She lost him.
She lost him, but found herself, and
somehow that was everything.
These
are the words that bookend Taylor Swift’s newest music video, Out of the Woods. Her fourth
collaboration with director Joseph Kahn, the video has received positive
reviews from critics, praising its cinematic quality and stunning visual
components. The video’s overall style is different from some of Swift’s
previous work, and with its stylistic approach, it opens itself up for plenty of
interpretation. Which have been made, certainly, but the overall approach to the
material is a much more commercial one than a dive into the artistic. A pop
icon of several years now, Taylor Swift’s image has been famously characterized
by her long line of ex-boyfriends. Equally well known is her habit of pulling
lyrical inspiration from her personal experiences—mainly those relationships.
Thus, the question surrounding her newest music video is not “what does this
mean” but rather, “who is Taylor talking about?” This leaves the
self-proclaimed message and personal expression of Swift’s music video marginalized
by the media’s reaction to her public persona.
An
article in fashion magazine Elle
opens their analysis of the video like this: “At first glance/watch the
video has a simple message: She lost the boy (maybe
Harry?), got out of the woods, and found herself. Huzzah!” The article then
continues to speculate about the lyrical connection between Taylor and “the
boy” (Harry Styles, a OneDirection boy band member being the most popular
candidate) listing a series of words and images that match the couple’s past
moments in the public eye. The details are surprisingly thorough. The color of
Taylor’s dress in the video is extremely close to the one Swift was wearing
when she broke up with Styles; the jewelry she discards could be referencing
the necklace he gave her; the release date of the video corresponds with their
first public kiss several years ago.
The
careful examination stops there though. Once this article, and many articles
like it, have proven to their audience that yes, Harry is the answer to the question
everyone’s been asking, the case is closed. Now that mild curiosity has been
satisfied, there’s no need to dwell on the video any longer. And yet, even Swift’s
stated message has been swept aside, glossed over in favor of tabloid gossip. “Huzzah!”
is the declaration, as if to say finding yourself is something that can be
achieved all in a day’s work. The potential for deeper meaning is completely
ignored, which is surprising since merely listing the events of the narrative
shows that Taylor’s struggle to “find herself” is hardly an easy one.
The
video opens with Swift standing alone on a beach as vines being to grow and
surround her. This creates a forest wherein she is chased and nearly attacked
by a pack of wolves. From then on, she transitions from harsh condition to
harsh condition in a series of different elemental worlds. She faces storms,
drought, ice, fire, and the almost constant presence of vines that wrap
themselves around her body. When she finally emerges “out of the woods,” her
physical appearance has completely changed. Mud stained and more than a little
worse for wear, she returns to the beach, were she approaches the older version
of herself and reaches out to reconnect.
The
analysis of this piece could be endless. What symbolism is Swift trying to
portray through the use of contrasting elements? What are the purposes of the
vines that stalk her, and why do they only disappear once she has returned to
the beach? Perhaps instead of her blue dress referencing an ex-boyfriend, it’s
there to symbolize purity or a sense of innocence. We know Taylor is telling us
that this is the visual interpretation of how she found herself, so surely it's
safe to assume there is more here than a reference to a boy.
That’s
not to say the song isn’t about one of her past relationships. It very much is.
Taylor said herself in a music session presented by Nashville Chapter and the
Producers & Engineers Wing that her lyrics were based on a relationship
experience. With that preface, it’s easy to jump into the guessing game of
“which one, which one?” However, the key elements of that relationship are the
inspiration behind the song. Swift says that she was writing about the intense
feelings of anxiety she was dealing with and the knowledge that whatever she
was involved in was terrifyingly fragile (“Listening Session With Taylor Swift”).
The
arguments made by Elle and the slew
of other blog posts and magazine articles aren’t necessarily incorrect either. Their
links between the couple’s relationship and the music video are uncannily
accurate. The point, however, isn’t about whether or not the song is about a
past lover. That is already inarguably true. The troubling thing is that
analysis hasn’t continued past this conclusion. Is this about a boy? Yes. Is
she directly referencing him? Quite possibly. But ask what she learned or how she grew and no one seems interested in answering.
Perhaps, however, this has more to do with the roadblock of Taylor Swift’s own celebrity image. Her signature trait of referencing her boyfriends in her music have caused a large portion of the public to play a game of “spot the ex” instead of looking for additional meaning behind her work. It’s difficult to say who’s to blame for this, whether Swift has brought it upon herself via her artistic process, or whether media has influenced what we think of when we hear “Taylor Swift.”
Regardless of the origins of her persona, however, the effect is the
same. The majority of Out of the Woods interpretations
have reached shallow conclusions, leaving its message untapped, and limiting
the personal connection between artist and consumer. We cannot know Swift’s
personal journey of overcoming anxiety and finding self-awareness unless we develop a deeper
analysis.
Works Cited
Bailey,
Alyssa. “4 Sneaky Harry Styles References in Taylor Swift’s ‘Out of the
Woods.’”
Elle.com, 2016. Web. 9 Jan. 2016.
< http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a33001/taylor-swift-harry-style-
references-out-of-the-woods/>
“Listening
Session With Taylor Swift.” Grammypro.com,
2015. Web. 9 Jan. 2016
<https://www.grammypro.com/professional-development/video/listening-session-taylor-
swift-1989-part-2>
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