Taylor Swift’s latest single from her album Lover is “The Man.” She’s already performed “The Man” a few times at big events, and it’s one of the better songs off of Lover that I’ve heard. I was curious about what she would do for the video, especially when she announced this week that she was stepping into the director role. Well, she released the music video this morning and… it’s okay. It’s some uncanny valley sh-t, if I’m being honest. Taylor directed herself wearing a man-suit and man-prosthetics and she/he goes around acting like an alpha dude. Here’s the video:
It’s an interesting concept. I’m sure the Snake Fam has already watched this a million times and they 100% understand all of the Easter eggs and references. From what I gather, that weird hallway with the hands is some kind of reference to Kanye West’s house, and the nineteen hands… represent her age when Kanye Imma-Let-You-Finish’d her at the VMAs. I think she’s probably taking a shot at Kanye, for sure. The tennis part was interesting too, because as a fan of both men’s and women’s tennis, she’s 100% accurate. Male tennis players can act like sucky babies and have mantrums on the court and they’re barely punished, but if a woman calls the ump a “thief,” all hell breaks loose. Anyway, a memorable video from Taylor and good for her for moving into directing.
One small step for the man, one giant leap for #TheManMusicVideo…1.5 hours to go! I’m counting down with you on the premiere page: https://t.co/HnovGRN82i pic.twitter.com/rYrxqzNYwF
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 27, 2020
Man down. After a massive mantrum. 🎾 #TheManMusicVideo is out now! https://t.co/9pGiwD8ZWa pic.twitter.com/mcn1CE7LMI
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 27, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.
Better than Cats lol
Hahaha not a fan, but I liked it
That sums it up perfectly! She produced a video that I believed added a lot of value to an alright song. Some of it is, of course, heavy-handed; but a large portion rings very true. The ending with the gender role-reversal was my favorite. It read like something she and every other female actress have experienced.
That no scooter sign on the wall with the names of her old albums… She really went for it lol.
I did like the video. And she looks good as a man
She looks suspiciously like Jake Gyllenhaal
I was thinking Jared Leto (but clean and tidy) but I can see Gyllenhaal now too.
I thought he looked like Jake too!
I was thinking Chris Pine, a little. And yeah she makes a cute guy.
They are trying really hard to make that song happening as a female empowerment anthem, but it isn’t working.
It isn’t? I blast it all the time, and on Twitter I often post “when everyone believes you…what’s that like”, about politics. especially about Warren in regards to Sanders. So, I guess it’s working for me. I love this song and have from day one. I think it says a lot.
Oh my gosh, DARLA, I love it too! It is so, so, so funny because it is true. No one has it so good as the average white guy. Things are slowly changing though. Slowly.
It’s a very catchy and insightful song. The video’s visuals are recognizable and accurate.
Agree Darla. I’m glad she wrote this song
It will never be like Aguilera’s Can’t Hold Us Down.
It’s so embarrassing, isn’t it. I imagine it’ll go over well with the ages 8 – 12 fanbase of hers, but an overprivileged, immature, rich white women complaining about mean boys isn’t exactly universally understandable.
white feminism
Is it not Rasmut? I think it’s much more relatable for career aged women than kids, tbh. This would not have resonated with me at 8-12, but at 30 it definitely does.
I’m agreeing with Merf – 8 to 12 year old won’t relate to the lyrics. They’re scarily accurate for every grown-up woman though.
Yeah 8-12 year olds really flock to the narrative of skewed parental expectations based on gender lines and discriminatory sports conduct standards. Don’t get me started on the Pussy Posse, either. 8-12 year olds are all about that shit! And using one’s whiteness to directly address the Angry Black Woman stereotype that plagues people like Serena Williams? Much White Feminism. Such Becky.
@wendywoo I apologize but I want to make sure i understand your comment correctly. Is this sarcasm?
@BECKLU Yes. Very much yes.
I don’t think her fans aged 8-12 will understand the workplace discrimination women face, or how men or celebrated for their sexual conquests while women are shamed for it. This one is for her adult fans (and if you go to one of her concerts, it’s clear that MANY of her fans have grown with her and are in their 20s or 30s).
but she is the one who has the platform….and she’s probably not the only female singing about it, but she has the reach for it to be heard. Her being white and rich doesn’t preclude her from experiencing sexism, discrimination, and male social capital. I don’t hear her singing that she is the only one that faces it either.
