From the back we see a man in a suit looking out the window of an office into the imaginary city skyline. Then the beat begins, the man turns, runs through the door into the open-plan office, where male employees celebrate him and female employees adore him. This is how Taylor Swift’s new music video begins The Man. In it the musician shows what she would do if she were a man – and how society would see it. The video shows many situations in which it is perfectly fine for men to behave wrongly or chatty and to be celebrated for it.
For example, in a scene you see The Man with his daughter in a park. When he takes her in his arms, all the women in the surrounding area are completely thrilled and in the background a banner with the words “World’s Greatest Dad” appears, The scene shows how something that is taken for granted in women is considered top performance in men. In some scenes, she’s over the top: how likely is it that a man would be looked after if he stuck his handbag on the subway?
Taylor Swift sings: “I’m tired of running as fast as I can and wondering if I can get there faster [wo Männer bereits sind, Anm. d. Red.]. “
“Could you try to be sexier?”
The final reversal of roles finally occurs in the last scene of the video. The ManTaylor Swift himself plays comes to the director’s chair from a television set consisting of a tennis court. Taylor Swift sits in it. The Man she asks, “Hey, I just wanted to know: did the last shot go more in the direction you want it to be?” Taylor Swift replies, “Pretty good, but could you try to be sexier; more lovable? ”A saying that is similar to him, presumably directed by male directors on many sets around the world to her female actress.
