Taylor swift, the mastermind and a journey down the rabbit hole...
This started off as an exploration of Taylor's Swift's music videos and lyrical analysis, but throughout the process of analysing the delicate music video I began to uncover a deeper layer to what was being shown. This in itself felt like a big connection, but upon further exploration I discovered what felt like a much bigger puzzle piece connecting everything Taylor has been working on up until this point. I thought that was where it ended only to discover more and more all over again. In the end, the rabbit hole is so much deeper than I could have predicted, but the journey was worth the wait.
I was discovering deeper layers and connections as this came together, and my intention was to provide my discoveries with you in a similar way. I could go back and delete most of it and leave you with my discoveries, but I don't believe that's what Taylor would have wanted.
If you want to share this or add to it please go ahead, but if you do, try not to spoil the ending for others before they've had a chance to find out for themselves. Being able to see the connections for yourself as you go along adds much needed context to the connections discussed, so treat this like a book and take it one chapter at a time. After all, once you open pandoras box, there's no going back.
If you're interested in learning more please keep reading, but be warned this is going to be a really long post. I have broken this down into 13 parts, (it started off as 3) so feel free to pause after each one if you need to and come back to it when you're ready.
I fear I have reached the bottom of the rabbit hole...
"Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet?"
Taylor Swift has been leaving Easter eggs in her music, outfits and interviews for years now. These can range from hidden messages in the lyric booklets to bigger clues for upcoming albums and songs, as seen in the you need to calm down music video. There are many Easter eggs in the delicate music video too, but it's also hinting at a bigger theme some have seen throughout Taylor's work over the years. If we dive deeper into the lyrics, music videos, interviews and performances we might get a greater understanding of what Taylor is sharing with us throughout her work.
Opening credits. Instead of sharing my opinion on all of this with you from the start, I'll provide my findings and allow you to make your own assessment along the way...
The delicate music video starts with a close up of Taylor on the red carpet, surrounded by people wanting the latest update on her love life.
My reputation's never been worse, so
She composes herself before the interview starts, stepping into the persona of pop star Taylor.
Any promises now, can we, babe?"
A passerby hands Taylor a sparkling note from a secret admirer.
"But you can make me a drink"
Taylor is makes her way inside. Despite the damage to her reputation, Taylor is still really popular with her fans who want to take photos with her.
"Dive bar on the East Side, where you at?
Phone lights up my nightstand in the black
Come here, you can meet me in the back"
A man dressed in a red concierge uniform tries to get to Taylor, but he is carried away before he gets too close.
"Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you
Oh damn, never seen that color blue
Just think of the fun things we could do
She's surrounded by bodyguards on all sides now. Taylor starts to notice how they move in sync when she does. If she takes a step back, so do they.
My reputation's never been worse, so
When she's left alone, we see her reading the note she received earlier. The location of her dressing room suggests that it's private and secretive.
Any promises now, can we, babe?
But you can make me a drink"
Taylor gets distracted by a group of girls walking into the room. When she turns back to the mirror her reflection has disappeared. She leaves the note next to the basin to investigate.
"Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)"
The people around Taylor can't see her, no matter what she does to get their attention. She appears invisible, something she's been writing about in her lyrics since debut.
"Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it too soon to do this yet?
'Cause I know that it's delicate"
Ditching her red shoes is the first step she takes to embrace this newfound freedom and then continues to tear away the bottom of her dress. We start to see a lot more playfulness and freedom in the way Taylor moves knowing that no one can see her.
"Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?
Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?
Taylor is dancing her way through the hotel and there's no one paying enough attention to stop her, they appear to be too focused on their roles at work to notice her.
"Third floor on the West Side, me and you
Handsome, you're a mansion with a view
Do the girls back home touch you like I do?
Long night with your hands up in my hair
Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs
Stay here, honey, I don't wanna share
We see the concierge guy being carried away again. Here it is implied that he had made another attempt to get to Taylor, but again failed to do so.
My reputation's never been worse, so
Any promises now, can we, babe?
But you can make me a drink"
The climax of the dance scene shows Taylor start to feel overwhelmed with it all. It was fun to begin with but the look on her face shows how lonely itβs become to be doing all of this on her own.
"Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)
Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it too soon to do this yet?
'Cause I know that it's delicate"
Next she enters the elevator. Itβs already occupied by an older woman in a red dress. She smiles at Taylor, who becomes hopeful that sheβs become visible again. The lady starts applying lipstick to her lips as Taylor turns to find that she was looking at her own reflection in the mirror the whole time.
"Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?
Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?
Taylor has left the hotel and is now in an underground train station. Sheβs still dancing, but with less enthusiasm than before.
"Sometimes I wonder, when you sleep
Are you ever dreaming of me?"
As she steps onto the train she falls at the feet of the man, who is eerily similar to Taylorβs character in the man music video.
"Sometimes when I look into your eyes"
Taylor perks up again with a lovestruck look on her face, clutching her heart. It's a little dramatic but she appears excited.
"I pretend you're mine all the damn time"
The next scene shows Taylor dancing in the rain at night, on her way to the bar. We begin to see there is graffiti on the walls as she goes up the street. They mention Reputation and lyrics from delicate.
"Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)
The way she bows in this scene, as well as the graffiti behind her, reflect iconic imagery from the hunger games catching fire movie.
"Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it too soon to do this yet?
'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)
The dancing sequence concludes with Taylor's final pose on the hood of an old fashioned car.
"Is it cool that I said all that? (Isn't it?)
Is it chill that you're in my head? (Isn't it, isn't it?)
'Cause I know that it's delicate (isn't it delicate?)
Here Taylor has finally reached her destination, the bar mentioned in the note from her secret admirer. This is the first time we will see them meet. The red neon lights indicate that the bar is called the golden gopher, open nightly 365.
"Is it cool that I said all that? (Isn't it?)"
Taylor is clutching the note to her chest as she steps into the bar, hopeful for what she will find when she opens her eyes. It seems like she's making a wish that this will all work out for the best.
"Is it too soon to do this yet? (Isn't it, isn't it?)"
When she opens her eyes we see several people sitting at the bar turn to look at her coming through the door. Every person at the bar could be her secret admirer, but itβs implied the man closest to the door is her match because he's the one in focus.
"'Cause I know that it's delicate"
Weβre left with one final close up shot of Taylor, rain soaked and worn out from her journey, as she lights up with recognition upon seeing the person who was there waiting for her all along.
Choose your own adventure
Here is where I invite you to think about the story and come up with your own conclusions about how it ended.
Do you believe that the story is just about Taylor finding love again after her reputation was damaged? If so, the story ends for you with the guy at the bar waiting for her.
Maybe you picked up on a deeper layer of the story being about the girl at the bar? And that amidst her reputation being damaged she was also coming to terms with having a queer relationship that she had to keep hidden to protect her career? If so, then the story might end here for you with the girl at the bar waiting for her.