I am not a big Taylor fan, but I am pushing back on the criticism that her position precludes her from being a voice for this experience because I don’t think she is claiming to be speaking of all experiences.
@rasmut Your comment says more about you than Taylor
Isn’t it? Obviously we travel in different circles.
I think it’s working. Works for this 56 year old professional woman who has dealt with the misogyny that so often plagues the medical field. So yeah, your mileage may vary. Mine does.
Same goes for this 46 year old business woman.
This 48 year old business owner agrees.
Really. I love it But I love Taylor. Yeah she’s a bit messy and sometimes plays the victim but she’s often right. She is especially on the money with this song/video.
I actually really liked it and I don’t care for Taylor much. it was funny and relevant and accurate. Tay as a dude looks like Jared Leto.
I thought she looked like Jake Gyllenhall and actually thought it was male actor lookalike until I got to the end with the transformation
I thought it was Scott Disick at first.
It looked like Jake Gyllenhall to me too.
I like this song, I buy the message
It’s a good song
I like the song (the lyrics are great, the music a bit generic) and love the video!
Yup me too. that video really speaks to me. Not usually a Taylor fan but I am enjoying this album
Everytime I hear a Swifty song, I think “hey, that song is not that bad, it’s not really good but it’s nice background music you know”. Then I remember she is one of the few artists who have won Album of the Year twice, over someone like Kendrick Lamar and I just… Well.
There’s those sorts of supposedly misguided awards in every field for many years. But go ahead and blame/dismiss the winning artist. At least she doesn’t spend millions on PR campaigns to buy the awards unlike some recent winners.
Oh i’m not blaming her. Dismissing her? You bet.
“They’d say I hustled
Put in the work
They wouldn’t shake their heads
And question how much of this I deserve
What I was wearing, if I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves”
Her saying this in the song doesn’t make it a good song. It’s still dull
I was genuinely surprised that it was Taylor playing the man in the end.
While the lyrics of the song ring true, I feel like the video exaggerated things men do to the point where I was like, any man doing that is a huge d*ck and I feel like most people would recognize that. But maybe subtlety wouldn’t play out well on camera so overall a good video.
Twitter says it’s a parody of Wolf of Wall Street and she drops Leo’s name in the song. I haven’t seen the movie though so can’t confirm.
Some scenes are straight from the Wolf of Wall Street, but not in general.
Ok I just made the connection that ts is friends with Blake lively who dated Leo a while. Maybe then she actually has something against him personally/ knows he’s a jerk or something
Yep, the first two scenes at least are straight from the movie.
I think she’s exaggerating some things that wouldn’t be accepted in society as anything other than a d*ck move (like the man yelling at waitstaff and his coworkers, etc.). That said, I do think men can get away with yelling and being emotional in spaces where women would be called hysterical. Same with the sports scene, which highlighted how Serena Williams’ passion on the court is treated differently than when men do the same thing (or worse).
The “Father of the Year” scene was truly spot on, though. Society collectively gives men such an easy time when it comes to parenting. It’s so bad that we often frame it as dads “helping out” or “watching the kids” instead of just like, parenting equally with the child’s mother.
I live in a backward country where patriarchy is alive and well and celebrated. There is no exaggeration. This is how some men behave here, and it’s disgusting.
I liked it a lot. She’s making a statement I can relate to.
I like it too, Dee. I never thought much one way or the other about Taylor until I recently watched the Ms Americana documentary on her. She seems to have made mistakes, accepts that she has, and grown into a strong woman who is choosing to start speaking up about women’s issues. I came away from the documentary liking and respecting her.
Marie Claire and E! pointed out that it was released on the same day that the 19h amendment was upheld by the supreme court granting women the right to vote (February 27, 1992) – I think they’re probably right.
She’s capitalizing on feminism just like gay pride month then? I mean this literally will earn her money. I feel like everything is always too calculated but also contrived with her. It’s this marketing ploy added in with the self promotion at the end that continues to stop me from fully liking her.
“I feel like everything is always too calculated but also contrived with her”
But would we feel that way if she were a man?
