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| Taylor Swift on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. Source: BOP and Tiger Beat I decided to analyze this Rolling Stone cover of country star, Taylor Swift. When I think of Taylor Swift, I think of a sweet, sensitive, and innocent girl. That is also probably what most people think of her as well. In this photo, we see Taylor wearing dark make up. Her hair is kind of all over the place. She is also has a serious, straight face. Taylor is wearing a nude top and is holding an acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar is something that we would normally see Taylor with, but it is the dark makeup, the messy hair, and the serious look to her face that make this cover different. The reason why Taylor looks so serious is because she and Rolling Stone want to show the world that she isn't just an innocent, good girl. She has a dark side and a side that no one knows. If you listen to Taylor Swift's lyrics, you will notice that she has gone through a lot of heartbreak and she has done a lot of self realization. She has probably gone through a lot of tough times in her life, just like anyone else. The cover also says, "Secrets of a Good Girl," which reminds me of that famous saying, "every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." Taylor Swift is just like anybody else. Everyone has a little dark side to them. Taylor swift probably also wants to be taken a little bit more seriously. Her music mostly appeals to young girls and women, which leads some people to believe that she is just a pop star that isn't too serious and sings about flowers and rainbows. No. She wants to draw in another audience. She wants people who take her lyrics seriously to listen to her music. And those people who would take her lyrics seriously would take her seriously as an artist. I think that the nude shirt resembles a blank canvas in her life. She is always willing to have a fresh start. The acoustic guitar keeps her close to her home roots and close to her country style. |
Sunday, September 9, 2012
An Analysis of an Image
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Looking at this Rolling Stone magazine cover I completely agree with your interpretation. Taylor Swift is often perceived as the typical innocent small town girl, but in this cover it seems like she is trying to break out of that image. The dark makeup, the hair, and even the lighting on her face make her seem more edgy and mysterious. This thought is also confirmed by the subtitle underneath Taylor Swift’s name stating “Secrets of a Good Girl.” I think it’s interesting how you related the guitar to her lyrics and her personal issues. After I saw your input on that I listened to some of her songs and did notice that she has gone through a lot, especially hear breaks and disappointments which could also be related her “good girl secrets.”
ReplyDeleteSomething I would like to add onto your analysis is the fact that the publisher has positioned Taylor Swift in the center of the cover and she’s even covering the majority of the magazine name. I think they didn’t pay much attention to the name because Rolling Stone magazine is very popular and people don’t need to see the entire name to know what magazine they are reading. They also position all the other headlines off to the right side which shows the importance they are putting on Taylor Swift and her story.