Or perhaps you wanted to go a little deeper still? By re-examining the story searching for clues, you might start to pick up on an even deeper story being told about PR relationships (where a public relationship could allow a private relationship to remain private). The story could end here for you with the person of your choice waiting at the bar.
An even deeper meaning that is yet to be revealed?
Looking back through my findings, the note from the secret admirer, the strange facial expressions, the concierge guy, the lady in the elevator, the graffiti and the lyrics could all be clues to reconsider and investigate before moving forward.
The Truman show connection
βHelp me, Iβm being spontaneous!β
You might have noticed by now that this music video is a perfectly executed retelling of the Truman show. More on that later, lets explore the movie in a bit more detail first.
The Trueman show is a movie from 1998 featuring Jim Carrey in the role of Truman Burbank, who lives in the picturesque town of Seahaven. He has a wife, a nice house and car, he goes to work every day and spends his free time hanging out with his best friend. He leads a picture perfect life, or so it seems?
Truman's day starts with greeting his neighbours while on his way to work. "Good morning! Oh, and incase I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight!" It's apparent from the first day that Truman has a consistent routine with his drive to work, stopping to get the paper and making his way up to his office. Truman's life appears to be perfect and full of happiness, but slowly we start to see the cracks forming in the facade.
The first crack appears while Truman is at work. He's ripping a picture of a lady's facial features out of a magazine and making a secretive call to the directory assistance looking for someone by the name of Lauren or Sylvia Garland.
His boss delegates a job for him to complete that involves travelling across the bay via boat. As he makes his way to the dock we learn that Truman has a debilitating fear of water, caused by his dad drowning when he was younger and this prevents him from getting on the boat. The next crack comes when Truman recognises a man on the street that looks eerily like his father, but gets whisked away before they can talk.
Through Truman's interactions we start to learn that he has a dream of moving to Fiji, and to explore other parts of the world. The only problem is that he lives on an island and is afraid of water. When he mentions this plan to his wife he's reminded of their financial obligations, making it impossible to leave Seahaven.
After another day of work we see Truman in the basement unlocking an old chest that is full of nostalgic memorabilia from his past. There's old toys, photographs of his father and a map of Fiji inside the lid. We get the sense that the basement is Truman's only personal space within the house. As he pulls out a red cardigan from a plastic bag, we get flashbacks of his high school years. His attention is torn between Lauren Garland and his current wife, Meryl. We see Truman is interested in Lauren, but Meryl is persistent as she tries to get his attention.
During a study session in the library, Truman and Lauren have a moment alone for the first time. We start to notice that Lauren has green eyes (just like the picture Truman saved during his present day). She's also wearing a red rose shirt, red cardigan and a red and white badge that says 'how's it going to end?'. As the library closes they sneak away together to the beach. After a while, we see a car driving onto the beach and Lauren gets dragged away by a man claiming to be her father. She hastily reveals that her name isn't Lauren, it's Sylvia, and that everything Truman knows about his life is a lie. Her father claims that she is having an episode because of her schizophrenia. "We've tried everything. Hynotism, shock therapy." And that he's not the first, she brings all her boyfriends down here. She begs Truman to come and find her. As her father drives away, he reassures Truman by saying that he's taking her to Fiji to receive more help. All Truman is left with is her red cardigan.
The flashback ends here and we find out that Truman didn't follow her to Fiji at the time because his mother got sick, really sick. Instead he settled down and married Meryl, while living with the loss of what could've been with Sylvia. We return to the present day as Truman is in the basement holding a photo frame of his wife Meryl. It seems like a loving gesture at first, until he turns it around and opens it up to reveal that he's been collecting a collage of facial features, in an attempt to recreate a portrait of Sylvia from memory.
Eventually we see Truman on his way to work again, but this time the radio in his car is starting to glitch. We hear a strange transmission about Truman's location. There's a high pitched feedback sound as the frequency is returned and the regular channel continues. The cracks in the facade are now bigger than ever.
Truman appears sceptical of everyone around him for the first time and almost gets hit by a bus as he starts to panic. He rushes into a building near his work and just misses the elevator. Another elevator door opens, but as he goes to enter it, it's revealed that there is no elevator and it's just a storage room that is full of people moving about.
As he seeks out his best friend Marlon for help, we learn that Truman feels concerned that he is being followed or set up for something. They leave the supermarket with Truman talking loudly about his birthday and we see them again later in the day sitting at the beach watching the sunset. Marlon describes it as perfect, painted by the big man with a paintbrush. Truman begins to open up about his secret plan to go away for a while.
The next scene shows Truman's mother and wife reminiscing over photos from their past. His mother reminds him of her wish to have a grandchild before it's too late. Meryl offers to take her home with plans to discuss Truman's birthday plans, leaving him alone with the photo album. Upon closer inspection he discovers that a wedding photograph reveals that Meryl had her fingers crossed at the time, implying that her commitment to the marriage was fake.
The next morning Truman tries to confront Meryl, but she claims she doesn't have time, because she has an urgent amputation to perform at the hospital to get to as a result of an elevator disaster from the day before. Truman wishes her good luck and says he will have his fingers crossed for her, suspiciously. Truman follows her to work on his bike and sneaks through the hospital to see if she's lying about this too. The doctors are forced to perform the surgery on a patient pretending to be under anaesthesia.
We're starting to see that those closest to Truman have been lying to him. In a bid to escape, Truman goes to a travel agent looking for a flight that leaves immediately, only to learn that there's nothing available. He perseveres and tries the bus instead but that doesn't work either. Truman seems unsure of what else to try. We see him sitting in his car in his driveway when Meryl gets home from work and she gets into the car with him. Truman tries to tell her that he has figured out that the same people have been going past again and again, like clockwork.
She agrees to go to Fiji in a few months in an attempt to placate him, but Truman locks her in the car and attempts to leave town. "Blocked at every turn. Beautifully synchronised, don't you agree?" It's becoming really obvious that the town is working together to prevent Truman from leaving town now.
They reach a bridge over water that Truman is too scared to drive over at first. Instead of backing down he forces Meryl to steer while he's driving with his eyes closed. "We're over the bridge!" As Truman continues to escape, they are still faced with roadblock after roadblock. There's fire over the road that smokes up the car and an emergency at the nuclear power plant. As they stop Truman thanks the police officer for his help with directions. He replies with "you're welcome, Truman." This is the final straw that creates a big crack in the facade as Truman realises that everything he knows is a lie.
He runs off into the woods but gets trapped and returned home again by the police officers. Meryl offers to make some cocoa as if she's advertising the product at the same time. Truman confronts her looking for answers, only to be accused of having a nervous breakdown. "You're a part of this, aren't you?" he exclaims.
