In today's society, the general stereotype with pop culture is that it's very surface level and only covers a handful of topics over and over again. Taylor Swift's music is no exception to this widespread opinion. In fact, she may be one of the most judged artists in the music industry right now. Although not all of her songs carry a deep meaning, one of her most popular hits, Blank Space, has a message that is artistically portrayed in its music video. Swift and the director of the video, Joseph Kahn, used a number of different techniques to convey the message to the audience. The song itself is Swift's way of satirizing how the general public views her life choices, especially her relationships. The video takes it a step further and displays how easy it is for humans to be drawn into harmful situations by way of deception. Visual tools used throughout the video help give the impression that things aren't always what they appear to be and danger can be easily disguised. 

The director strategically uses color throughout the video to create certain moods and facades. Black is often used to construct the idea of evil and deceit in the viewer's mind, while white is used for an opposite reason, to give the viewer the impression of innocence. These two sides of innocence and evil clash against each other for the duration of the video. At the beginning of the video, Swift descends the grandiose staircase in her mansion wearing a black lace dress. Right off the bat, the director makes it clear that Swift is dangerous. The dress can also liken Swift to a spider-like creature due to its color and her long limbs, and the man that has come to visit her mansion can be viewed as her prey. He eventually gets tangled up in her web of deceit and temptation, leading to his demise. Another very interesting use of color is in a separate opening scene where Swift is sitting on a bed in her massive bedroom, with two white horses standing on either side of her. These horses are used to paint a picture of innocence, and the fact that they're white really drives the image home. In general, horses represent a carefree atmosphere and beautiful, open landscapes. The color white represents purity, cleanliness, and often perfection. This creates quite an enticing package, and is only the beginning of the deceit that carries on throughout the video. The color red also plays an important role in this visual work. Regardless of her outfit or her mood, Swift wears red lipstick in every scene. Red is associated with a number of things, but blood, war, and anger are among some of the most prevalent. This is also used as a foreshadowing tool because Swift is wearing the red lipstick in the beginning of the video when everything is blissful and harmonious, and it's one aspect that stands out in the midst of all the happiness, giving a warning that something isn't right. This gives the impression that Swift has committed sinful acts and will continue to do the same in the future. More red and white is used at the end of the video when Swift stabs a beautiful, white cake with a knife and red juice resembling blood squirts out. This is a metaphor for Swift herself, because although she may appear sweet and gorgeous on the outside, rage and anger lurk beneath the surface. The red, white, and black all work together to create an aura of evil disguised by innocence.

Although the strategic use of color plays a very important role in the music video, the use of space, shadows, and light also helps convey the central message of the video. In the first half of the work, Swift and her guest spend lots of time outside on her expansive property. The green grass and open expanse of land creates a sense of freedom and happiness, as the two characters spend time together and enjoy each other's company. The director tries to create a harmonious and bright atmosphere in the first half of the video to contrast against the darkness and insanity to follow later. The characters participate in activities such as ballroom dancing, riding bikes, and horseback riding, all of which make it appear that the pair fit together perfectly. Swift even carves both their names into a tree. This sets the stage for the stark comparison to the second half of the video, where they clash and fight violently. At the turning point of the video when Swift realizes that her beau is being unfaithful, a dramatic shift in the mood occurs. This is in part due to the fact that the space begins to close in. Most of their fighting takes place inside her mansion, which is somewhat dark and gloomy. The camera also begins to move in a choppier fashion as it captures the fighting, with lots of jarring from side to side. This creates an image of chaos and unruliness. Also, the light and airy hall where Swift hung the portrait of her guest in the first half of the video appears to be darker with shadows on the walls after the shift in mood. This creates a more ominous tone and conveys the message that people can appear sweet and innocent in the beginning, but turn out to be a nightmare.

One of the most prominent tools used throughout the video is the art of symbolism. There are crucial symbols in almost every scene that point back to the theme of the video. For example, the ornate mansion where Swift lives represents the tempting facade that lures in her houseguest. Her mansion may seem perfect on the outside, but inside lurks insanity and evil. This is often the case in life as well when humans can't say no to an enticing situation and end up putting themselves in danger. The sparkly dress she wears in the dinner and ballroom dancing scenes is also used to make her appeal more enticing, like a prize that is difficult to attain. This again helps to create the shiny outer shell of a truly deranged girl. The paintings of Swift's houseguest and all of her previous guests are also incredibly important symbols that emphasize her insanity. She painted a portrait of every single one of her numerous male houseguests, and it is later revealed that she damaged them all upon the men's departures. This truly exemplifies how insane she became by the end of the video. It shows that she obsessed over each man enough to paint a portrait of him and hang it in her home, and then turned around and scratched her nails through it once they displeased her. The last and most important symbol is the apple that becomes the focus of the video during the bridge of the song. The apple is such a loaded symbol because it connects this visual work all the way back to Biblical times in the story of Adam and Eve. God told both of them not to eat from a particular tree in the garden, but Eve was deceived by the serpent and ate fruit from the tree. She then shared it with Adam, and God punished both of them by banning them from the garden. In the video, the same sort of idea occurs. Swift is holding an apple and tempting her house guest to eat it, likening her to the role of the deceitful serpent. The man is shown with a piece of the apple in his mouth, giving the impression that he gave into temptation and subjected himself to Swift's underlying wrath. 

The Blank Space music video does an excellent job of using visual clues to lead the reader to a final warning: things aren't always what they seem. The colors used help to create an obvious contrast between what people appear to be like on the outside and what they're actually like on the inside. The change in space and the strategic use of light and shadows also makes it apparent that everything can be amazing one minute, and turn into absolute chaos the next minute. The symbols are truly what tie this video together and lead the reader to the final conclusion. They trigger thoughts and emotions in the reader's mind from past knowledge and experience and paint a picture of temptation and deceit. All of the visual tools compliment each other perfectly and provide a classic example of how dangerous human nature can be.