That’s literally every celebrity release. Every celebrity release is calculated. Congrats on proving hee point, though. Your assistance was invaluable.
That’s literally every celebrity release of everything and anything, ever. All of it is calculated. Every celebrity release is calculated. Congrats on proving her point, though. Your assistance was invaluable.
@Peter Black- Lol!
@PeterBlack, nice pun lol
And no I feel that way about most artists. Ego comes in all shapes and sizes. Probably why I avoid pop music in my daily rotation now.
@Wendy Ooft defensive eh? Proving what point? That she can’t get away with doing bad things like white men can? That’s the gist I even get from the lyrics. If her song was actually more forward thinking, it wouldn’t aspire to be white male adjacent. It would aspire to not make excuses for treating others poorly. Overall she’s not bad, but her messages are always mixed. I agree with her point white men get away with a lot and fail upwards all the time. But where I disagree is her limited thinking in wanting to reach those same heights of imperviousness. Rather than say, we need to ALL be held accountable, her message is: if he can do all this so should I. Kaiser points them out so I don’t need to.
way to prove the point of the song.
Also what is wrong with being calculated with your business decisions? That is called being smart!!! Are you upset when Bezos, Gates or Cook make strategic and calculated announcements for their businesses?
@Jammypants. No. The point about her being judged as “calculating” and “contrived”. You know, like I wrote. Which you’d know, if you bothered reading. But you don’t seem very good at that. Have fun with your misogynist dog whistles though. What’s it like to have so much fly right over your head?
@Wendy woo, wow someone needs a chill pill. Suddenly I’m not allowed to have my own opinion. And because it’s my own and it’s critical of your darling that I’m “misogynistic” and a “dog whistler.” I read everything you wrote. The question is did you read mine? Why do you take my criticism of her work so damn personally? Congrats you are now super angry at an rando on the internet who has opinions that don’t match your own.
And if you’ve followed the discussions during her lgbtq “anthem” then you’d know exactly why that was not only problematic but also self capitalizing.
And obviously since you don’t bother to read my points, I’ve already said while I agree with some of her points, they get lost in mixed messaging. Like, for one, I’m on her side when she argues that artists should own their life’s work. However, in our capitalist country, your work is a commodity. Your record label provides the means to produce and distribute the work. You are essentially a hired employee. By signing away those rights with no stipulations, it’s understandable she cannot sue on legal grounds. However, from a moral standpoint, it should be hers. Now where the mixed messaging comes in: blaming scooter Braun and bringing in personal beef but making it about the shadiness of the industry. THEN also inciting and not calling out the bullying and harassment that followed to the employees of BM and the families of the two Scott’s. This is where she lost me. But you can go ahead and defend her. Unlike you, I won’t resort to name calling and making massive conjecture that I’m somehow a “misogynist”.
@Jammypants 1) The “suddenly I am not allowed to have an opinion” bit doesn’t work when no one has said anything suggesting otherwise. You have a right to your opinion, I have the right to disagree with it and point out when you fail to read what is written. That’s how this works. 2) Talking about someone else needing a chill pill when you’re writing walls of text to comparatively shorter responses is similarly embarrassing. The only person who is angry and taking things personally here is you. Which is why you keep talking about yourself and how persecuted and attacked you are.
Don’t think Taylor will lose any sleep over you not fully ‘liking’ her.
@Wendy good lord you’re an exhausting person. All right I’ll let you win because clearly it’s pointless talking to an seethingly angry person like you. I’m debating about Taylor and how I interpret her “work” and here you are attacking me as a person. I hope you get therapy. BYE.
I disliked the song but I side eye celebrity feminism in general, they aren’t activists and definitely aren’t wise to give some wise or knowledge in this, I mean most of them didn’t finish school. So most of times their “preaching” looks like “you go girl” and “patriarchy is sooo evil”, just like this song. Maybe it’s fine for a 12 years old, but not for me. Plus I found this song a little bit blur in message, Harley Quinn animated series is way better in showing woman in men world and glass ceiling and etc etc.
