Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: evermore ~ cowboy like me

Cowboy like me

Oh, I thought/This is gonna be one of those things/Now I know/I’m never gonna love again/I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve/Takes one to know one/You’re a cowboy like me/Never wanted love/Just a fancy car…/…You had some tricks up your sleeve/Takes one to know one/You’re a cowboy like me/Perched in the dark/Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear/Like it could be love/I could be the way forward/Only if they pay for it/You’re a bandit like me/Eyes full of stars/Hustling for the good life/Never thought I’d meet you here/It could be love/We could be the way forward/And I know I’ll pay for it/And the skeletons in both our closets/Plotted hard to mess this up/And the old men that I’ve swindled/Really did believe I was the one/And the ladies lunching have their stories about/When you passed through town…/…Now you hang from my lips/Like the Gardens of Babylon/With your boots beneath my bed/Forever is the sweetest con/I’ve had some tricks up my sleeve/Takes one to know one/You’re a cowboy like me/And I’m never gonna love again/I’m never gonna love again

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: evermore ~ tolerate it

tolerate it

I notice everything you do or don’t do/You’re so much older and wiser, and I…/…If it’s all in my head, tell me now/Tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow/I know my love should be celebrated/But you tolerate it…/…Where’s that man who’d throw blankets over my barbed wire?/I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life/Drawing hearts in the byline/Always taking up too much space or time/You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I/I break free and leave us in ruins?/Took this dagger in me and removed it?/Gain the weight of you then lose it

[I didn’t cite this bc it’s some homophobic church doubling-down on their intolerance, and though I think they have a point about the definition of terms, I didn’t want to give them any more traffic].

***Trigger Warning***

hate crime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: folklore ~ Hoax

This song is difficult for me to listen to-Taylor’s pain is palpable.

Hoax

My only one/My smoking gun/My eclipsed sun

This has broken me down/My twisted knife/My sleepless night/My win-less fight/This has frozen my ground/Stood on the cliffside/Screaming, “Give me a reason”

Your faithless love’s the only hoax/I believe in/Don’t want no other shade of blue/But you/No other sadness in the world would do

My best laid plan/Your sleight of hand

My barren land/I am ash from your fire

You know I left a part of me back in New York/You knew the hero died, so what’s the movie for?/You knew it still hurts underneath my scars/From when they pulled me apart/You knew the password, so I let you in the door/You knew you won, so what’s the point of keeping score?/You knew it still hurts underneath my scars/From when they pulled me apart/But what you did was just as dark/Darling, this was just as hard/As when they pulled me apart

My only one/My kingdom come undone/My broken drum/You have beaten my heart

Don’t want no other shade of blue/But you/No other sadness in the world would do

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: folklore ~ Cardigan

Cardigan

When you are young, they assume you know nothing…/…But I knew you/Playing hide-and-seek and/Giving me your weekends, I/I knew you…/…’Cause I knew you/Steppin’ on the last train/Marked me like a bloodstain, I/I knew you/Tried to change the ending/Peter losing Wendy, I/I knew you/Leavin’ like a father/Running like water, I/And when you are young, they assume you know nothing/But I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss/I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs/The smell of smoke would hang around this long/’Cause I knew everything when I was young/I knew I’d curse you for the longest time/Chasin’ shadows in the grocery line/I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired/And you’d be standin’ in my front porch light/And I knew you’d come back to me

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: Lover ~ London Boy

I split the songs up on the Lover album as well so we can delve into each one a bit more.

London Boy

But something happened, I heard him laughing/I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent…/…He likes my American smile/Like a child when our eyes meet, darling, I fancy you…/…So I guess all the rumors are true/You know I love a London boy/Boy, I fancy you (ooh)…/…Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride/Babe, don’t threaten me with a good time…/…Stick with me, I’m your queen…/…Just wanna be with you (ooh)/Wanna be with you/I fancy you (yeah), fancy you

The Wiki defines satire:

https://prowritingaid.com/art/1109/everything-you-need-to-know-about-satire.aspx#:~:text=At%20its%20core%2C%20satire%20is,institutions%2C%20or%20society%20at%20large.

Wiki

https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/english-literature/literary-devices/satire/

Click to access 1012448ar.pdf

Author of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift (the following not to be confused with Taylor Swift):

STOP HERE IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT MORE EXAMPLES OF LGBT SATIRE

Here is a (non-exhaustive–more of a smattering, if you will) list of satirical media questioning/criticizing norms on gender and LGBTQ:

Faggots:

As an aside, because the previous paragraphs may not paint him in the best light:

The Great Gatsby:

The Importance of Being Earnest:

Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments: Lover ~ The Archer (Part 2- Bury Your Gays)

I split the songs up on the Lover album as well so we can delve into each one a bit more.

And to make it even more confusing I tried to examine The Archer by the audience Taylor is addressing in the lyrics. She talks to: 1) Her internal self

2) the media and general public

3) her fans.

