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  • Taylor Swift has dropped the music video

  • for her latest single, "The Man."

  • Both the song and video take on

  • double standards between men and women.

  • As with her past videos, this one is

  • full of Easter eggs and other hidden meanings.

  • Here's a look at everything you missed.

  • Every video from Swift's "Lover" era

  • has started with her by a window,

  • and "The Man" is no different.

  • Except now we have Tyler Swift.

  • The office he's in looks similar to the one

  • from Swift's "Bad Blood" music video.

  • Instead of a fight scene between women,

  • this time we get a recreation

  • of "The Wolf of Wall Street."

  • Swift's alpha-male persona, Tyler,

  • mimics Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort.

  • Tyler takes the scene a step further

  • by fist-bumping and acknowledging

  • only the men in the room.

  • The Leo reference is no coincidence either,

  • but more on him later.

  • Next, we see Tyler manspreading on a subway train.

  • Behind him are some fake advertisements

  • parodying the overtly violent and sexual ways

  • in which the media portrays men.

  • The one seemingly advertising for liquor

  • reads, "Capitalize on the feeling."

  • This is likely a reference to how

  • Swift's been criticized and called "calculated"

  • for writing about her relationships.

  • The word greedy is written on the train wall.

  • Swift's been called greedy in the past

  • for certain business decisions she's made,

  • like adopting a fan-verified ticket-sales system

  • for her "Reputation" stadium tour

  • and pulling her music catalog from streaming services

  • like Spotify and Apple Music

  • over artist royalty disputes.

  • But there's a whole other take we can read

  • from this poster and the word greedy.

  • The title "Bo$$ Scotch" seems to be a play on words

  • referring to her old record-label boss Scott Borchetta.

  • In a post on Tumblr last June,

  • Swift shared how she felt betrayed

  • by Borchetta's sale of her music

  • to talent manager Scooter Braun.

  • This poster could be a callout to Borchetta

  • as greedy for capitalizing on Swift's body of work,

  • which famously features her own feelings and experiences.

  • Let's take a look back at the movie poster:

  • "Man vs Disaster."

  • The fake title could reference the action-film trope

  • that all it takes is one man to save the day.

  • In contrast, Swift has often been said

  • to be playing the victim

  • when she tries to fight industry giants

  • like record labels and streaming services.

  • One of the fellow train passengers is wearing

  • a "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" sweatshirt

  • straight from Swift's actual merch line.

  • "Miss Americana" is another song from "Lover"

  • that deals with themes of sexism and misogyny.

  • Looking back to the movie poster,

  • you'll see the date July 20.

  • Does this mean "Miss Americana" could be

  • a single in the summer of 2020?

  • Tyler opens a newspaper, and the cover story asks,

  • "What man won the year in celebrity dating?"

  • This headline calls out the double standard

  • that criticizes women but celebrates men

  • for dating around.

  • Swift herself is somewhat of a poster child

  • for this double standard

  • and has spoken out against it many times in the past.

  • Tyler exits the train onto a platform

  • and pauses to, uh, take a leak.

  • He's at 13th Street Station,

  • a nod to Swift's lucky number, 13,

  • which we've seen referenced many times before

  • in past videos.

  • The wall Tyler stops at is covered in graffiti

  • with the names of Swift's past albums,

  • like "Reputation," "Red," and "1989."

  • She's hidden Easter eggs through graffiti before,

  • in many of her "Reputation"-era videos,

  • like "Ready for It?" and "Delicate."

  • We also see the word karma in graffiti,

  • which we've heard Swift use before

  • in her clapback song "Look What You Made Me Do."

  • Not for me, all I think about is karma

  • A sign says, "Missing:

  • If found, return to Taylor Swift."

  • And another one symbolizes no scooters.

  • The posters and graffiti are another reference

  • to her ongoing battle with Scooter Braun

  • and Scott Borchetta over the masters

  • of all of the albums we see on the wall.