As they're arguing in the kitchen Meryl fearfully calls out "do something!" The next minute his best friend Marlon turns up with a six pack of beer. Meryl leaps into his arms crying as he comforts her, but he's looking at Truman when he says "everything's going to be okay, it's all going to be fine." The next scene cuts to them sitting at the end of an unfinished bridge together as Truman begins to tell Marlon what he's been through. "Maybe I'm losing my mind, but it feels like the whole world revolves around me somehow." Marlon replies by saying "that's a lot of world for one man, Truman."
Truman is concerned that everyone he knows has been in on this lie. Marlon reassures him by saying that he's been Truman's best friend since he was seven years old, that he's the closest thing he's ever had to a brother. "The last thing that I would ever do is lie to you. I mean, think about it Truman. If everybody is in on it... I'd have to be in on it, too."
The conversation ends with Marlon saying that there was something that started all this trouble, implying that he's done something to help. They turn around as we see Truman's father walk towards them through the fog. After many years Truman and his father are finally reunited.
We have now reached the turning point of Truman's story. Before we get any further I invite you to reassess your answer to how the delicate music video ended before we continue.
Did Taylor end up with the guy at the bar?
Is Taylor queer and despite the risk to her career end up with the girl at the bar?
Is it both? Has Taylor been in public relationships with men to protect her queer relationships with women and to keep her career safe?
An even deeper meaning that is yet to be revealed?
βI think Iβve seen this film beforeβ
The first time you watch the Truman show, the focus is on Truman and his journey. There have been cracks in the facade of his story from the beginning, but halfway through we reach a turning point as it becomes obvious that Truman is also the star of a 24 hour reality TV show that broadcasts his life to the public without his knowledge. Every move he makes is being observed by the outside. I left out some of these details from part two so you could see Truman's story unfold first, so lets go back through some of the initial clues before we finish his story.
The very first scene is not of Truman, but the director Christof, talking to the audience of the Truman show. There are many clues throughout the movie hinting at the fact that the town of Seahaven is a set designed for the viewer's access to every aspect of Trueman's life.
The first time we see Truman on the screen it is through the lens of a TV screen, the same way the audience of the show does. It feels very intimate, like he is talking to us, but in fact he is talking to his reflection in the bathroom mirror and is not cognisant of our presence. This is a space that is usually private for everyone, yet the viewer has access to this part of his life too. As Truman leaves the room the screen cuts to a black screen with the timestamp 'Day 10,909'.
When Truman leaves for work in his car we feel like we're watching him from within the dashboard, as you can see the blue numbers on the display overlaid on our view of him. The people he greets along the way seem a little too friendly and one group seem to push him back against the wall to give the camera a better angle of him.
Later on as the love triangle is explained via flashbacks, we see commentary from people working in the Truman bar as they watch the show. They explain some of his backstory for us and talk about watching his greatest hits videos from time to time. Everyone Truman comes into contact with knows who he is.
I mentioned in the last part that we were at the turning point in Truman's story. This second half of the story is when we start to get a proper look behind the scenes of the show we have been watching, as we see more from the directors point of view. Truman's best friend is receiving directions on what to say via an in ear device to convince him that they're not lying. The fog on the bridge is added for dramatic flare, there's a shot of viewers surrounded by the Truman show memorabilia and we see the emotional music playing is being choreographed too. The next scene is the first time we see Sylvia as an adult. She's sitting in her living room with an assortment of photos and newspapers in front of her, watching Truman on her TV too. It's clear she still cares about him.
The show continues with a recap of how 1.7 billion were there for Truman's birth, 220 countries watched his first steps and how the world stood still when he kissed Sylvia for the first time. They explain how as the technology improved over the years, their consumption of Truman's life increased too. "An entire human life recorded on an intricate network of hidden cameras, and broadcast live and unedited 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to an audience around the globe." We get a glimpse into where Truman is living. Seahaven island is the largest studio ever constructed within a dome like structure, and it's location is just beyond the Hollywood sign. The moon is fake and the director has been working from within it the entire time.
We start to find out how they had to manufacture ways to keep Truman on the island. His father dying played a big part of that, but to the viewers it is just a plot twist in the show they've been watching for their entertainment. They have 5,000 cameras now, but started off with just one. They've been watching Truman's life since he was conceived and he was legally adopted by a corporation to fulfil the role on the show. Everything on the show is for sale, including their wardrobe, food products and dollhouse style versions of the homes they live in. "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." This is the director's response as to why Truman has never left Seahaven or found out about the show.
The interviewer is still taking calls from viewers and this time we hear Sylvia is on the line. We're shown that her home is full of anti-the Truman show information, with artefacts pinned up on the walls of her home. She has been collecting evidence since she was kicked out and is still trying to protect him, with evidence that there's a darker side to the show that we haven't seen before now. The director has a persuasive viewpoint on why Truman is happy living the life as he knows it. The interviewer attempts to placate the viewers by saying "well, aside from the heated comments of a very vocal minority, it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience." The director lets the audience know that Truman's wife will be leaving soon and a new love interest will be introduced.
The next morning we go back to Truman in the bathroom again, as if he's just started another regular day. He seems playful, using a bar of soap to draw an alien outline on the mirror, while at the same time indicating that he feels alienated too. His trip to work is just like the one at the start of the movie, but this time each interaction feels a little more forced. The cameras are more visible now. We view Truman through a hidden camera inside of the pencil sharpener. His boss introduces him to his new love interest Vivian, who is wearing a red cardigan just like the one he kept hidden away that belonged to Sylvia.
After an afternoon of working in the garden, the cameramen are keeping watch as Truman is asleep in the basement. He informs the director that he moved down there after Meryl packed up and left, leaving him home alone. The director is concerned about a change in his behaviour so they send Marlon to investigate. When he gets there and finds there's a plastic snowman in the bed, Marlon's pretending that it's a game because they're still broadcasting the show. He stands in front of a map to Fiji pretending he doesn't know where to look, only to whip around and open the door.
Inside the broom closet is a hole in the ceiling Truman created that leads to a secret tunnel out of the basement. Marlon sticks his head out of the hole like a gopher to find that Truman is nowhere in sight. The director yells "cut transmission!" and the live stream is ended for the first time since it began. Everyone begins to panic as they try to locate Truman and deal with the fallout. There are soon hoards of people combing the streets. In one last ditch effort to find him the daylight gets turned up in the middle of the night. Everyone's wondering what time it is and rumours are circulating amongst viewers that Truman might be dead.
Finally they locate Truman. He managed to get on a boat and is sailing away from Seahaven for the first time. He pulls the collage picture of Sylvia out of his pocket, the only thing he took with him. The camera cuts to show us she is relieved that he's finally escaping. The director manufactures a storm to force Truman to turn around. He would rather risk Truman's life than lose the star of the show. Lightning strikes the boat multiple times before he falls overboard. Just as they think Truman drowned, he screams out "is that the best you can do?" Truman begins to sing "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" while fighting back. The biggest wave of all hits the boat as everyone watching is waiting with bated breath to find out if he survives or not, and he does. The boat comes to a stop as it crashes into the edge of the dome. Truman tries to break his way through the wall but is unsuccessful. He begins walking along the edge until he reaches the infamous staircase that stretches up into the sky with a door leading to the outside world.
