You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift

1.     Name the song and musical artist.

The song is called You Belong With Me sung by Taylor Swift.

2.    Who directed this music video?

The director was Roman White.

3.      Provide a brief biography of the director.

Roman White was born in Nashville, Tennessee where he enjoyed a happy childhood. His first video was with Rodney Atkins where he directed “Honesty” from there he began to make a name for himself. Since then he has directed many videos with artists like Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire and Justin Bieber. He has been nominated for eleven Emmy Awards and won three. He also won CMT’s Director of the Year for 2007. White currently lives with his cat and is writing his third novel whilst also directing a variety of videos.

4. Name and briefly describe 3 of the director’s works. (3 marks)

1.    Just a Dream by Carrie Underwood features a young woman who has recently turned 18 and is engaged to a young soldier. The video shows her in a white wedding dress going to church however as it progresses her dress turns into a black mourning gown and it is realised her fiancée has been killed. During the funeral she repeatedly sings ‘just a dream’ as she wishes everything that is happening was not real. It ends with her receiving the flag as is the right of a spouse.

1.    

2. Best Days of Your Life by Kellie Pickler tells the story of a former boyfriend who cheated on her and is now married to the girl he cheated with. She feels sorry for the current wife as she will always be stuck with a cheater whilst she can move on and have a better future. In the end he is hit by a bus and is seen to be looking very miserable in hospitial.Also not sure if this will undermine my mark but I didn't really like this particular music video.

3.       Fifteen by Taylor Swift begins with Swift walking through a tall doorway where the scenes for the rest of the video take place. It features Swift remembering high school with her best friends and the trials, tribulations and happiness they faced.

1. Choose one work and write a letter/tell to an older generation relative explaining why this video is good. Use at least 3 visual or conceptual examples from the video in your response

Dear June,

As your granddaughter I feel obliged to send your way some interesting music videos that I think you would appreciate. There is one in particular I feel you would like as it would appeal to your romantic side. This particular music video is Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” which is a good song and an even better music video. What makes it so good? Well, the video uses visual interpretation to make the words into a story which makes it easier to relate with the lyrics of the song as one can see what Swift is trying to convey.

 

Although it may not seem like it at first glance, “You Belong With Me” is a deeply layered video and upon closer inspection once can see the video has a certain amount of depth. This is displayed both visually and contextually through the protagonist and the antagonist of the video. Swift chooses to portray both these main characters and in doing so she is shows different sides of her personality, the bitchy popular side and the nice geeky side. However it is shown she would prefer to be nice and kind as she believes those are the more important values but that you can be happy upholding these values.

It is also quite romantic and has some very unique scenes that draws one in. If you watch it you will notice the scene in which Swift is sitting on a bus seat and her crush comes and sits next to her. Here they interact and look very cute together, the viewer hopes something good will come from this scene but it is not so. I used this scene to demonstrate how the video draws you in and leaves you wanting more.

I hope you decide to take the time to watch this video, as it is truly entertaining and interesting to watch. It captures your attention through its attention to detail and is a fun video to watch as it reminds you that love can prevail against unlikely odds. I think, June, you will enjoy it should you decide to watch it.

Sincerely Eliza.

6.      Describe the action of the video? What is the audience being asked to follow or be interested in? (3 marks)

This particular music video is exploring the unfurling love that is being experienced by an apparent nerd and a stereotypical jock. The audience is being asked to follow the couple as they begin to explore their relationship and realise that they belong together. The audience becomes intrigued as they watch the breaking down of the relationship between the jock and his popular cheerleader girlfriend and the beginnings of the boy exploring and finally admitting his attraction to the girl next door who he has always secretly loved without realising.

7.      Describe the incident that forms the basis of the video's climax? (3 marks)

The incident that forms the climax and the ending to the video takes place at a football game, the jock comes off the field to find his girlfriend flirting with another player. For him this is the final straw as throughout the video the audience sees him arguing with her and know that he is unhappy with the relationship. This forms the climax as the jock is now free to pursue other girls and realise that love is staring him in the face.

8.      Outline the theme's that have been addressed in the video? (4 marks)

There are a number of themes explored within this video but one of the major ones is love. The story is based around a love triangle and the resulting conflicts and situations that evolve from the triangle. The video also conveys the issue of identity, it explores the the surface identity but as the video evolves the viewer begins to see the identities that have been hidden by the characters so they are able to adapt with their social situations. Another theme that is explored within the storyline is acceptance the cheerleader is unable to understand or accept how her boyfriend can stand to talk to the high school ‘nerd’ and yet acceptance is shown by the football jock who can understand her as he himself is like that at heart despite his popularity status. These themes along with others help to give this video its identity and interesting storyline.

9.      Study aspects of the mise-en-scene in a video and explain how they symbolise some of the themes within the video. (3 marks each)

Within the video clothing is used to highlight the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist and to show the different social statuses that are assigned to the three main characters. The theme of acceptance is present within this video and is demonstrated through clothing. In the end scene when Swift arrives at Prom the audience can see that she has gotten rid of her geeky clothes and transformed herself into a beautiful young girl. When her peers see her in this outfit instead of rebuffing her as the ‘geek’ they accept her as one of them. Acceptance is also shown at the beginning of the video when her love interest sees her putting on different ‘geeky’ clothes and dancing around the room with her different outfits on. If others saw this especially his girlfriend they would judge but he is simply amused and accepts this as if it happens every day.

Another major theme is love which is explored though many different types of mise-en-scenes in particular the notepaper that Swift uses to communicate with her crush. The audience is given a view of their relationship as they hold up simple messages written on paper that can be seen by the other. It shows understanding and concern but also that they have quite a romantic relationship. In the final scene of the video where the two begin to approach each other the paper comes into play again. They both hold up their own individual pieces of note paper saying ‘I love you’ in block letters. This sets the ending of the video as the audience can see that both parties have accepted that they love each other and that they will end up together.