Horst_In_Translation Review of Taylor Swift: You Need to Calm Down

Taylor Swift: You Need to Calm Down (2019 Music Video)

I am very calm

[4/10 · 25 July 2019]

This is the music video for the 2019 Taylor Swift song "You Need to Calm Down". It runs exactly for three minutes thirty seconds and Swift also co-directed here. Well it is supposed to be a hymn elaborating on the subject that people should stop being outraged at everything, but mostly everything same-sex related. Which is per se a good idea, however in the really tolerant world (at least western world) we are living right now the music video and song are at least a decade too late probably more. Apart from that, the lyrics are slightly catchy, but still truly simple honestly, which was of course a business decision to make this song also easy to understand for the rather simple-minded and it worked out because it is a big commercial success, shot up to number two at the American charts. The video features many celebrities with strong links to homosexuality like Jesse Tyler Ferguson (big Modern Family fan here!), Ellen DeGeneres (getting a tattoo, don't like her), RuPaul but also some who are straight, but just very famous like Ryan Reynolds. Aside from that, there is a Katy Perry Taylor Swift reunion at the end, which is kinda funny and cute in ana wkward way as they both carry huge fast food costumes. Still Taylor Swift may look nicer with blue hair than blonde, but she comes nowhere near Katy Perry's level of attractiveness orange hair or not. So I guess also those need to calm down who constantly mention the feud between these two as they seem to get along well. Or at least want everybody to believe they do and show it is all friendly etc. Overall, a slightly catchy song, but really vain at its core and the latter is pretty much true as well about the music video. It is rather creating new peoblems than solving them because it makes an issue out of something that really is not of a problem that much anymore with the new generation (if not fueled by hatred religion, there will always be extremist groups) who are getting more and more tolerant these days, but also you have to make sure you don't step into the other extreme. Equality is amazing, positive discrimination is not. Anyway, back from politics too the artistic element here which is not as strong as I would have liekd it to be. The fact that this is nowhere near Swift's worst in recent years only stems from the fact that she has come up with some really bad songs and music videos in the last decade, not because this is really any good. Shame Swift is still so far away from her peak early in her career when she was really good and promising and made a nice impact. What sie does here is just cashing in on a comfortable subject. Not recommended.