Analysis of Taylor Swift-You belong with me
The video for 'You belong with me' depicts a light-hearted love story between two neighbours, this is reflective of the upbeat nature of the song, and the generally fast-paced music. The narrative is driven by the love of the two neighbours, and the binary opposition between the two girls;one being a cheerleader, and the centre of attention, the other being a quiet, introvert member of the marching band. This is representative of the lyrics of the song, as the differences between the two girls are shown explicitly in the video.
Throughout the video, the lyrics are explicitly shown, as when the lyrics state "Walk in the streets with your worn out jeans", there is a long shot to show that the boy is literally walking in the street, weraing his worn out jeans, and when the lyrics state that the two are talking "on a park bench", they are shown to be sitting, talking to each other on a park bench. By linking the visuals with the lyrics, the audience is enabled to connect with the lyrics, as they are shown visual representations of what they are hearing. The two girls featured in the music video are shown to be binary opposites, as one is a quiet, introvert 'geek', and the other is a popular cheerleader, who over-compensates for her dull personality with vulgarity. The contrast between the two is extended with the contradictory colours of the girls' dresses, one being in a white gown, signifying purity and innocence, and the other wearing red, exemplifying danger and evil, which is shown through her unfaithful actions. The many close ups used in the video presents the record label's demand to promote the artist, where, in this case, Taylor Swift herself plays both girls featured. The entirety of the video is based on the lyrics which occur frequently in the song; "why can't you see, you belong with me", which is a topic many people can relate to, therefore the audience will interpret the lyrics to fit their personal experiences, which allows them to connect with the song in a more personal way.
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