Music / Textual analysis
When studying a music video, it is always helpful to break it down and analyse some of the key shots.
Long, birds-eye shot of the artist in the centre of a smashed car. Despite suffering what should be a deadly fall, Swift/Catastrophe appears uninjured, which shows her strength and resilience.
Though the events leading up to this have been violent, Swift is still posed like a model in a fashion shoot. She is also wearing tight-fitting and revealing clothing. This could send the message that strong women can also be feminine.
The title of the song dominates one side of the screen, making it seem like this the title sequence to a high-budget action film. The font used for the title ‘Bad Blood’ recalls Sin City and the film’s black and white (with occasional red) colour scheme is also intertextually referenced.
The shot is a steadily forward panning wide shot, which the characters fight their way into. The camera then whip-pans to follow the action. This is conventional camera framing and movement of the action genre, making the audience feel a part of the action whilst also appreciating the skill and grace of the heroes.
The female heroes are able to disable a horde of opponents, not only through fighting but by cleverly using props to immobilise them.
To some audiences, this scene would be familiar from the climax of the film Kill Bill (lone female takes on army of masked Asian men). By making this reference Swift is targeting audiences beyond her usual demographic.
A cleverly-composed shot in which we can see ‘Catastrophe’ fighting, reflected in her partner/opponent’s compact mirror. One convention of the music video is to create visual density. Fast-paced, complex ‘mini-films’ are suitable for multiple viewings. There is so much visual content in ‘Bad Blood’ (e.g. the extended parade of women in Swift’s army), that people will watch it again and again.
This is another visually dazzling sequence that requires the viewer to watch it more than once. The camera moves around, zooming in and out of Swift’s body on a lab table. In counter-direction, robot arms and machinery move around her.
Though the message of the video could be seen ‘feminist’, this shot portrays Swift as passive and sexualised (for example, through the shiny strap underwear). This shot is also a reference to the female hero of the film The Fifth Element.
As Swift strides through the team headquarters, she passes (or practises with) a range of fellow female agents. Many of them are handling weapons or showing their lethal fighting skills; this portrays women as strong, confident and independent and subverts many traditional stereotypes. However, most of them wear typically ‘sexy’ costumes (tight leather, high-heeled boots) or are in their underwear, which draw attention to their bodies. Perhaps one message might be that women can be strong and powerful, and still be attractive, however feminist approaches might argue that the females are objectified and subject of the male gaze (Mulvey’s theory).
The teddy bear prop is symbolic of innocence and childhood. By pinning it to the wall with a dagger, the characters are showing they are definitely not ‘nice’ or passive females as often shown in pop music videos.
This could also be seen as a subversion of Taylor Swift’s ‘girl-next-door’ image from earlier in her career.
Split screen close-up of Swift and guest star Kendrick Lamar. By featuring a well-known and critically-acclaimed hip hop artist, Swift is again extending the reach of this product, targeting rap and jazz fans as well as pop. Lamar’s face is as big as Swift’s, so even though she is the hero of the narrative, it shows Lamar has equal billing.
Swift’s facial expression (bared teeth, drooping eyelids) and make-up are traditionally feminine and sexual; whilst Lamar’s is sincere and unsexualised.
Swift’s ‘army’ strides towards a final confrontation with her antagonist - a narrative convention of the action genre. Traditional action sequence framing (heroes against huge explosions) and editing (cross-cutting between approaching foes) is also used to build excitement.
Swift now has red hair, a photo of which was ‘leaked’ on Twitter and Instagram to excite fans and provoke discussion of her ‘new’ image.
Arsyn’s army are shot in the same wide medium shot, emphasising their strong relationship. Her soldiers’ costumes conceal their faces and bodies (in contrast to Catastrophe’s), although Arsyn’s clothing is more revealing. They also wear masks that hide their identity and cover their mouths - this is a traditional way of denoting a villain in superhero and action films (e.g. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises).