The music video I have analysed is Love story by Taylor Swift. The
genre that this belongs to is country music and it is a referencing type, in
which she is referencing William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
The lyrics match the visuals of the music video, as the lyrics
give off slow, happy and pleasant conventions, which match the heart-warming
feel of the visuals. Both the lyrics and the visuals are made to put the viewer
in a comfortable and, overall, good place. The video matches the beat of the
music. This is clearly seen through the pace of the action increasing when the
chorus hits. Granted, the chorus is not extremely fast but it is at a more
excited pace than the rest of the song, and this is emphasised through the
dancing and such that occurs at the specific time.
There are close ups of Taylor Swift, highlighting her beauty and
elegance in her Shakespearian themed attire, and the close ups with the man who
she is referencing in the song to show their relationship with eachother. The
video relates to a lot of Taylor’s previous videos with most, if not all, being
based on love, heartbreak and relationships. She has quite a few pleasant and
romantic seeming videos which can coincide with this video.
Surprisingly, as well as not so surprisingly, the artist is not on
sexual display. Usually, female artists pose as nude and seductive in hope of
attracting a larger audience and it is the stereotype for attractive female
popstars. However, Taylor by no means follows this stereotype as she has this
image of being innocent and pure, which is highlighted in this music video
through the elegance and beauty on display while being fully covered up. The
costume is hardly revealing and the dance present in the video is quite romantic
and old-fashioned as oppose to lustful and promiscuous.
To conclude, the video and song in general, references the play of
Romeo and Juliet through the lyrics, setting and costume. It is hugely
narrative based as it tells a story with the artist being present within the
video and playing the role of the key character.
