For those of you exposed to any form of social media in your daily lives, you’ve probably heard Taylor Swift’s name popping up every 5 minutes or so. By this point, you’ve also probably watched her new video for ‘Look What You Made Me Do”, which is currently sitting on over 106 million views on YouTube. Check out the vid below:
The video is crawling with hidden meanings and clues surrounding Taylor’s reputation, love life, and upcoming album- and we’re here to shed light on some of the sneaky bits you missed.
1. Taylor opens the film clip wearing the same dress that she wears at the end of her ‘Out of the Woods’ film clip.
This one was a dead giveaway for major T-Swift fans, but for those of us on the outside, it was completely overlooked. Taylor is clearly a zombie in this scene… and still in the woods, implying that she never in fact made it out of the woods.
What’s so interesting about this is that ‘Out of the Woods’ was the last film clip released from Taylor’s album 1989, right before her reputation began to spiral downwards by the media. It’s believed that this opening scene establishes the fact that Taylor is finally taking control over how the world perceives her. This theory is reinforced by Taylor literally burying her old self in her 2014 Met Gala dress, which she also wore right before the ~drama~ began.
2. Taylor is surrounded by 12 snakes, making her the 13th. There is also a secret engraving on her throne.
As you may already be aware, Taylor is a huge fan of the number 13. The number appears several times throughout the film clip, and is embedded in most of her work in general. As you may also know, following the Kimye vs. T-Swift drama, Kim Kardashian fans commented a snake emoji on all of Taylor’s Instagram pics. This scene indicates that Taylor is not only owning the snake title, but also taking back control over people’s opinions of her. Snake Queen anyone?
The phrase "Et tu Brute” is engraved on her throne, which is a line from Shakespeare’s play Julius Ceaser. The line makes reference to being stabbed in the back by old friends – Kim? Kanye? Katy Perry? Calvin? Honestly the list is endless!
3. The ‘Squad U’ scene pokes fun at accusations that Taylor fabricates her friendships with other celebs.
Taylor is definitely know for her squad, which features many other A-List celebs. She gets them onstage on tour, invites them over for amazing parties, and forever confesses her love for them on Instagram – it’s not a bad squad to be in, really. However rumours began to circle that T-Swift manufactures her friendships, and takes full control over who can associate with her to fit with her brand. As lines of models queue before her in this scene, Taylor is clearly making fun of these rumours.
Another reference to her celeb friends is in the final scene, where 2008 ‘You Belong With Me’ Taylor wears a shirt covered in her bestie’s names.
4. Do these clues tell us that Taylor was engaged to Calvin Harris?
In the robbery scene, there appears to be an engagement ring box, this does seem like a bit of a stretch but fans think that at one point, Taylor was engaged. The bathtub scene also shows what appears to be the heart necklace Calvin Harris gifted Taylor for their anniversary, and the chains spelling out the words ‘NO”. The devil really is in the details! We’ll let you guys decided what this all means.
5. The 15 Taylor’s in the final scene indicate the 15 tracks on Taylor’s upcoming album, ‘Reputation’.
The final scene shows Taylor in 14 different versions of herself and her ‘eras’, making up the way her reputation has been built. Pictured in the back is also her current self, standing confidently as the other Taylor’s fight. Not only does this introduce a new, empowered Taylor Swift, but it also hints at what the album tracks will be about. It is said that ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is the 6th track on the album, and new Taylor is standing 6th in line form the right. Will each track represent a different stage in Taylor’s life?
There are several other gems hidden within this 4 minute clip, so make sure to re-watch it and see what else you can pick up on. Taylor is undeniably taking back her name, which has been dragged by the media for years. The girl really knows how to create speculation, but we’re still super excited for her album, which will hit the scene November 10.