Finally in a last ditch effort to persuade Truman to stay, the director talks to Truman for the first time just as he opens the door. He's pleading for Truman to stay, to let the show continue as it is, claiming that he knows Truman better than he knows himself. "You've never had a camera in my head!" is the only thing he says in defence.
The camera cuts to show Sylvia is still anxiously watching from home, praying that Truman will have the courage to leave for the first time. The director begs yet again, saying he is being broadcast to the whole world. We get one final "Incase I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight!" as Truman takes a bow and steps through the door. Sylvia begins to rush out of her house and everyone watching at home begin cheering in celebration.
As we sit there hoping for an epilogue to the story, the credits start rolling. Weβre left having to come up with our own interpretation of how Truman's story ended.
Choose your own adventure
Here is where I invite you to think about Truman's story and come up with your own conclusions about when he discovered that he was being lied to.
The movie ends and you go on with your day content with knowing that he was able to leave at the end?
Do you go back and watch the movie again? Maybe you investigate and re-examine how Truman first realised something wasnβt right?
Maybe you dig a little deeper still as you start to see the signs that Truman knew all along? How there was a minority of viewers on Trumanβs side? And despite his struggles he found a sense of playfulness in the life he was living?
An even deeper meaning that is yet to be revealed?
The Truman show challenges our perception of how ethical it is to have such unobstructed access to Trumanβs life. Weβre left questioning if our entertainment was worth the price he was paying by spending his whole life living in the spotlight.
"The devil's in the details, but you've got a friend in me"
When you get to the end of the Truman show movie you start to realise that not everything you saw was as it seems. You could accept this as the ending or you could go back and watch it again, keeping an eye out for all the clues leading us towards a deeper meaning to the story being told.
We've known for some time now that Taylor has included references to the Truman show through her use of Easter eggs, but what I've discovered is that the layers of references to this movie go so much deeper than we've ever realised before now.
We can see references to the Truman show in the first scene of the delicate music video, as we get a close up view of Taylor before the camera zooms out to reveal more about the life she leads. We start to see the cracks form the moment when someone wearing red tries to approach her too. This is the point where everything changes. We see Taylor start to pay attention to her bodyguards moving too perfectly in step with her, just like Truman notices that the people around him appear to be choreographed.
When Taylor is reading the note she received, her facial expressions and dance moves begin to mirror Jim Carrey's mannerisms. Her playfulness is short-lived and the reappearance of the characters in red take on a more complex meaning now that we can see that they are a reference to the Truman show.
The turning point for Taylor's character begins when she becomes overwhelmed. It's all fun and games, until it becomes lonely being invisible. Truman appears to feel the same way. Everyone was so enthralled by the show they were watching that they didn't notice how hard it was for him to not be able to live his life in the way he wanted to. We see him talk about leaving town over and over again, but from the outside we can see that the director is working against him. It makes us contemplate if forcing the star of the show to continue his role is worth it? There's even a point where the director talks about his hopes for the first on screen conception. When does it go too far before it becomes unethical?
Just as Truman escaped the life he felt trapped in, we see Taylor approach the same fate as she enters the bar. The name of the bar, the golden gopher, is a nod to the Truman show too (and what started this deep dive beyond just the Easter eggs). The note she's holding also reflects the collage picture of Sylvia. At last Taylor steps through the door, just like Truman did.
Looking back we can start to see the clues that Truman has known the truth since Sylvia left, based on what she told him as she was being taken away. We see Truman working in the garden several times and once he escaped we can deduce that this is something he's been planning for some time.
Here's the point where we need to consider Marlon's role in Truman's life. We know that they've been best friends since they were kids and have grown up together. So it makes sense that Marlon found ways to communicate with Truman. We start to see that is true with the comment about the sunset. It's an honest observation but said in just the right way that lets Truman know the truth about the life he's living. When he shows up to save Meryl, we see that he's talking to Truman as he says that it's going to be okay. Afterwards when they're sitting on the bridge, you can see that he means what he's saying, despite being told what to say.
Now if we go back and read the delicate lyrics again we start to see a thread of communication with her secret lover has been occurring the whole time. If we believe that Taylor's note was from a female love interest, we start to understand the motive behind needing to find a similar way to communicate without drawing unwanted attention. Looking back, the note Taylor received in the beginning wasn't the first.
At the end, both Truman and Taylor finish their story with a dramatic bow towards the camera. This is our first hint at the the secret hidden meaning I alluded to with the choose your own adventure questions earlier.
If you're ready to fall the rabbit hole then please keep reading...
These quotes are from the very start of the movie, however Iβve saved them for this section as they play a big part in the connections between Trumanβs story and Taylor's story.
"We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We're tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life." -Ed Harris as the director, Christoff
"Well, for me, there is no difference between a private life and a public life. My life... is my life, is the Truman show." -Hannah Gill as Meryl
"It's all true. It's all real. Nothing here is fake. Nothing you see on the show is fake. It's merely controlled." -Noah Emmerich as Marlon
"When you are young, they assume you know nothing."
The key to the secret hidden meaning Iβve been alluding to is hidden within the Truman show movie. The final bow at the end invites us to go back through their story yet again to uncover the deeper layers. Is this the secret clue? At the end of a theatre performance, the cast will come back on stage one last time to give their final bow of the night as the audience applauds the performance they've just witnessed. So we then have to consider that Truman and Taylor's final bow was an acknowledgement of the fact that they have been putting on a performance the entire time. But who was the performance for? Us.
As we dive even deeper we uncover the final clues. The soliloquy he performs to himself in the mirror, greeting his neighbours with his famous catchphrase, the way he answers the radio host's questions in the car. It's likely Truman knew about his role in the show since Sylvia left, but we can't dismiss the possibility that Marlon had informed him long before that. We know they had less cameras in the beginning so it would've been easier to let it slip without anyone noticing.
From what we can see, Truman was content with the life he had and found. He displays a sense of freedom in being a part of the performance until he found out that his father was still alive. This tipping point in hindsight is when Truman became aware of how far his family went to keep the show going.
This changed everything and is the final crack in the facade that led to Truman planning his escape. As we revisit the flashback to the love triangle, we start to learn how much Truman sacrificed along the way. Through the development of Sylvia's character we start to see the significance of the colour red. To the viewers at home it is a symbol of heartbreak and loss, and that Truman's attachment to the cardigan is based on his feelings for her. But for Truman we can assume that it is more like a symbol of hope that he might finally be free one day. Other symbols we see her wear include a red seahorse pin (their school mascot) a green bauble bracelet and the 'how's it going to end?' badge. When he reads the badge in the library, he quietly admits that he's been wondering that too. After Truman finishes reminiscing about the past, he slyly reveals that the badge is still pinned onto the cardigan. The collage picture of Sylvia also shows that he never lost hope of finding her again.
