After dropping the record-breaking music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" in August 2017,
Taylor Swift left fans hungry for more.
Well, she delivered.
The futuristic video for "…Ready For It?," released just two weeks before Swift's album
Reputation hits shelves, follows a cloaked Swift walking among robotic citizens of a
dark, cyberpunk society.
While the visuals alone make the video a major contender for top honors at the 2018 VMAs,
it's the little details Swift and director Joseph Kahn added that really make it shine.
Here are a few of the Easter eggs and nods to other media scattered throughout.
Sci-fi inspiration
For the look and feel of "...Ready For It?," Swift and Kahn borrowed heavily from popular
science fiction.
Not only does the video feel visually similar to Blade Runner and TRON, but one incarnation
of Swift looks almost exactly like Scarlett Johansson's character in Ghost in the Shell.
Considering that the movie follows a character that falls victim to identity manipulation
at the hands of higher powers, Swift may very well be implying that her persona is a result
of the media's influence—but now she's ready to break free of the industry's chains.
Calvin callback
While Swift may not reference ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris directly in this song, she uses
the video to ever-so-slightly assert her role in the creation of Harris' hit collaboration
with Rihanna, "This Is What You Came For."
In the Instagram teaser for Swift's new video, her name is displayed against a stormy night
sky.
Compare that to the lightning-strike visuals in the single art from Harris's chart topper,
and the lyric from his song: "Lightning strikes everytime she moves"... and all the lightning
imagery in the video.
Need more convincing?
Hours before the video's release, director Joseph Kahn tweeted out, "Nils Sjöbot," a
reference to Nils Sjoberg, the pseudonym Swift used when writing Harris's hit, and, of course,
the robo-Swift from in the video.
Fans may remember the drama that followed this track's release once Swift took credit
for penning the single's catchy lyrics after her split from Harris in June 2016.
Harris took to Twitter to rant about Swift's team making him look bad, calling the whole
ordeal "hurtful" and noting that he still wrote the music and produced the track.
Bad Blood 2.0
Did that scene with a cloaked Swift falling backwards as glass shards whipped by look
familiar?
Well, it's not far off from a scene in Swift's music video for "Bad Blood."
However, rather than Selena Gomez kicking Swift out of the window of a tall building,
Swift herself—or, at least, a version of herself—knocks her over.
While Swift's character in "Bad Blood" is healed after her hard fall, her character
in "…Ready For It?" doesn't get a happy ending.
Glass cuts her face, revealing her robotic skeleton, and she's later seen suffering some
major electrical burns.
Witch hunt
As cloaked Swift fries in a storm of electricity, the words "they're burning all the witches"
can be seen spray-painted on some stairs.
This is likely a reference to Swift's often negative portrayal by other celebrities and
media outlets — she feels like the victim of a "witch hunt."
Maybe Swift's trying to tell everyone that she's sick of taking the blame in Hollywood
squabbles, and being falsely accused for starting fights with other top dogs in the industry.
Or maybe she's actually playing the victim—just like Kim Kardashian said.
Graffiti preview
That's not the only interesting piece of graffiti in the video.
"I love you in secret" and other phrases can be spotted as Swift swaggers down an alley.
These could be lyrics from other songs on Reputation, like "Ur gorgeous," a lyric from
the album's third single, "Gorgeous."
Lucky numbers
Early on in the video, Swift pauses near a door which features the numbers "89" and "91"
nearby.
While the "89" is likely a reference to Swift's birth year, the "91" may be a reference to
new boyfriend Joe Alwyn's birth year.
Another nod to the British actor could be the code Swift uses to open the door to the
room housing the caged Swift android: "21," which corresponds to Joe birthday, February
21st.
Swift also threw in her well-documented lucky number 13, just for good measure.
Horsin' around
This dramatic visual is likely a direct reference to Swift's 2008 song "White Horse."
The song features the line, "Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come
around."
In "…Ready For It?," Swift is in the saddle, ready to show haters that she's in control
of her own destiny, taking charge and saving herself.
The horse could also be a reference to Swift's video for "Blank Space," which features two
white horses prominently.
Since that video mocked the media's portrayal of Swift as boy-obsessed, it would make sense
to drop a link into the "…Ready For It?"
video, which could definitely be interpreted as Swift's takedown of her own former image.
Or maybe she just loves horses?
Year of the snake
In case there was any doubt, Swift is back and ready to dominate the charts once again—and
she wants everyone to know it.
In the alleyway scene of the video, eagle-eyed viewers can spot some Chinese characters — one
translates, in part, to "year of the snake."
And everybody knows that Swift just loves her snakes.
Ever since she embraced them in her music video for "Look What You Made Me Do," she's
branded herself with the creature, owning her haters' cruel nickname for her.
Plus, Swift was famously born in the year of the snake, 1989, according to the Chinese
calendar.
Swift also rocks a silver snake ring on her right hand in one scene, which looks to be
the very same one up for sale in her merch shop.
And, if fans pay extra close attention to Swift's face at one point, there appears to
be a small snake making its way across her chin and right cheek.
So, are more snake-filled videos on the way for fans?
We'll all just have to wait and see.
Swift's sixth studio effort, Reputation, drops November 11, 2017.
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