Media Context

• Social context of feminism has influenced the video as Swift is assuming the role of the man to express her feminist views as she mocks the patriarchy
• Swift is known for referencing people from her personal life in her videos/lyrics. In this video, it appears she references her ex Jake Gyllenhall who resembles 'The Man'
• In the subway scene, the Bo$$ Scotch poster has the tagline 'Capitalise on the feeling' and 'Greedy'. This is about Scott Borchetta who founded Big Machine Records and owns the master copies of her albums. He was accused of bullying her and barring her from playing her old music.
• The man smashing his tennis racket references John McEnroe, a tennis player notorious for his angry outbursts on the tennis court in the 1980s, especially a match in 1984 where he lost his temper with an umpire.
• Various members of Swift's family and friends make cameo appearances, adding to the personal tone. Her father Scott Swift appears as the umpire
• Swift's Netflix documentary is referenced which shows an alternative version starring her male alter-ego, 'Mr Americana'
• The video was inspired by #MeToo movement, the lyric 'When everyone believes ya, what's that like?' could be referencing the slogan #believewomen which was a part of the movement.
• Swift is well known for her support of charities including UNICEF and Red Cross and has donated $1 million to the Nashville tornado relief fund.