The mirrorball
"I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I can change everything about me to fit in"
Museless
I wanted to make a seperate post to provide a little more clarity on my museless stance, but also to invite others to try it out too.
It is not my intention to sound superior because I don't have a preferred muse, but the truth is that I just never felt invested in a specific muse because I didn't live through it as it unfolded. Instead I've chosen to focus on seeing Taylor as her own muse because at the end of the day, wanting Taylor to be happy is the one thing that we all have in common.
The two Taylors
Throughout Taylor's music videos we see many different variants of Taylor. It's difficult to keep track of all these variations, so I tend to simplify it by talking about the queer version of Taylor and the pop star version of Taylor.
Inner = queer Taylor wearing a mask to hide in plain sight
Outer = pop star Taylor as a facade to protect what lies beneath
These two halves of Taylor both represent her as a whole, but highlight the inner turmoil she's experienced from being closeted throughout her career. In both her music and music videos, Taylor's co-stars typically represent the inner version of herself.
The true man
To understand how Taylor has layered these versions of herself throughout her work we need to refer back to Truman's story. The Truman show starts off with interviews with the cast as we learn about his life. From the director's perspective, Truman Burbank is the most true and real person alive because he was raised on the set of Seahaven under his supervision and guidance. But at the very end Truman reveals that he had been aware that he was living his life in the spotlight and was putting on a show for the audience from the vey beginning.
Every aspect of Truman's life was scripted for him, and his name is no different. If we break it down Truman becomes true man. Burbank is the city where Seahaven was constructed near the Hollywood sign. Truman was the director's manuscript, or the man you script. If we put this all together it becomes 'the man you script is the true man in Hollywood'. Every one around Truman was an actor, but to the directors surprise Truman had been acting too. That means that the true man lies.
So now we have the inner version of Truman who wanted to leave Seahaven, the outer version of Truman that was performing for the audience and the director that was shaping Truman's experience from an outsiders perspective.
The many Taylors
Taylor has told us that she lies too. Just like the director scripted Truman, Taylor has been scripting herself. The anti hero music video is a great place to start to begin understanding the concept of there being multiple versions of Taylor. There's the regular Taylor stuck at home, the pop star Taylor wreaking havoc, the giant Taylor (the elephant in the room 🌈) that crashes the party and the dying Taylor in the casket. The only problem with having this many versions of Taylor is that it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
Instead, we can consider that each version of Taylor represents a layer of who Taylor is as a whole. Some versions of Taylor may be exiled or hidden away like a horcrux, but they've been hidden away inside of Taylor.
This concept is akin to a set of nesting dolls.
The red herrings
Every layer acts as both a mask for the inner layers to wear and as a facade concealing the layers within. This concept of a facade is what Taylor is describing in the song 'mirrorball'. She's reflecting back what you're willing to see and the version of Taylor you see therefore depends on how deep you're willing to look. This is because the pop star Taylor is the facade for the regular Taylor and so on. This pattern continues until you reach the giant Taylor. And then from the inside out the regular Taylor is the mask for the giant Taylor and so on. This pattern continues until you reach the pop star Taylor again.
"No one wanted to play with me as a little kid So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since To make them love me and make it seem effortless This this the first time I've felt the need to confess And I swear I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care"
However, the secret to seeing the inner Taylor is to understand that the director Taylor exists too. This is integral because the director is scripting or creating the layers to protect the inner Taylor. And no matter which two layers you look at, they're both acting as a mask and facade for the inner and outer layers. All of these versions of Taylor exist because the director Taylor is also the mastermind.
It's evident Taylor is incredibly skilled at creating these layers through the way she has been able to weave multiple muse references into her songs. There's something there for everyone. The general listeners who relate the story to their own lives, the swifties who find connections to Taylor's male muses and the gaylors who find connections to Taylor's female muses. But underneath all that is the complexity of the inner Taylor.
Comparing this concept of layers to the eras tour setlist is intriguing, as they each represent a layer of the mask she has added to over the years. The show starts with the lover house facade, moves into the love story of fearless, goes deeper with the feminine rage in TTPD and ends with the midnights set. Debut being left off the setlist implies that debut Taylor's version is the inner most layer of Taylor's discography. Everything Taylor is working towards is so that she can drop the mask and return home to herself.
The best friend
Being museless is a way to see Taylor as her own muse, but that doesn't mean that she's doing all of this alone. Truman was able to secretly communicate with his best friend Marlon without being detected through the subtle changes in the way they spoke to each other. The same has been happening with Taylor's allies. It's just subtle enough that it would seem like a coincidence to anyone else, but those who can see the deeper layers have been able to pick up on the patterns. The chaos that has been building up will be easier to navigate if you're can see that Taylor's muses, friends and allies are all working together to support Taylor. And that together, they're all working towards creating changes within the industry that will benefit everyone.
"Karma takes all my friends to the summit"
A tortured poet,
Kylie x
P.S. I've lost count of how many times I've written Taylor in this post! haha
P.P.S. Tay liar + swift af boi = Taylor Swift