Red is the colour used throughout most of the Truman show memorabilia, but done in a way that reference Truman's on screen character. What started out as a symbol of resistance slowly became a symbol worn proudly by the audience. If everyone is using the colour for different reasons, how do you know what side they're on?
As we continue the story we return to the scene with the glitch in the radio and we're starting to see more cracks in the facade. Beer seems to have become a codeword between Marlon and Truman. As they watch the sunset, Truman's comment about going away for a while is a truthful admission to Marlon, while allowing the viewer to believe that it's just another wishful thought about going to Fiji. The scene in the hospital and the amputation is where we start to notice Truman has become bolder sharing his concerns with the viewer.
The following scene where Truman is sitting in his car showing Meryl how everybody goes by over and over again (followed by driving laps around the round about while joking about being spontaneous) reveal that he's known all along that the townspeople have always moved around him like clockwork.
And if he knew the entire time, what was the point of the story? To allow the viewer time to first process and accept the information they were presented with, before being presented with an opportunity to uncover the truth. Truman reached a point where his own well-being was more important than the character he had been portraying to the audience. Those who had seen the signs watched on with anticipation and those that didnβt were left feeling shocked and confused.
There are many more connections throughout the rest of the story I could share with you, but will withhold sharing them now so you can discover more connections for yourself in the future. Our exploration of Trumanβs story ends with the realisation that he discovered the truth for himself, and in turn allowed us as the viewer an opportunity to do the same.
It was never my intention to go into so much detail about Trumanβs story, but the depth of the layers involved play an integral part in our understanding of the connections to Taylor's story, without needing to speculate on her personal life. Skipping over this much needed context would be like skipping to the answers in the back of the book, (or ruining the ending of the Saw movie) without having the chance to come to your own conclusions first. A lot of the upcoming expedition won't make sense if we don't learn about Truman's life.
When Alice falls down the rabbit hole itβs not a quick descent. It was a slow journey where nothing seemed to be happening as she travelled through layers and layers underground, until all at once she found that she had suddenly landed at the bottom of the rabbit hole.
"I think that it's perfectly reasonable for people to be normal music fans and to have a normal relationship to music, but... if you wanna go down a rabbit hole with us come along, the water's great. Jump in! We're all mad here!!"
"You just see right through me"
Itβs well known that Taylorβs work has long been inspired and influenced by her favourite artists, historical figures, folklore and fairy tales since the very beginning of her career. But what most donβt see is the cracks in the facade of her public persona, and how the facade we see is inspired by the Truman show.
During the delicate performance on the eras tour we see how the themes surrounding the Truman show movie inspired the visuals on the stage. Slowly we see cracks forming in the glass, until at last there's so many cracks the entire thing shatters into tiny pieces. But what causes the cracks? Taylor. At first they appear as she's walking, followed by stomping on purpose and then jumping on the stage to shatter it completely. It's worth considering that the snake patterns on her outfit could also symbolise the lines of the cracked glass. This performance is the reason why I became so interested in learning more about the song.
The story Taylor's been telling us goes much deeper than just the easter eggs if you're willing to look deep enough. To understand why Taylor has referenced the Truman show in such detail with the delicate music video, we also need to consider that she relates to his character on a personal level too. I'm sure by now you've picked up on the similarities between Taylor's life in the spotlight and Truman's role as the star of a show. I'm not the first to pick up on many of the Easter eggs she has left along the way, and there are so many who have put in a lot of hard work to understand Taylor's history that have made my journey here a little easier.
It's long been known that the eras tour poster is a nod to the Truman show. We've known for a while that the stage is a key to the vault. If the era's tour is a part of the story Taylor is telling us, then the Truman show is the script she is reading from. And the actors? She showed us that in the anti-hero music video.
We have the Taylor that's trapped inside the house, the pop star Taylor that knocks at the door, the giant Taylor as well as the dead version of Taylor. If you haven't heard of this concept before you might believe that there's only one version of Taylor, the pop star version. But just like Truman's story, if you look a little deeper you start to see that there's more to the story. The Taylor inside the house and the one knocking on the door represent the private and public versions of Taylor. The dead version is the side of herself she left behind when pop star Taylor took over. And the giant Taylor? Perhaps she's represents the version of who Taylor wanted to be before she became the most famous person of our generation.
In the funeral scene we meet her two sons and daughter in law. Chad, Preston and Kimber might represent the Gaylors, Swifties, and the critics, but they could also represent the best friend, wife and mother. in Truman's story.
We could guess that the director could represent her past and present management, but itβs more likely that Taylor is the director too. After all, who wrote the soundtrack for the story being told?
To see the story being told by Taylor, we need to do so through the lens of queer flagging. If this isn't something you've considered before, I invite you to do so with an open mind. The giant Taylor on the tour visuals is providing us with a glimpse into the consequences of us not seeing the private version of Taylor underneath the pop star persona she's been presenting to the public. There's been a long history of famous couples having a public relationship to protect a private relationship, also known as bearding (similar to a lavender marriage). Looking into the history of queer people such as Chely Wright will give you an insight into why many stay closeted to protect their career. I won't be going into more detail on the PR side of things, so feel free to explore that side of things on your own.
"Every bait and switch was a work of art."
If we know that there's a deeper meaning Taylor is hinting at, what are the clues we need to look for? When Truman told the director that you can't see inside my head, we can assume Taylor is trying to say that you can't see inside her heart. If we compare the lover house to Truman's story, we begin to recognise the facade of the pop star persona.
In the lover music video, we first see the lover house is within a snow globe and our first shot of Taylor is through the peephole. The couple dancing throughout the house seem to be sharing a romantic moment, but the entire experience feels voyeuristic. No rooms off limits as we see them in the bathroom swimming inside of a fish bowl. "Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close, forever and ever?" plays at the same time. It feels like we're asking that of her. It becomes uncomfortable to realise how much we want to have access to every detail of her life. We could also counter that by asking why are we being given so much access to a space that's meant to be private?
Their moments together feel so intimate that it's easy to lose sight of their performance being acted out on a set. The only room that seems to be personal to Taylor is the attic, and itβs just like Truman's basement. If you look closely you can see a similar trunk to the side as she's reminiscing over old pictures on a projector. This song hints at the performance she's been putting on for us and the lover house reveals that it's a facade.
All the little Easter eggs throughout the music video seem like advertisements now that weβve seen that they advertise memorabilia on the Truman show in a similar way. Other Easter eggs include Taylorβs bauble earrings, her lover has a seahorse patch on his jacket and the board games are Taylor Swift themed.
