Wilderness has always been a draw to humans. People are drawn to the natural beauty that the great outdoors has to offer. There are many things that people wish they could see so they make bucket lists. In Taylor Swift’s music video, “Wildest Dreams,” she is able to experience what many will never have the luxury to do. Wildest Dreams is a song about the great outdoors and she uses the backdrop of the video to show the audience just how wild a dream can get. Through this music video, Swift shows the luxury of the wilderness and dreams by taking advantage of the beauty Africa is known for. 

The opening scene sets the stage for the adventure the two main characters are going on. Along with setting the scene for the main characters, it displays the beauties of Africa with aerial shots of waterfalls, dry golden plains, and herds of graceful animals running below. With this as a backdrop, the romantic aspect of the video is established. The two main characters are vacationing on a pristine landscape, one that undoubtedly shows wilderness and invokes emotions of desire. We see bright orange from the setting sun, purples from the lightning and vast plains that look golden. We get our first look at the main character, which is wearing dark red lipstick, which contrasts the natural background and the sunset at night. Red has always been the color of desire, but in this case, its contrast to the background is used to show the almost unnatural aspect of dreams. When people dream, they are in other environment completely. They put themselves in situations that they will never actually experience in life. Dreams are usually just that, an out of world experience. They can trick people into thinking they have a chance to do things that will never come to be. Dreams are dangerous. Dreams are extremely deceptive and can give false hope, which is exactly what the main female character experiences. 

When the audience is introduced to the love story, the dreams really begin. The love the two main characters possess can be seen as pure, pristine, and perfect in every way. The two main characters are a handsome couple, and they seem to be perfect for each other. Of course this is a front, because they are just actors, but the love they have for each other seems to be stronger than what the audience witnesses. Just like the film they are producing, the wilderness looks nice at the moment but in reality its dangerous and violent just like relationships can be. As the video goes on, we see the characters develop an increasingly stronger relationship. The couple is seen in bed together and then fighting, which resolves with a romantic plane ride over the wide-open safari. With cut scenes of lightning and lions, we see the relationship truly unfold. There is obviously passion, with some seriously strong images of dancing, kissing, solo shots, and of course, the animals. The scenes with animals relate to the actors feelings and behaviors. The lion represents strength and intensity, while the fleeing heard of water buffalo represent fear, panic, and uneasiness. These images mean to show us the developing passion the main character feels toward her companion. She is obviously deeply in love with the man in the video, and, as the lyrics suggest, this love may be unrequited. 

By the end of the visual text, we see the story slip from the world of dreams into “reality,” and these are the most powerful few moments of the video. We see that this movie set is not actually in the wild plains of Africa, but in a Hollywood studio. The wilderness the main character feels comes from her love for her fellow actor. They were never in Africa. Africa is just a symbol for the passion she feels. We slip back into the reality of life, away from dreams of romance, away from the love she felt in the heart of the wilderness, and the actor slips away from the main character. As the video comes to a close, the characters are seen separated, the furthest away they have been through the entire video. Distance and barriers are always important when analyzing visual texts. This is the moment when the audience sees that the main characters have a love connection. They glance over at each other, making eye contact and quickly look away. The main character, which thinks that because of her colleague’s prior relationship, runs away from the pain she is feeling about loving him. But it is revealed in the last scene that he loves her as well. He runs out after her, missing her by just a few seconds, and, as he watches on, she drives away. 

This video has come under fire from some people throughout the world. The uproar was due to the romanization of the continent of Africa. NPR's Viviane Rutabingwa, who is of African heritage, said, “We are shocked to think that in 2015, Taylor Swift, her record label and her video production group would think it was OK to film a video that presents a glamorous version of the white colonial fantasy of Africa.” It is true that this video only has two black actors in the video, who both portray soldiers. People think that this video shows the Africa is a place for rich white people are able to live out their fantasies that it is there for the taking. Director Joseph Kahn says that this video is not about colonization, but about a relationship that was never able to be. “There is no political agenda in the video,” says Kahn, “Our only goal was to tell a tragic love story in classic Hollywood iconography.” 

Whether or not this video was racist or a personification of colonialism, it is still extremely powerful. There are some absolutely stunning sights, ones that would show up in the dreams of many of the audience. It is a relatable dream too. Many people have fantasies of love, and many people wish to go on an adventure similar to this. The story is fantastic and the directing is very good. The images shown give the audience a look at how luxurious the wild parts of the world can be, and sharing an adventure such as this can create love. This, of course, is not a realistic story, but it is one that any audience can relate to. Wildest Dreams does not want to show an adventure anyone can go on, but a dream that everyone would be lucky to live out.