Textual analysis of Music Videos

The video I am analysing is “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and the music video is directed by Trey Fanjoy. “Love Story” is a country-pop based music genre. Because of the intertextual reference of both the lyrics of the song and the music video to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is very common in pop music to have a “romance” theme whilst country music videos portray very meaningful and soulful lyrics. Swift negated the idea of having a tragic ending to the story; instead, she made it to a happy ending which fits to the typical pop music genre with romantic themes because of the upbeat or lively element that we find in pop music.

There were a few examples in which the lyrics illustrate, amplified and contradicted what was shown through the music video.

For example, the first few scenes, the lyrics “I close my eyes and the flashback starts. I’m standing there…” had illustrated what the video portrays in which the [modern] characters’ first eye contact with each other created a flashback effect which was shown through the editing with the use of parallel/cross-cutting; back and forth from the past to the future (Swift and the male character in the school to the Romeo and Juliet scene) .

The lyrics “So I sneak out to the garden to see you… Escape this town for a little while…”, moreover, illustrates what the visual is exhibiting. This is evident as the two characters are seen in a secret and dark garden where they are allowed to be alone together.

The lyrics “And my daddy said ‘stay away from Juliet…’”, on the other hand, negated or contradicted what was being displayed though the visuals. This is because this part is when ‘Romeo and Juliet’ had their first dance which contradicts the imperative in the lyrics stating “stay away from Juliet”. However, this is to amplify the nature of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in which the two characters are not allowed to be together but the two ignores what everyone is telling them.

The video change pace with the music and this is evident throughout the whole video. For example, one the first verse and second verse, the pace of the editing is slow which fits with the slow melody and beat of the song. When the music runs through the chorus “Romeo, take me somewhere…”, the pace of the video becomes faster and the rhythm guitar, violin, drums an base guitar are introduced during the chorus part. The pace of the video is faster and this is evident through the editing – which shows a lot of cuts to different sets and scenes.

However, the pace of the video changes as the song ends - “Marry me Juliet. You never have to be alone…” The pace of the video becomes slower even though the beat of the music is very lively. This is because of the lyrics which states “I love you and that’s all I really know…” and this fits to the slow-paced visuals the video is portraying.

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” has a lot of fanatics and Taylor Swift also has a large number of fan bases. By merging Swift’s song and lyrical render to Shakespeare’s tragedy, the record company makes sure that Swift is portrayed through the character of Juliet. The music video is also used as a promotion for the song – if more people watches or listen to the song, the sales of the song, video and artist also increases.

Swift’s image that is being portrayed through this music video is an innocent, loving and true and this is evident through the mise-en-scene. The lighting is very natural, the costume has a peach/skin tone colour which reinforces her innocence and it also shows that she is young (as Juliet is in her teenage years). Her make is also simple and very pleasing to the eyes. The image of Swift in this music video is very positive and this is shown with the close-up of the artist’s face to show her emotions and her image.

“Love Story” music video relates to her other videos like “You Belong With Me” and “Teardrops On My Guitar” because of the romantic theme and the way that Swift is being presented through her music video and songs. For example, in the You belong With Me, Swift is portrayed in two different characters – the cheerleader and the geek. However, the “geek” character is more dominant in the video with her unrequited love. Through this, we empathise with Swift’s character – pushing her image into a positive outlook just like in Love Story.

The camerawork, costume and dance imply a very sophisticated and conservative display. This is shown through the Elizabethan/Victorian dresses and a very elegant dance scene displayed in the music video.

Dominantly, the camera is placed through Swift’s (Juliet) point-of view and sometimes, on Justin Gaston’s (Romeo) point-of-view. This is to show the relationship between the two characters – showing their intimacy and their love affair with each other. This is also to reinforce the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet but in Swift’s video, it is edited in a way to show the positivity of the story and makes the ending a happy one.

Love Story’s lyrics and music video are based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This intertextual reference is used throughout the video and the song. It is used in a way to portray the affair of Romeo and Juliet with Swift’s and Gaston’s portrayal of the two characters. However, instead of displaying the tragedy of this star-crossed lovers, Swift made it into a positive and happy ending “Marry me Juliet. You never have to be alone…”

The music video is both performance-based and narrative-based. However, it is dominantly narrative-based the music video mainly portrays the story of Romeo and Juliet.

In conclusion, Love Story by Taylor Swift’s music video is both narrative and performance-based but dominantly narrative to show the intertextual reference of Romeo and Juliet in both lyrics and music video. Swift’s image that is being portrayed is very positive which is evident in the mise-en-scene, editing and the message of the lyrics.