One of the reasons the house is a facade relates to what we know of her queer identity. Taylor was rumoured to come out as bisexual at the beginning of the lover album release, with the Me! music video. The lover era was full of queer themed easter eggs like rainbows, unicorns and the entirety of the βyou need to calm downβ music video. This was enough proof for those who were ready and willing to see the queer flagging. But many others don't look into these alternative meanings, and in doing so miss out on seeing any further than the pop star facade. Just before the new album was released Taylor learnt that her masters had been sold and the plan to come out was put on hold. This drastic change in aesthetic and the queer flagging wasn't well received by many fans.
Lets consider for a moment that both the reputation and lover eras had been planned to unfold in the way they did all along. Truman saw the people preventing him from leaving were predictable enough to blindside them when they least expected it. Logically if Taylor knew what the roadblocks were before she left her old record label, she would have known how they would retaliate after she left. So it seems like she started to leave clues that were just subtle enough that most people wouldn't pick up on straight away, but with more context would show that there was a deeper story being told the entire time. Everyone assumed reputation was directed at the critics from her past, but looking back this bait and switch was more of a message about the future and the beginnings of her escape plan.
The contrast between reputation and lover was done on purpose, luring the sale of her masters to happen at what they thought was the peak of her career, leaving her free to move forward with a bigger plan. We could also consider that the contrast between the themes and style of each album was done on purpose to blur the lines between the two.
Midnights and TTPD were supposed to follow lover, but were set back to a later date because of the lockdowns. The benefit of this delay meant we got folklore and evermore as well. The βI can see youβ music video shows us that the plan was about getting the masters back all along. We see more references to the Truman show in this music video too. The vault is reminiscent of the moon shaped structure the director worked out of and the getaway van escaped over a bridge, just like Truman did.
The teenage love triangle we hear about on the eras tour is now more meaningful than just a high school crush after seeing Trumanβs experience. Taylor originally claimed this was a fictional love triangle, but as she only mentions Betty now it seems like there is more significance to the characters in the story than we first thought. And recently she's started calling herself the narrator of the story too. This feels like a clue that we should consider that she has been showing us her version of events from different perspectives all along.
The one worth fighting for
"I'm the problem, it's me"
Now that we've explored how Truman's and Taylor's story ended, we can start to unravel the clues of what they were really fighting for all along.
There are many similarities to their story, but a key piece of the puzzle lies within the reflection. Truman's story starts with talking to himself in the mirror. The way he heaves out a long sigh before he turns around and walks away in the first scene begins to tell the story of a layer of frustration under the surface of the person he sees reflected back at him in the mirror. Further into his story after his failed attempt to escape, we see Truman in the bathroom again but this time he isn't talking to himself at first, just staring at the mirror. His demeanour soon changes as he starts drawing the caricature of an alien in a moment of apparent silliness. Yet, if we consider what Truman is thinking and feeling this time, we start to see the loneliness he was feeling the entire time and that the happy facade is just a mask he puts on for the audience.
During the delicate music video, the first time we see Taylor's reflection is in the mirror of her dressing room when she's reading with the shimmering golden note. The way her reflection vanishes is a similar concept to Peter's shadow, with Peter Pan being a frequent reference in Taylor's work. The battle between feeling invisible and enjoying the freedom that comes with Taylor wearing her facade as a mask is shown throughout the music video. The loneliness becomes more apparent during the scene with the older lady in the mirror. We watch on as Taylor's demeanour becomes harder to maintain, a sign that she always felt more isolated than anything else. As Taylor gets onto the train we hear her singing "sometimes when I look into your eyes I pretend you're mine all the damn time." And at the same time she's in in front of the character from the man music video who represents the public persona of Taylor. Her demeanour changes to a look of determination for the first time, and this is when we see that reuniting the public and private versions of themselves is what they're fighting for. And if they're fighting for themselves, the lover we see them longing for then becomes a diversion.
Before we move on, we need to acknowledge that the mask or facade they are wearing acts as a mirror reflecting what the viewer wants to see back at them. Just like Taylor showed us with the visuals of the delicate eras performance, the mask is breakable. Now we know that Taylor's the one breaking down the facade herself, it becomes harmful to refuse to see Taylor for who she really is underneath the pop star persona. And just like with Truman leaving in the end, Taylor has shown us that she's choosing herself now, regardless of the consequences. So we can choose to join her, or sit back in defiance until she walks away.
At teatime everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror
Always rooting for the anti-hero."
"What if I told you none of it was accidental?β
We've spent all this time weaving Taylor and Truman's story together, and now it's time to pull them apart again so that we can see the version of Taylor's story sheβs been telling us.
You might have been wondering what Taylor was alluding to when she was on the Jimmy Fallon show in November 2021?
"And so that's when the Easter eggs started, but when it got out of control was when I started to realise that it wasn't just me that had fun with this, that they had fun with it too. And I should never have learned that, because then I couldn't stop. And then all I started thinking of was how do I hint at things, like, how far is too far in advance? Can I hint at something three years in advance? Can I even plan things out that far? I think I'm gonna try to do it!"
I could spend all day going through the Easter eggs, but thereβs one Easter egg in particular Iβd like to focus on next.
All of the connections to the Truman show have been leading us to this final clue of the story...
It's the most talked about Easter egg across all parts of the Swiftie fandom. It's full of potential clues for future vault releases, with many theories on how to decode it. But what if the biggest easter egg of all is actually being used as a bait and switch tactic? A trap set to draw our attention in, that we don't notice the bigger picture?
"When everyone believes ya,
I'm so sick of running as fast as I can"
If you look close enough, you can see a polaroid shaped outline underneath the black karma letters, as if something that was once there has been taken away. Just like the collage picture from the Truman show, this missing piece represents the secret note from the delicate music video. The one piece of evidence that meant something to them, when so much of their lives were full of half truths and lies.
Taylor's song Florida! reflects Truman's dreams of moving to Fiji. Talking about going to Fiji encouraged the director to reveal ways to keep him in town, and we can see that Taylor used her attempts to come out in the same way.
So if Truman's map of Fiji was a disguise for his master plan, is the man wall a disguise for Taylor's master plan too? The wall is made up of tiles and the rerecords are laid out in a shape similar to an infinity symbol or a butterfly. But if you look even closer still, you will see the crack down the middle of the man wall map. It's not just a map forward with the rerecords, but is it concealing the escape route too?
If Taylor's been referencing Truman's story over the years, how do we know that it's because she relates to his character? We won't know for sure if the map is concealing a hidden tunnel.
...she's showed us her plan over and over and over again!
"You put me on and said I was your favourite."
By hiding the truth in plain sight for all to see, we see yet again that Taylor inner world has been invisible to us since the beginning of her career. She has been telling us a fictional story about a teenage love triangle, meanwhile the music videos have contained one of the biggest Easter eggs of all time.
The story could end here with Taylor living happily ever after, or once again we could dive a little further to see the deeper meaning of the story being told. Here is where I will invite you to consider that the timeline starts with cardigan, delicate and then with willow. This then reveals how the story began, the ways she felt trapped in the lie she was forced to live, how everything changed and then her determination to escape.