  • Tyler's peeing on the wall

  • could represent how the two men,

  • and men in the music industry in general,

  • have disrespected Swift throughout her career.

  • There's also a poster for "Mr. Americana,"

  • directed by Larry Wilson,

  • premiering at "Mandance,"

  • and documenting Tyler Swift.

  • Taylor Swift's own documentary,

  • "Miss Americana," directed by Lana Wilson,

  • premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

  • When speaking to Glamour about making the film,

  • Wilson recalled how she and her all-female crew

  • were often not taken seriously because of their gender.

  • This riff on the documentary's poster

  • also relates to the fact that Swift

  • directed this music video for "The Man."

  • Her impressive credits for the song and video,

  • that's songwriter, performer, executive producer,

  • video director, and star, to be clear,

  • come at a time when music, film,

  • and other entertainment industries

  • are being heavily criticized for

  • their lack of opportunities and recognition for women.

  • As Tyler steps away from the subway wall,

  • we see "The Man" written out in...

  • well, it's glittery and blue,

  • which looks pretty similar to Swift's "Lover" aesthetic.

  • Having "The Man" written in blue glitter

  • could also be Swift's way of saying

  • men, just like women, can be complex

  • and aren't limited to the narrow definition

  • of masculinity society pushes on them.

  • Next, Tyler's on a yacht.

  • If it looks familiar, that's because it's

  • another nod to "The Wolf of Wall Street."

  • The movie not only embodies the sexist double standards

  • Swift calls out in "The Man,"

  • but its star, Leonardo DiCaprio,

  • is specifically name-checked in the lyrics:

  • DiCaprio is well known for dating

  • a number of women, especially younger models.

  • And in "The Man," Swift makes a point

  • of emphasizing how men like DiCaprio

  • get more of a "legend" status for this type of dating,

  • whereas women like herself are criticized

  • for their dating habits.

  • We see Swift call out double standards again

  • as Tyler leaves what looks like a one-night stand.

  • Instead of having the walk of shame

  • that's assigned to women,

  • he struts through what looks like

  • more of a hall of fame.

  • 19 hands high-five him.

  • They're the 19 hands we saw

  • in the song's promotional photo.

  • 19 is a number Swift's been highlighting

  • since even before the video was announced.

  • During her woman of the decade acceptance speech

  • at the Billboard Music Awards,

  • Swift mentioned 19 other female artists by name.

  • The references to the number are likely

  • a nod to the 19th Amendment,

  • which gave the first group of women

  • the right to vote in the US.

  • The amendment's ratification is seen as a landmark win

  • in the women's rights movement in American history.

  • Swift also released "The Man" on February 27.

  • This is the anniversary of when the Supreme Court

  • dismissed a challenge to the amendment

  • and unanimously agreed that the right to vote

  • could not be denied on the basis of sex.

  • And, if the hallway looks familiar,

  • it could be because it resembles the one

  • from Kanye West's distinctly sparse home.

  • You might recall that West infamously interrupted

  • a 19-year-old Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs.

  • And Swift's not just throwing shade at West here.

  • Her reference is pretty significant

  • under the context of "The Man."

  • When West interrupted her award speech,

  • he implied that her work wasn't deserving enough of it.

  • Years later, when West referenced Swift

  • in his song "Famous,"

  • he rapped, "I made that b---- famous."

  • West's behavior is a clear example

  • of men devaluing or even straight up taking credit

  • for a woman's work.

  • This reference seems even more purposeful

  • after a scene in "Miss Americana"

  • that shows Swift writing "The Man" with Joel Little.

  • She throws out some lyric ideas, saying:

  • Which is exactly what West did.

  • In the next scene, Tyler's being celebrated

  • as the world's greatest dad

  • after seemingly doing the bare minimum with his child.

  • This scene addresses another double standard,

  • where single moms rarely get any recognition,

  • whereas their male counterparts

  • are praised for little effort.