Video is fine, but I disagree that it has something to do with Kanye, I am pretty sure she moved on, but her fans still force this narrative, and then they cry “why or why general public thinks that Taylor is petty”. You give to media these headlines yourselves, dumb*sses. But she’s definitely shading Scooter, instead of you know suing him, or just quietly waiting and than rerecording her albums and enjoying profit, but no, she needs to starts a drama. And, instead of doing a pretty fine video and teaching kids what is a glass ceiling, she’s using feminism for personal drama, like that’s why some people dislike you Taylor.
Ah, yes, I forgot that a two second easter egg is the entire video. How dare she make a few seconds of her video about herself! She definitely does not spend the rest of the video referencing sexist bullshit women put up with daily. Either give me a live reading of The Second Sex in this three minute video or it’s bad feminism!
hi tay tay
+1
@Evie Sorry, not Taylor. She doesn’t write online comments. Just someone annoyed by the obvious hypocrisy here. I don’t even like the song. It’s trite and Beyonce already did it better with “If I Were A Boy.” But the video is cute and I liked the tennis and parenting bits especially. But once again, the “feminist” commenters here can’t wait to eat their Designated Bad Women alive and it’s pretty funny to see the way you all reacted when someone questions your narrative.
So much this @wendy!
Because feminism has to look a certain way, dontcha know? It has to live up to the expectations of others or it’s not feminism. We’ve really homogenized our culture, haven’t we?
@PARANORMALGIRL if feminism shouldn’t have a certain look then we shouldn’t criticise “white” feminism or radical feminism or even terf (can’t believe I wake up this call in discuss of dumb pop video), because feminism can be whatever you want it to be.
@WENDYWOO I’d wish young girls read The second sex, it’s pretty good book, and still relevant for a some level, but in a sea of feminist literature it’s loosing its position.
That’s the first Swift video I’ve ever finished. Brava.
Looks like Tom Cruise in a couple of shots. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I love it.
I actually like the video and find it funny. I’m not sure she fully pulls off being a man because some movements were pretty girly, but when she has moments that do come off manly, I find it pretty convincing. That said, my enjoyment got ruined when her name pops up like ten times at the end. I miss music videos where they list the song, artist, and director at the bottom of the screen. Now the bigger the font size, the more centered the text, the more I interpret that was “massive ego”. Part of why I find Joseph khan videos so obnoxious. I think that’s why whenever I enjoy her videos, as soon as an indication of “ME ME ME” flashes across the screen, it always ruins what felt authentic right before. Imo her videos during 1989 were better sans Bad Blood (once again because of tacky Khan name dropping).
I see your point but tagging the video/song/direction as all her accomplishment just underlines what the song is about.
As a mom, the “World’s Best Dad” part spoke to me. 😂
Right? I don’t have kids myself but my ex-BIL used to behave like this in public and everyone (esp. women) were fawning all over him. Of course my sister would do ALL the heavy lifting at home (which is one of the main reasons they are no longer together).
That is exactly what I came here to say!! One of the unequal things about motherhood/fatherhood that really grates on me. I’m glad Taylor included it in the video!
I’m not a mom, but I’ve seen so much of this in the lives of my friends and family. I’m glad she called it out.
Most women, with and without children, felt that depiction viscerally. Just because we don’t all experience the same misogyny doesn’t mean that we don’t see it all around us.
Nothing is more annoying than being out and someone sees you and they go “Aww is dad babysitting tonight?”. Nope, it’s his kid, we call it parenting.
I like the message and the video in general but non of it is subtle. I’m not into aggressive symbolism, feels performative even though it isn’t.
I can enjoy that she’s making stuff like this, but I find the lyrics so weak. If she was truly interested in this movement now, I wish she would devote time into it. Not just quick wins. I hate the mad/bad/sad parts, it just sounds juvenile. But she’s so massively popular that it won’t drop, and there could be worse messages out there for her fans so whatever.
I actually think it’s a great video (a parody of Wolf of Wall Street, pointing out the double standards in tennis, man spreading, etc.), and I’m usually not a fan of her music videos. Also, I doubt it has anything to do with Kanye…as someone pointed out it’s probably due to the 19th Amendment. Snake fam is actually doing her a disservice by making that about Kanye.
Gawd, the manspreading! Happened to me just this morning on the train. Get over yourself and the space you think you’re entitled to occupy just because you have a todger.