The cardigan music video is set in an old cabin, but instead of a whimsical vibe Taylor is dressed more like the Cinderella version of herself in the bejewelled music video. The attic is also a part of the set during the folkmore era of the eras tour. This is the only real piece of the lover house, the rest was burnt away on screen. And just like Truman's story, Taylor is showing us the deeper truth to her story if we're willing to see it. We hear her singing about the cardigan that holds memories of a lost lover. Taylor opens up the lid of the piano and shows us that her music is her secret escape from reality. "I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind." As the adventure through the woods continues we see her almost drowning in the ocean. "Tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy" plays as she's swimming to the piano. Just when all hope is almost lost, she steps through the lid of the piano again and returns back to the cabin. We see her sitting at the piano once more, this time drenched and cold. Taylor wraps herself up in the old cardigan and we're left with one last shot of the silver stars that are embroidered on the sleeve as she composes herself.
The willow music video picks up at the same point that the cardigan music video ended. The only difference is that there's a strand of golden light leading into the lid of the piano. If we compare this to the end of Truman's flashback, we can see that after almost drowning, Taylor has been reminded of something worth fighting for, the moment where everything had changed. Now as she follows the golden thread into the piano lid and through the woods, it's with determination. We're introduced to her lover as she looks at their refections in the river. This is the one worth fighting for. "That's my man." Taylor seems to sign her name in the glow of the tread before diving into the river. A flashback to a younger version of the couple playing in a fort begins, but just as the boy disappears and leaves the younger Taylor alone, we see that he left her hands tied up in the golden tread.
As we return to the present day we start to see reflections of the delicate music video. She steps out from a curtain and into a glass display box with her banjo and begins performing for the crowd, just like Truman did after his failed escape. As the camera zooms out we recognise the location is similar to an old fashioned circus with posters, lights and circus tents set up around her. Just as she's singing "that's my man", the lover from earlier steps forward from the shadows. They reunite through the glass pane, but it feels like the glass case was intentional to keep them apart.
Just as Taylor tries looking for a way to escape, she pulls back the curtain she came through only to find that it's boarded up. She pretends to find a way to get through the glass, only to reveal that she knew there was a trap door underneath her the entire time.
Taylor escapes through the tunnel and enters the scene with the golden orbs. She performs the dance with the group as we hear her singing "every bait and switch was a work of art" before following the golden thread once more. Her lover removes a mask he was wearing to blend in to the crowd. Just like Truman's best friend was secretly in on the escape plan, so too is Taylor's lover. The golden tread leads her through the night, through the piano lid and once more Taylor returns home. Just as she's reached the end of the golden thread she looks up to find her lover waiting there for her. They are reunited once more as he takes her hand. "Every bait and switch was a work of art" repeats once more as they turn and step through the cabin door together, and into the woods.
"picture of your face in an invisible locket"
The more we revisit Taylor's story, the more we see the deeper layers hidden within. "And so I changed your name and any real defining clues" leads us to consider that Taylor has changed the details surrounding her story and its up to us to decode it.
As we've seen in the delicate music video, Taylor's reflection represents the private version of herself. This alters the meaning behind the willow music video. As we go back again, Taylor is peering into the reflection of the river once more. She's singing "Lost in your current like a priceless wine. The more I say, the less you know. Wherever you stray, I follow. I'm begging for you to take my hand. Wreck my plans, that's my man." When we see him again through the glass in the box, we start to realise that his return is the catalyst for Taylor's escape. Just like Truman's dad's return was the catalyst for his story.
So if the man represents another side of Taylor, the man music video is more than just a commentary on the patriarchy. The man music video is the first song on the eras tour that's available as a music video. The male character is this outgoing person wanting the most out of life, yet we see that he's lost sight of everyone around him. At the end of the video we see another version of Taylor is sitting in the directors chair and realise that Taylor had been the man and the director all along. Taylor's pop star persona is no different to Truman's performance facade. So If all of the moon and black hole references are a codeword for cameras, we can deduce that the man is also putting on a performance. There's even a glimpse of the ma checking himself out in the mirror before he leaves for work with a black hole visible in the reflection.
There's another big connection we still need to make. Why does the man pee on the man wall? Is it a sign of disrespect and refusing to see the private side of Taylor and the history within the rerecords? Is he so caught up in the fame and doesn't want to stop? Our understanding of this scene requires Truman's story to help decipher the meaning behind it. His performance was a bait and switch. The facade he presented after his plan had failed had been on purpose. If everyone thought he was resigned to staying after all, nobody would see his master plan to escape coming.
So the answer to the man wall is that the first bait and switch was also a bait and switch. (Like a double bluff.)
The first bait was the coming out during the lover era and the switch was knowing the enemy would reveal their hand. And the second bait was the rerecords on the lover wall and the masters heist, with the switch being the missing polaroid picture and the hidden version of Taylor. And what's on the polaroid picture? Proof that Taylor is queer. And how do we know that? She's been telling us since the very beginning. "I'm just sitting here planning my revenge", she sings in picture to burn.
The writing on the wall implies that the old Taylor was left behind during the fearless era because it's written in red. Does that mean the old Taylor being dead during reputation was yet another bait and switch? The fearless Taylor was in the vault with the picture of speak now. The 'I can see you' music video reflects the story told in the delicate music video too. "Pass me a note saying "Meet me tonight." Then we can kiss, and you know I won't ever tell"'. Truman's story shows evidence of having help from his best friend to escape, and here we can assume that Taylor played a large role in rescuing herself. We then have to wonder if the picture was actually her reflection in the mirror all along, or metaphotically at least.
Before the story can end, we need to acknowledge that our consumption of Taylor's life has played a part in her private persona feeling trapped. In 'Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus' Taylor talks about about how she "changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules, all to outrun my desertion of you." She killed off the old Taylor, just so that we would stay. "If you want to break my cold, cold heart, just say I loved you the way that you were."
Taylor's uses codewords (ghosts, stars, maroon etc) throughout her discography to conceal her truth in plain sight. Wine is used to show us how her truth has become so watered down that she's lost sight of who she was before.
"I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale"
Not only did Taylor hint at the tunnel being an Easter egg, we hear the lyrics "I come back stronger than a 90's trend" at the exact same time she goes down the tunnel. And which trend is she referencing? the Truman show. Just when you think there's nothing left to solve, the clues just keep coming.
The lockdowns postponed Taylor's plans of coming out, so she had to find a backup plan. That's when we got folklore and evermore. They were both released in 2020 and she just recently combined them as sisters. Taylor's apparent disdain for evermore makes more sense if we consider cardigan represents the folklore album and that willow represents the evermore album. When you join the two halves, they become sisters. How could she love them separately when they were destined to be together?
So if we know that cardigan and willow are inextricably linked, then the golden thread we see her following in both music videos is the thread joining them together. And if it's leading the way to evermore, then the thread creates a bridge. But it's not just any bridge, but it's London bridge. And the concept is all inspired by the Tinkerbell movies.