  • If you look closely, you can also see

  • that while Tyler is manspreading again,

  • his daughter isn't, which could be showing

  • how girls are taught from a young age

  • to take up less space.

  • Also, catch a brief cameo

  • from social-media star Dominic Toliver

  • and actress Jayden Bartels.

  • We next see Tyler partying in a bar with other men.

  • They throw around money

  • as they take body shots off of women,

  • referencing the reduction of women to objects

  • and being valued only for their bodies.

  • The money they throw around has Tyler's face on it,

  • a pretty obvious comment to men owning more money

  • because of the gender pay gaps

  • and a straight-up lack of opportunities for women.

  • The men are all wearing matching gold rings,

  • which look similar to fraternity or other club rings.

  • This could be referencing the boys'-club culture

  • in many industries,

  • especially the music industry.

  • Next up, Tyler's playing a match of tennis.

  • We can spot a Taylor Swift merch water bottle

  • under the bench.

  • This scene seems to reference

  • a specific incident with Serena Williams,

  • when she was fined $17,000 for code violations

  • at the 2018 US Open.

  • Williams argued with the umpire

  • and slammed her racket on the ground during a match.

  • She said her actions were due to her

  • feeling that the umpire was

  • unfairly penalizing her with his calls.

  • Serena's situation relates to Swift's

  • recent comment to CBS "Sunday Morning,"

  • when she said, a man can react;

  • "a woman can only overreact."

  • In the music video, Tyler's given a similar pass.

  • He throws a tantrum, gets hysterical,

  • smashes his racket, and fights with the umpire.

  • And no one does a thing.

  • Not the ball girl,

  • who's actually TikTok star Loren Gray,

  • or even the umpire,

  • played by Swift's own father, Scott.

  • This could symbolize how people do notice

  • men acting childish and emotional,

  • but they don't face the same backlash that women do,

  • and often for even lesser behavior.

  • 58 years later, a very aged Tyler is getting married

  • to a much younger woman.

  • Five plus eight is, of course, 13.

  • The scene shows a stereotypical marriage

  • between a super-old guy and a younger girl.

  • As the bride flashes her giant ring,

  • it's likely she'll be painted the bad guy

  • and labeled a gold digger.

  • The light pink flower on Tyler's lapel

  • looks like the cornelia flowers

  • Swift's been using throughout her "Lover"-era promo

  • and also references the album's track "Cornelia Street."

  • We've seen a wedding and cake smashing

  • in a "Lover"-era video before;

  • in "You Need to Calm Down,"

  • there's an epic cake fight

  • after a same-sex marriage.

  • Swift could be drawing parallels

  • to society's acceptance of what might be called

  • a nontraditional marriage with a larger age gap

  • over one between people of the same sex.

  • The scene also begs us to imagine the reverse.

  • If an older woman were marrying a younger man,

  • she'd be the one criticized for "cradle robbing."

  • In any case, it's the straight man

  • who's getting off easy.

  • As the epic video comes to an end,

  • Swift reverses gender roles one last time.

  • We hear Swift, as the video's director,

  • yell, "Cut!" and Tyler walks off set.

  • He asks Swift about his performance,

  • but the voice we hear is actually The Rock's.

  • Swift tells him to be "sexier, maybe more likable."

  • She then praises Loren for her outstanding work,

  • when really she's just been standing around

  • in the background.

  • It's Swift's last dig at the ridiculous

  • and sexist standards in the entertainment industry,

  • where men are showered with praise and awards

  • often for doing the bare minimum,

  • while women are constantly asked to do better by...

  • well, by being sexier and more likable.

  • "The Man" is a funny but poignant take

  • on several of the double standards women face

  • and the larger systems that enforce them.

  • Swift's "Lover" era has seen her becoming

  • more vocal about politics,

  • and, if this video is any indication,

  • she's only getting started.

Taylor Swift has dropped the music video

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