
In any film or in this case a music video you sometimes have to look at the meaning of the text or for a music video the lyrics but also what you are looking at on the screen. In Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamars -- Bad Blood we see a storyline of betrayal between two friends and a comeback story of the hurt. As we do a close reading of this visual text we also see filmic language and color schemes come into play. The director of this video uses many types of filmic language and also uses color to show us visually how Taylors comeback story happens and the steps needed to revive her.

Taylor Swifts video Bad Blood is about when someone does you wrong and you getting back at them. In the first couple scenes Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez are fighting together to get this suit case. As soon as Taylor gets it Selena comes over gets the suit case and pushes Taylor out of a window. The scene I choose is right after she falls on a car 0:43 it shows Taylor laying on top of a car and we see her from a bird’s eye view. We see Taylor from above as she is laying there thinking about the betrayal of Selena. It shows her in a vulnerable state we as the viewer are seeing this scene from above her almost looking down in judgment of Taylor. Taylor in a way is laying on this car at the bottom of this building she was just pushed out of and in a way her being at the bottom of the building is a metaphor for her being at a low point in her friendship/ partnership with Selena. This is now the beginning of her comeback story, now she’s ready to get back up and fight. 

In the same scene the color scheme is very monochromatic due to the futuristic music video except for the big, bold, and red “BAD BLOOD” letters on the left side of the frame. The primary color red has many meanings one is aggression because of how angry she is that her side kick/ best friend did this to her. Also red has a meaning of embarrassment Taylor is completely embarrassed by what just happened having her partner in crime push her out like that. The lyric behind this shot is “cause baby now we got bad blood you know it use to be mad love…” this shows us that now the two ex-partners now hate each other and Taylor is not going to walk away so easily. Taylor is ready to get back up and fight for her title as number one.

The next scene important to the comeback story is 1:13. In this scene we see Taylor standing in the middle of three girls. Their names are Trinity. The purpose of these three girls is to show them putting Taylor back together. One importance is their name the definition of trinity means a group of three. The lyric during the scene is “Oh it’s so sad to think about the good times, you and I”. This establishes the thought and feelings of Taylor after the fight. Taylor in this scene is thinking about what her and Selena had together as partners. Taylor is sad to see what they had be ruined but she is not going to take the betrayal sitting down. This scene is really the beginning of Taylors revival story and the beginning of her training to fight against Selena.     

Also in the same scene Trinity is wearing white. White symbolizes cleanliness, purity and light. Trinity to Taylor is like a rebirth of her and who she is. In the scene you see Trinity take a piece of Taylors suit and attach it to her as a final step in her training uniform. The colors in this scene are very light and bright with Taylors suit as a major contrast. It is also a major contrast to Taylors outfit before this scene. In the scene before this she is wearing all white as the people in this camp/ training facility are examining her. This is very different from all the rest of her black/ dark clothing options throughout the rest of the video. This shows us, as the viewer, she went from being pure and innocent, no real training apart from what her and Selena did together as partners in crime. To then having the best training and weapons to fight against Selena in the fight scene in the end of the video.

For the last scene I choose Taylor assembling a fight squad against Selena. In the scene 3:08 is showing Taylors team of six girls all lined up with what appears to be the city they live in the far background and fire and smoke in the middle ground and the team all suited up for battle in the foreground. This is a great point of view shot because we, the viewer, are standing on the side where Selena’s team then comes in and is facing Taylor’s team. As the viewer us seeing that evokes a sense of fear. Not only a sense of fear but also a sense anticipation of a battle between the two teams. This is a great shot to show the strength and intensity of Taylors team.

Also in the same scene we see Taylors team is dressed in all black. The meaning of black in this scene shows us the power, strength and authority of her team. The girls also have a powerful stare on their faces, in the scene 3:16 we see an extreme close up of Taylors powerful glare. It shows us her and her team are serious and prepared to defeat Selena. The lyric in the scene is “Hmm, if you love like that blood runs cold, cause baby now we got bad blood, you know it used to be mad love…”  this lyric is important because its again showing the hate and betrayal from Taylor to Selena. 

Both of these scenes are important for showing the viewer if they treat people the way Selena did the people they hurt they will only come back, and be stronger than they were with you and this is a very important lesson for anyone to learn. Many scenes not just the ones I choose, use filmic language and color theory to convey a revival story.