- Early this morning on YouTube, Taylor Swift released a music video for "The Man," featuring her epic transformation into a male version of herself.
- True to form, the video is filled to the brim with Easter eggs.
- Swift's gotten candid about her life in recent months, and this feels like a very natural extension of this.
Taylor Swift just released the music video for "The Man," which she directs, stars in, and also owns (which is super important to her—more on that below). And she utterly, totally transformed herself into a male version of herself, who behaves terribly and is rewarded. You have to watch.
Let's get this out of the way first: Holy sh*t, that transformation. There's a little insight at the end of the video into how exactly we went from Swift to man-Swift, but most of the video I was just thinking to myself, No. No, that can't be her, right?? That's just a different person! That's how good it was, and also, clearly this was the point. Also, since we know Swift really commits to the bit, that's probably also her in the old-man makeup getting married to a 20-year-old at the end?
These are the Easter eggs I spotted, and I'm sure there are more:
- 13th Street Station—Swift considers her lucky number to be 13. The wall is filled with the names of her albums, including Red and Reputation. There's also a "Missing: If Found, Return to Taylor Swift" sign.
- One of the graffiti words is "Karma," which some fans believe will be the name of her eighth album. Or it just could be karma coming back to a specific person:
- Also, in that same scene, theres a "No Scooters" sign." Swift has been speaking out since Scooter Braun bought her old label, Big Machine, and now has ownership of her first six albums.
- There's also a poster with Mr. Americana by Tyler Swift, in a male alternative to her Miss Americana documentary. It was selected by Mandance (lol).
- While her characters on a boat, Swift sings, "I'd be just like Leo[nardo DiCaprio] in St. Tropez." (It's one of the ways she calls out double standards in the song.)
- Some fans are convinced that the hallway, in which Swift's high-fiving hands, looks very similar to the one in Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's house.
- Swift's dad makes a cameo! He's the umpire who gets screamed at (amazing). Her makeup artist and stylist apparently also make an appearance.
- There's some of her merch in a couple places in the video.
- The "old man marrying a young woman" may be a subtle reference to the fact that her boyfriend Joe Alwyn is ever-so-slightly younger than her—but it's not weird if a guy dates someone younger. So smart.
- Yup, if Swift were a man, she envisions her voice would sound just like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. That is his voice coming out of her male character's body (he gets a credit at the end).
- The advice she gives to her male character is to be "sexier" and she praises the woman for simply doing her job, in a reversal of what she (and other women in show biz) often experience.
- E! also points out. "On Feb. 27, 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the 19th Amendment, the voting rights for women." So the day is particularly meaningful for Swift to release the song, and there are 19 hands to high five in the white hallway.
I'm honestly so impressed.
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