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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