I’m middle aged, and I can’t tell if manspreading has always been a thing and it just recently was given a name, or if men have become more obnoxious in claiming physical space in public. There seems to be a recent surge of open misogyny that I don’t remember from when I was a kid (Incels, etc.).
This feels a bit like “White men get to be as*holes and I want to be an as*hole without consequences too” instead of actually getting people to be better. Does that make sense? It feels like she doesn’t want to dismantle white supremacy or patriarchy, but instead wants to be able to have those privileges without being called out. Not sure if that is what was intended, but it definitely stops the song from being a “feminist anthem” IMHO.
I feel like Taylor has a very surface level understanding of social issues but knows talking about them is popular, which is how we got this kind of vapid song.
.
I didn’t get that at all – the man’s behaviour is portrayed as disgusting. She doesn’t want a high five hallway or to manspread on the subway, or to throw a gross temper tantrum on the tennis court. The guy wasn’t flattered and his behaviour wasn’t portrayed as something to aspire to.
It’s pretty on the nose but I guess that’s the point. Things I enjoyed; comparisons to Serena Williams with tennis dude, mocking of Leo on the yacht and in the WOWS scene, praising a father who does the bare minimum (picks up his daughter) this is so true in the world, pissing on her old albums with a ‘no scooters’ sign. Fun video!
I didn’t really care for the song. Video is cute though.
The song is cute but I Love the video!! Brilliant. Best part is when we see Director Taylor at the end—keeping it real. Taylor is maturing really nicely. Her Netflix special was terrific, too.
The video is good. I would have appreciated a little more risk-taking. This is basically her playing out the lyrics in the optics of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, right?
However I love the tennis scene! It’s so true!!
I totally see this as a play at how evil the umpires treat Serena!
Oh yeah and when she p*sses on the wall there is a “no scooter” sign along with her album titles. Again, a little more would have been better, this is good but feels almost random to me …
I heard the 19 hands were a reference to the 18 women (plus her) that she mentioned in her Billboard’s Women of the Decade speech. I think this is the reference she was making with those. The hallway…yeah, that looks like Kanye’s house.
Can’t say that I really enjoyed the song – not my taste- but I thought the video was great. Especially that last bit between Taylor as the director and Taylor as the actor. Kudos to her.
I don’t understand the logic behind insinuating “disturbing” through the headline. Swift is many things, definitely a work in progress, but disturbing is unnecessary and untrue (imo). Also speaks to the very double standard she is talking about. Would we call Bieber disturbing if he did something similar?
I promise you that if Bieber had been wearing a #MeToo sweatshirt in the Yummy video, people would be celebrating hom shedding light on an important issue.
Yeah, most of the articles on Taylor here are like that. Some justified criticism and a lot of crap like that.
I actually like the song in general, but I find the opening lyrics a bit eye-rolly. A huge part of the reason Taylor hasn’t been considered a “player” is that she consistently portrayed herself as heartbroken/the wronged party when a relationship ended. I don’t doubt that she would have been dragged if she had acted like Leo, but she didn’t act like Leo.
No, player is typically reserved for men, women (including Taylor) are labelled man-eaters or boy crazy or sluts.
I 100% agree with you on the labeling. My last sentence was trying to allude to that fact, maybe clumsily. She would have been unfairly dragged as man-crazy regardless of her take on it.
More than I like this song as music, I RELATE to it as a woman. The passes that men get in my profession, and every. profession, make me ragey. I know for sure that I’m twice as good as almost all of them and even though I have a high-ranking position, I’ll never be a “god” and a “hero” like the men are. Pisses me off. TSwift captured that feeling exactly in this song.
I had the “secret” spilled going into it so I was a little distracted trying to figure out if I would have guessed it was her (I think I would have?!). I liked it overall, I think it would have been more powerful if she had shown the ways a modern man gets his way in harmful or passive aggressive ways, the business man smoking cigars thing just felt sort of 80s/ dated. The Leo reference was on the nose but true, I mean she basically just spelled out the song in a straightforward narrative arc aside from the fact it was her dressed as the Man. The Men who have harmed her have been music executives and (arguably, in romantic terms) actors and other creatives, so it didn’t feel as personal to me as her doing the acoustic performance. The tennis hissy fit was my favorite bit, I was SO hoping for a Serena cameo but alas no.
