Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Video: A Dance Critic’s Take



“Shake It Off” is not really a dance video. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is a dance video in the current pop sense — a video that treats dance less as an art in itself than as a cultural signifier. The concept of the video is to put Ms. Swift in the position of a pop star or R&B diva or rapper, fronting backup dancers. The scenarios cycle through genres: ballerinas in “Swan Lake” costumes; a crew of b-boys; emotive contemporary dancers in spandex; a cheerleading squad; Lady Gaga futurists in shiny tracksuits; and yes, a line of ladies jiggling the contents of their cut-off denim shorts.

The punchlines, as this dance critic was happy to see, are mostly dance jokes. The way that Ms. Swift trips over the crossed legs of the ballerinas and topples while trying to bow deeply in toe shoes is not highly clever or knowing, but it’s funny. Ms. Swift in “Shake It Off” is like Lucille Ball or Carol Burnett, a heroine triumphing through klutziness. It is probably too generous to interpret the video as a satire of how dance gets used in pop videos, but it certainly is a satire of pop video conventions.

With respect to racial politics, it would have been better if the shots of ballerinas had included some darker complexions. But if Mr. Sweatshirt had bothered to watch the video before commenting, he might have noticed the carefully placed black faces among the cheerleaders, the contemporary dancers and the regular people, and also the trashy white women among the twerkers. For him to have accused Ms. Swift of racism without watching the video is as unjust as if she had accused him of misogyny without first listening to his tracks. Yes, everyone knows that there is racism and misogyny in pop music. Fortunately, there’s also humor.

Originally posted by psychodj But when I watched the video I could've sworn I saw men and women of all colors and shades in every scene. I can tell some people didn't bother watching the video. There are black people in the scene right when the chorus first starts, right after the ballerina scene.

Lady Gaga futurists in shiny tracksuits

perpetuating black stereotypes to the same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice by proclaiming their love of the culture

Originally posted by Devon People will pull the racist card on anything nowadays More Tumblr social justice warriors.

With respect to racial politics, it would have been better if the shots of ballerinas had included some darker complexions. But if Mr. Sweatshirt had bothered to watch the video before commenting, he might have noticed the carefully placed black faces among the cheerleaders, the contemporary dancers and the regular people, and also the trashy white women among the twerkers. For him to have accused Ms. Swift of racism without watching the video is as unjust as if she had accused him of misogyny without first listening to his tracks. Yes, everyone knows that there is racism and misogyny in pop music. Fortunately, there’s also humor.

Originally posted by psychodj But when I watched the video I could've sworn I saw men and women of all colors and shades in every scene. I can tell some people didn't bother watching the video. There are black people in the scene right when the chorus first starts, right after the ballerina scene. There's black cheerleaders, and even the scene when she's performing with the band, the backup singers are black women. Come on now.

Originally posted by OnlyManInTheWorld ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. People who call Taylor racist probably haven't watched the video