The series was released in the early 2010's and is based on the character from Peter Pan. Tinkerbell's story is centred around feeling like she doesn't fit in at Pixie Hollow. We can see so many references to Tinkerbell's story in Taylor's work. The themes she touches on, the Easter eggs, even her philosophy and determination. If you look close enough, I think we might find that the clocks, stars, bird cages, tea cups, rainbows, car and doll house can all be references to the series. And lets not forget the karma coffee cup and clock too. Both the golden thread and the orbs are created with pixie dust in Pixie Hollow, but the key for it to work is that you have to believe.
And here is where we discover that "every bait and switch was a work of art." The ending of the Truman show was really a trap all along, with the door coming down during the karma performance used as a distraction. The real ending was about rescuing and then reuniting the sisters, the private and public versions of Taylor. The secret to this was in the seasons. Tinkerbell and the great fairy rescue is all about spring and summer, just like folklore. And then Tinkerbell the secret of the wings is all about fall and winter, just like evermore. The shift that occurs between these two movies is the first one is about wanting others to believe in you, and the second is about learning to believe in yourself. We can't forget the third part of the love triangle though, Tinkerbell and the lost treasure. And then Tinkerbell and the secret of the wings might just be the epilogue to the story.
"Just because you've never seen a fairy, doesn't mean they're not real!"
"Now, Lizzy, seeing is believing, and without proof, it's just a fairytale."
"You don't have to understand,
you just have to believe."
A big theme in Tinkerbell and the great fairy rescue is a difficulty communicating. As she befriends a girl who loves fairies, they use clues and symbols to communicate. Something both queer and neurodivergent are familiar with, communicating differently to the majority. I believe that's a big reason why the majority of Taylor's identify with either or both of those, and why a lot of us see the same traits in Taylor.
All of the connections we made to Truman's story are still important now, but there's one correction I'd like to make in light of the Tinkerbell references. The lover house. "Dear reader, burn all the files, desert all your past lives." I believe Taylor burnt down the lover house from the lover era, but the house we've had since folklore reunited is now the fairy house. What once was a facade is now a safe haven.
"The professor said to write what you know, looking backwards might be the only way to move forward."
There has been many connections made so far that link songs from the tortured poets department to previous eras, and I believe this is intentional. If we examine Taylorβs work from a muse-less perspective we can see more connections to the story. If we take a look at the tortured poets department summation you will see it's inviting us to look back to find the answers. Tinkerbell helped create a book in the third movie as a way to communicate the truth of the fairies. So if midnights and TTPD had been the plan all along, then dear reader and the manuscript become bookends for Taylor's story.
We're now left with only one question left unanswered.
What was the conversation that lead Taylor to change everything?
"People often greatly underestimate me on how much I'll inconvenience myself to prove a pointβ¦"
I never expected to be answering this question, but what's one more revelation when we've already discovered so much? I won't go into detail on this, but if we know that Taylor changes the pronouns and the details to hide her truth in plain sight, then you can begin to uncover the deeper layers to see the story she's been telling us over and over again.
This is Taylor's version of a book she has hidden inside her work...
The first crack in the glass
If we look back at the aesthetic of the lover era, it reveals the plan was laid out from the beginning. The false coming out was intentional so the master sale wouldn't disrupt the grand plan. But it was also an opportunity for Taylor to leave the clues for those who could hear her truth. The me rainbow shows us the bridge between the two sisters, and the butterfly is how they will reunite. We've all been waiting with bated breath to see what comes next. But then again, we saw it all play out in the fortnight music video.
Taylor has hinted at bridges during the eras tour, but the once place we haven't looked for one is on the man wall. Looking back we can see there's a teal blue and green bridge across the top of the wall. Debutation perhaps? Have we been so focused on the the map that we haven't seen that the bridge/tunnel was hiding in plain sight ? It's always looked like it was just another part of the wall. The man gets married 58 years later. There's also the train station connection to the man and Taylor from the delicate music video. Did he take the missing polaroid picture at some point and we're going back to see how he did it? Just like we figured out that Truman had planned his escape all along, Taylor is showing us that she's breaking the glass on purpose and these music videos are outlining her plan to do it.
And the eras tour is still the key. If the lost treasure is the masters heist of the rerecords, it's happening each night with the surprise songs. Adding TTPD to the setlist was an intentional distraction from the reunion that occurred when the folkmore sisters merged on the setlist for the first time in Paris. All that's left is to cross the final bridge when the tour returns to London and I think Travis has an integral part to play in that during the folkmore set. And when the two sides of Taylor reunite?
Her version of the collage picture.
"Like a rainbow with all of the colours."
Every bait and switch truly was a work of art.
To finish off with a fairytale reference, Taylor's ability to be leave a Hansel and Gretel style trail of breadcrumbs through the forest has led us to gingerbread house full of Easter eggs. Her ability to weave together such complex layers of connections over many years without being detected is going to be a legacy to rival the success we've seen within her music career. The way she has weaved both the stories of Truman and Tinkerbell throughout her career is truly worthy of the mastermind title.
The stylistic connections to the Truman show felt like a significant piece of the puzzle. Throughout this process I never expected to stumble so far down the rabbit hole that I feel like I'm left holding the golden ticket in Charlie and the chocolate factory, when I relate more to his grandparents in real life. Taylor's work has provided a deep sense of comfort and reassurance in the midst of a chronic illness relapse that left me bed bound. I've been a huge fan since the begging, but have also stayed because of the community I've found within both the swiftie and gaylor side of the fandom. I never would have come to find all of these connections if it wasn't for the hard work everyone else has put in before I came along.
I recommend going back and watching Taylor's interview with Jimmy Fallon during the release of Red TV. The box of lies skit is worth a watch too, Jimmy Fallon's reaction is exactly how I felt seeing all of these connections come together.
The story Taylor has been showing us was never a revelation of her muses, but a slow unravelling of her experience as a famous person who has had very little privacy throughout her life. She's giving us a peak behind the curtain and allowing us to see who she really is beyond the larger than life character we've all built her up to be.
All I hope for is that Taylor chooses herself in the end.
"All's fair in love and poetry"
Sincerely, a now very tortured poet,
Tortured poet credentials: I've been a huge fan of Taylor Swift since 'love story' was released in Australia and became a Swiftie following the release of Midnights. I began catching up on the parts of her discography I was less familiar with earlier this year, and then in the midst of a severe M.E. relapse I began to dive deeper into her work. 'Soon you'll get better' has been a comfort and lifeline along the way. I became a Gaylor not long after TTPD was released, as certain songs such as 'but Daddy I love him' didn't make sense to me at the time for someone my age to be singing about. Listening to TTPD with the context of a female muse, as well as the new visuals on the eras tour, added some much needed context to the story being told. I came for the music, but stayed for the community during a time in my life where I felt more 'invisible' than ever.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading x
