In a powerful black-and-white narrative, Taylor Swift and Post Malone explore themes of despair and freedom in the new video for “Fortnight
Taylor Swift‘s latest music video, “Fortnight,” from her eleventh studio album “Tortured Poets Department,” presents a haunting visual narrative, pairing her with rapper Post Malone. Released on Friday, the video plunges viewers into a stark, dystopian world where both artists confront and express their inner turmoil in striking black and white.
The video opens dramatically with Swift confined to a bare iron bed frame in a sterile white room, encapsulating a sense of isolation and entrapment. The scene quickly escalates as Swift is forced to take a “forget him” capsule by an orderly, symbolizing attempts to erase painful memories. In a startling twist, Swift discovers Malone’s iconic tattoos on her own face as she looks in the mirror, blurring identities and sharing burdens.
As the song progresses, the lyrics weave a tale of lost connections and sombre reflection. Swift sings with a dark intensity, “And for a fortnight there we were forever running to you / Sometimes ask about the weather / Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbours / Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her,” exposing raw emotions and tangled relationships.
The setting shifts to an office environment labelled as the “department,” where Swift and Malone are surrounded by masked individuals in black, typing dispassionately. This scene metaphorically represents the mechanized and impersonal aspects of modern life, contrasting with the emotional depth of the artists’ performances.
Adding a layer of cinematic nostalgia, actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles make notable appearances as researchers examining Swift while she is strapped to a gurney with a mysterious device attached to her head. Their roles playfully nod to their characters in the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society,” bridging themes of poetic expression and existential angst.
Swift’s social media posts reflect her excitement about working with such iconic figures, highlighting the thematic synergy between the “tortured poets” of her album and the “dead poets” from the beloved film. This clever intertwining enriches the video’s narrative, offering fans and viewers deeper layers of meaning to explore.
The climax of the video is both chaotic and cathartic. As Swift breaks free from her physical and metaphorical restraints, the scenes of burning papers and falling rain symbolize purification and rebirth. The video concludes with a poignant moment where Swift and Malone, amidst the turmoil, reach out to each other, suggesting a search for connection in a fractured world
