The video as a whole is an amalgamation of ripoffs: Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Sia, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé videos all seem to be reference points, along with some of Swift’s own. Beyoncé’s Pepsi commercial showed various iconic moments from past videos in mirrors while Beyoncé herself danced the choreography in front of them. We also learn that the “old Taylor can’t come to phone right now” because “she’s dead.” Will the real Taylor Swift please stand up? She can’t because there is no true Taylor Swift behind the costumes. There’s no central Taylor Swift as protagonist, like there is a central Beyoncé in the commercial; only more derivatives, more artifice.

Source: Huffington Post August 28, 2017 04:01 UTC