Honestly I loved it. I laughed out loud at the yacht bit (and she/he honestly looked like Leo) and the man spreading, the parenting, all of it. She nailed it.
I thought the video was great. She really nailed it and whomever did her make-up/body suit for the “man” did a fantastic job.
I liked the video a lot. I didn’t even realize that was Taylor playing the man until I read it later. She was convincing and kinda good looking. Lol
Is it just me, or does Taylor Swift as The Man look a LOT like Jake Gyllenhaal?
Jake G. is one of her exes. I wouldn’t put it past TayTay if that was intentional
Always with the Kanye references. For someone who wrote the lyrics “But I’ve learned a lesson that stressin’ and obsessin’ ’bout somebody else is no fun”, it doesn’t seem like she’s learned that lesson.
.
It makes me sad to see the shade about this video. It’s a song based on an experience. Isn’t that what songs are? It might not be representative of ALL feminism but it speaks to my experience as an adult woman DEEPLY. I have had plenty of criticism for Taylor at many points through her career, particularly during the Kanye stuff and particularly aimed at her Beckyism. That being said, it makes me happy to see her ANGRY and pissed and this video was awesome. I kind of cracked up at how uncanny her man resemblance to Scott Disick is … lol
Re: Jake Gylenhall – remember him in Vampire weekend vid for Giving up The Gun – set on a tennis court..think this could be intentional. Whatever, i’m no TS fan but this is better than some – MeMeMe -yikes, and good for her for giving the directing a shot. Think she did pretty good.
I’m not a fan of hers at all, but I actually loved this. I went into it fully expecting to roll my eyes and scoff, but I thought it was clever, funny, and unfortunately very true! I cackled toward the end when the male version of her was super old marrying a young woman. No lies detected… society loves a “playboy” but can’t talk enough shit about women. I liked the lyrics also.
I was hired as a technician because I was a woman. The company was trying to bring more diversity to that part of the company, which was all male at the time. And my male coworkers were so good to me, especially a few who would do the heavy lifting as it was a struggle for me. I won’t paint men as bad based on the few horrible ones I’ve worked with over the years. I’ve worked in 3 different all male fields throughout my life, and almost all the men have truly been wonderful to me. That’s just my personal experience.
@virginfangirls
good for you & Your Personal Experience! everybody, give a round of applause for VirginFanGirls & her being the exception to the rule!
That’s great & all, but it doesn’t make the default toxicity most of us have experienced any less relevant. Be grateful, but don’t expect ppl to pat you on the back for
‘hey hey hey #NotAllMen cuz *I* was treated well’
So I’m not allowed to share my good experiences. And you can trash me for doing so. Guess in your eyes us women are only allowed to share our shitty experiences with men.
You were hired because you were a woman.
But hey, they were nice about it.
Here lies the issue.
The 2 yr degree needed to get the job, well I had, and I was the only woman in that program at my local college. And the reason women weren’t even considering that degree program, that’s a whole other discussion. But now I teach Technology and certainly hope I’ve had a positive influence on girls choosing this field of study. I won’t apologize for being a pioneer. Or voicing my positive experiences working with men. I’ve also voiced a very bad experience with one man on this site before when I was a house painter. But as a woman who has worked in 3 careers dominated by men, I wanted to share my positive experiences as well.
Your anecdotal evidence doesn’t really trump all the studies and historical data about discrimination against women
I literally said in my original post “That’s just my personal experience”
I stand before you now and admit that I am indeed a simple woman. A “man” crying while in fetal position will always make me laugh, and someone publicly dragging Leo is my kinda gurl.
+1
Oh. Well. I 100% loved that.
Dwayne Johnson!!
This’ll maybe seem like a weird thing to focus on, but is that makeup or leg prosthetics when she’s in the tennis outfit?
Because my gosh, those totally look like man legs.
The video is ok. I like the lyrics a little but the presentation does come across as childish. It lacks depth and maturity. But I feel that way about all of Swift’s music. If I heard this on the radio I’ll probably change the dial. Problem is the one line I like will worm it’s way into my head and I’ll probably end up listening to it months from now.