Taylor Swift: Language and Representations

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? 


she signed with Republic Records, which was subsequently purchased by American businessman Scooter Braun for a reported $300m – he continues 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 a


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


In choosing to make the song into a short film, rather than just a music video, Swift has consciously chosen to push her professional creative boundaries for the sake of her art and her storytelling


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


‘Shake It Off’ is dedicated to telling Swift’s haters.

The video for ‘Bad Blood’ is yet another showcase of her filmmaking talents.

This idea of image control remained at the fore with Swift’s next album, Reputation in 2017. Here, she divorces herself from her former personas entirely with both her musical styles and her look.



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:classic and sophisticated 

typography:serif-fits with colour scheme

top menu: reinforces capitalism, collects data ok audiences  



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:reinforced opportunities to spend 

money 

social media:chance for fans to interact 

representation:photography has elements of male gaze

design+colour:grainy,nostalgic: reflects artist reinevntion


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: consistency of brand between different platforms 

followers:emphasise power + influence 

political influence:kamal harris support


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

promotion, power +influence

tour

royal picture (wembley) increases mainstream reach and muru 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.  

She represents herself similarly through all platforms and uses her power and influence through her socials to promote herself and politics.

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