Taylor Swift- Love Story

In Taylor Swift’s music video for Love Story, Swift acts as the main character. At the start of the video she is simply wearing ‘casual’ clothes, and is in an education setting holding books, suggesting normality and representation of a modern teen of this era rather than a past era. However, when the video reverts back in time into what appears to be the 1800s. Swift’s character’s body language is elegant reminiscent of that of a princess, which would fit into the narrative of the music video and actual song. She is dressed in a dress with clear evidence of an old fashioned corset underneath relating to the period and era which the video is set, as women of that time would have wore this sort of corset. The era when the video set (1800s style) reflects the song lyrics in how it is a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ love story, in which swift references multiple times. Swift matches the conventions of her genre of pop, as she is a young girl shown to be in love and waiting on a boy and then when he comes to visit her, she immediately lights up, this is a very stereotypical convention of a pop music video, as most pop songs are about love. The male representation in this video is also very stereotypical; he is a young attractive male with brown hair in a contemporary

hairstyle in both eras of the video, showing him to conform to society in both pieces relating him to both eras stereotypes of male. In the 1800s version of the video he is wearing clothes that would have been fashionable at the time and the same for the modern version in how he wears jeans and a t shirt.

The narrative events in the music video conform to the conventions of pop music, as the video is based upon a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ love story where the family members are preventing them of being together as stated in the song. In terms of iconography Swift is fashioning a bronze necklace, made to look antique to relate to the era of the video. Her hairstyle also relates as it is similar to that of a 1800s woman. The white horse used in the video possibly alludes to how the boy is her ‘knight and shining armour’ again giving the idea that the guy is very much involved in making her happy. Finally the angel statue is reflective of religion which was an important aspect in this time also a symbol of love in religion, as guardian angels are seen as comforting and offer connotations of love.