A Rhetorical Analysis Of 22 By Taylor Swift

Known for her songs about heartaches and young love, Taylor Swift has found a way for making the age twenty-two better than eighteen and twenty-one combined. Taking a break from her more known country style, Taylor’s cute and sassy lyrics describe the joys of being a twenty-two year old. With one hundred and eighteen million views to date on YouTube, the music video “22” has found a way of touching all girls that just want to let go and have a fun night. Taylor Swift uses simple outfits, playful behavior, video effects and a fast tempo to display the pride and satisfaction she has received with the age twenty-two. Anyone who has ever been to a Taylor Swift concert can probably tell you that she likes to dress up to the theme of her songs,
In the first shot of the video, the mood has already been set when the viewer reads her “NOT A LOT GOING ON AT THE MOMENT” shirt. Her outfit is simple but also very complex at the same time. With her many Grammy’s and numerous top singles on iTunes, we assume that her shirt isn’t talking about her career but rather something else, possibly her dating life. She maintains this carefree attitude by accessorizing the outfit with a black fedora, red heart sunglasses and classic red lips. She goes on singing the line “dress up like hipsters” just as she is imitates this style by putting on a pair of “hipster” black framed glasses. Another way she emulates the “hipster” style is when she is seen in her next outfit wearing high-waisted shorts and a bandana tied as a headband. After such bold clothing choices, a softer and neutral palette is introduced when the scene is taken to the beach, just before the
Most music videos produced today are in widescreen format, so the square framing is intriguing and immediately noticeable. This small change makes it feel intimate in midst of all the craziness the video offers. The rounded corners on the square frame make what would be an otherwise harsh crop into something that we would expect to see on Instagram. There is even a muted filter over the video that mimics that Instagram look without being over overpowering to the viewer. The fast cut shots are directly related to the tempo of the song. As the tempo increases, so does the speed in which the shots change. By adding slow motion to certain parts of the video, there is an emphasis put on all of the action going on while taking advantage of the close ups to Taylor. The slow motion is added to Taylor’s crumping, running, and jumping intensifying the high energy the song embodies. I like how the transitions between shots are very fluid and continuous. Because so much is happening in the video and the high energy captured, I feel as if I would get dizzy had the transitions been sloppy and harsh. The fastest cuts are seen when the chorus picks up and the lines are quickly sang. The shots go at the speed of Taylor’s voice and enhance all of the many details expressed throughout the duration of the music video. The most intense shot in the duration of the music