the song catchy, as well as the engaging, soft vocals that accompany the riff of the guitar. There are clear versus, which at the end, the use of the guitar is stopped making the vocals acapella, this then introduces the chorus of the song which involves back in vocals to harmonise the song. The lyrics of the song are about the girl getting over a relationship with a boy, and having to watch the boy be with someone else. The meaning of the lyrics suit the melody and harmonies of the song, creating an effect that makes the audience feel the emotion of the singer.There is a clear genre to the song, which is simply acoustic. If i were to make a music video to accompany the song, i would base it around the broken relationship and have shots of the boy she was with, with another girl, with the shots of the girl singing her song and playing the guitar in an empty room looking very isolated to reciprocate the mood of the song.

 Favour: The voice of this artist is very soft whilst being engaging, due to the emotion that is conveyed through her vocals. The simplistic piano that introduces the song has a strong, clear beat which creates a structure to the song, as the vocals begin to have more passion and reach a climax towards the chorus, the piano's dynamics also increase. Once the dynamics have reached their climax, the song returns to the versus and then repeats. The song uses layered harmonies of the singer which creates a soft and atmospheric tone, it creates emotion and heightens your emotions towards the song. The artist repeatedly uses crescendos between verse and chorus to continue the engagement with the audience. The lyrics have a lot of personal meaning about the singer longing for someone who doesn't seem to share the same feelings with herself. She has an attachment to this person but she feels almost guilty for giving him the things he's asking from her, perhaps she feels he is using her vulnerability to get what he wants. This creates a clear picture between two people, making it easy to replicate a music video as it could show the destruction between the two people, showing the singer doing so much for someone without receiving anything in return.

Hard to believe: The quick beat of the song hooks the audience almost immediately as the song begins, the lyrics also suit well with the beat proving to create an engaging song. There is a lot of emotion conveyed through the strong instrumentals and fast paced lyrics, which reinforces the passion of the singer. The song is massively instrumentalised, a common structure of the song that is repeated is the use of instrumental which leads into a bridge then verse. This is shown around the 2 minutes 30 mark. The use of guitar is emphasised during the chorus and shows the change between chorus and verse. Furthermore, the guitar riff is used to separate the chorus and verse, this breaks up the song, making the song more interesting and appealing to the audience as it is less repetitive. There's an instrumental build up which reveals the most meaningful lyrics, which is then reinforced through the repetition of the lyrics.

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