The music video of the song Lavender Haze by Taylor Swift from her new album Midnights premiered a few days ago, and its not enough to say that it touched our hearts. First of all, everyone praise ally Taylor for having trans model and actor Laith Ashley, play the role of her love interest in the music video!
The music video opens with a clock ticking midnight and then the camera pans to a Mastermind vinyl with Sagittarius and Pisces star signs on its cover, which belong to Taylor and her boyfriend Joe Alwyn. This is a nod towards the theme of the song, that is, her long-term relationship with Joe and how it has grown to be a comfort space for her, instead of getting negatively affected by external factors.
“I just wanna stay in that Lavender Haze”
Lavender haze is a 1950s term meaning a snug feeling of being in love with someone. For Taylor, her lavender haze is a safe haven from blaring eyes of paparazzi and haters who constantly nit-pick on trivial matters of her life to criticize her. She used the metaphor of her life seeming like a ‘fishbowl’ in her song ‘Lover’ from her 2019 album of the same name. People peep into her life; the transparent bowl betrays all there is to see and she is under constant “scrutiny”. Koi fish also make several appearances in the video, reiterating the fishbowl metaphor.
But what gives her a safe space is how well her partner deals with the intrusive questions and judgy paparazzi, “you handle it beautifully”. He shares only what is necessary, just enough to shut all the nosy rumors and assumptions down.
“the 1950s shit they want from me”
It was a tacit norm in early twentieth century for a woman to marry and ‘settle down’ with a suitable husband when she reaches the appropriate age. While the twentieth century departed two decades ago, the society’s mindset doesn’t seem to have evolved accordingly. Taylor now in her 30s is asked about the next step in her relationship of more than six years. People expect her to seal and secure the relationship as a marriage. While it is an excruciatingly intimate matter and is totally up to her to share any information, the media never hesitates to ask insensitive questions. They undermine her potential by reducing her as a romantic partner and judging her for who she has dated in the past, “The only kind of girl they see, is a one night or a wife”. They call her out for dating too much, which she has also addressed in her song ‘Shake It Off’. She is so much more than that and has accomplished more than most can fathom, which is conveniently side-lined when it comes to a discussion on her relationships.
“I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say”
She does not want to care what others have to say about her personal life, and for the most part she never does. But the moment she addresses anything, she is further scrutinized. So, she just gives up on expecting them to stop and let them be, “Talk your talk and go viral”. She is too busy being in love and content with her life to care about it anymore. Her partner is here for her, not reading too much into her sadness but giving her emotional support by just staying there with her. They have grown together to form a level of understanding that enables them to be comfortable even in silences.
Taylor’s fish-bowl takes the form of a lavender haze by the end of the music video. This creates an aesthetic medley of lavender clouds and koi fish in the background. Taylor dismantles the walls of her home and is surrounded by the koi fish and clouds. She then goes to bed inside her haze, implying her ease around it. She no longer suffers from a suffocating confinement in a fish-bowl. The color scheme of the video transitions from blue in the beginning to lavender and pink in the end, giving off a soothing feeling.