Cons of coming out:  media/public/betrayers/enemies/historical evidence it doesn’t end well

The Archer

‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies…/…But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here?[Lavender Haze]/…And all of my heroes die all alone…/…’Cause they see right through me/They see right through me/They see right through…/…They see right through/They see right through me…/…All the king’s horses, all the king’s men/Couldn’t put me together again…/…’Cause all of my enemies started out friends

The Lighthouse Analysis: VIII. Mythology-Sirens

There are many references to mythology in The Lighthouse movie. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re themes of the movie, because none of them are carried out in an entire story arc.

The singing mermaid-like creature in the movie is reminiscent of sirens. Sirens were human companions of Persephone. After she was carried off by Hades, they sought her everywhere and finally prayed for wings to fly across the sea. The gods granted their prayer. In some versions Demeter turned them into birds to punish them for not guarding Persephone. In art the Sirens appeared first as birds with the heads of women and later as women, sometimes winged, with bird legs (1). Though early depictions of the Sirens showed them as half-woman half-bird creatures, similar to harpies, who lived by the sea. However, later on, Sirens were said to have female heads and torsos, with fish tail from their navel downwards. Around the Middle Ages, the Sirens morphed into the figure that we now call mermaids (2).

The movie also depicts both the siren/mermaid-creature, and birds (though separately). In the Lighthouse, the birds are said to be the souls of dead sailors, so that is adjacent to the sirens getting wings, and having hybrid heads of women, tails of fish, and wings of birds.

The Sirens seem to have evolved from an ancient tale of the perils of early exploration combined with an Asian image of a bird-woman. Anthropologists explain the Asian image as a soul-bird—i.e., a winged ghost that stole the living to share its fate. In that respect the Sirens had affinities with the Harpies (1).

This soul-bird concept is closer to what the movie was doing: A singing siren and in addition the birds that represent souls.

The Sirens stayed on an island near the strait of Scylla and Charybdis after the search for Persephone ended. From there, they would prey on the ships passing nearby, enticing the sailors with their charming singing. Their singing was so beautiful that they could make the wind stop to listen to them. It’s from these singing creatures that we get the English word siren, which means a device that makes a warning noise. With their musical ability, they attracted the sailors from the passing ships, who would come closer and closer to the dangerous rocky coast of the Sirens’ island and ultimately get shipwrecked and dashed on the rocks. According to some myths, the corpses of their victims could be found all along the shores of their island (2).

Younger was drawn to the fishy woman in a supernatural way. The siren/mermaid made a high pitch “singing” and was also an omen of impending danger.

The Sirens symbolize temptation and desire, which can lead to destruction and risk. If a mortal stopped to listen to the beautiful sounds of the Sirens, they wouldn’t be able to control their desires and this would lead them to their death. As such, the Sirens can also be said to represent sin (2).

The movie is trying to convey how Younger has split into Id and ego precisely because he cannot control his desires. As the parts of himself are coming back together (strongly symbolized by the two “men” dancing) Younger’s vices and impulsivity return in his character.

Some have suggested that the Sirens represent the primal power that females have over men, which can both fascinate and frighten men. After Christianity began to spread, the symbol of the Sirens was used to portray the dangers of temptation. The phrase siren song is used to describe something that is appealing and alluring but also potentially dangerous and harmful (2).

Same concept in the movie. Younger is always magnetized and attracted to the siren/mermaid. In the beginning of the movie his interactions with her are fleeting, then toward the middle of the movie, they are longer and more substantial, and at the end he tries to copulate with her fishy nether-regions. This helps show his Id returning to his personality, the break of his delusion. It also shows man’s temptations toward the feminine, which purportedly leads to other temptations. Finally, the movie uses this as a key indicator things are going to get bad.

Sources:

1) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siren-Greek-mythology

2) https://symbolsage.com/sirens-greek-mythology/

3) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Odysseus

4) https://symbolsage.com/odysseus-trojan-war-hero/

5) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Prometheus-Greek-god

6) https://symbolsage.com/prometheus-greek-mythology/

7) https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Trident_of_Poseidon

8) https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-odyssey/book-12

9) https://www.uniguide.com/cyclopes

10) https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Aiolos.html#:~:text=AIOLOS%20(Aeolus)%20was

The Lighthouse Analysis: I. Timeline

I wanted to give my readers a chance to digest my best guesses at what’s going on in The Lighthouse film. The master post is long, so I have also published each section (exact same) on it’s own.

All the Disclaimers:

*Spoilers ahead

*To lesson confusion, I will be referring to the older lighthouse keeper as “Older” and the younger as “Younger” bc the names change throughout the film.

*The clues are offered in a non-linear way

The clues are more disjointed in the film, not presented in a linear way. Which is both why it’s difficult for the audience to grasp the true timeline, to tell who is who, and also for me to write a post without skipping around. I apologize, blame the author/director.

*The movie NEVER indicates the timeline is off. It is intentionally disjointed to confuse the viewer and have us question what is real.

The plot/story/interaction begins before the audience gains access and events take place prior to the beginning of this film.

I think the audience is viewing the movie after the story has already started. In the very first scene of the film, Younger goes to his room. But he digs at the bed. There is a hole. And he has to remove a piece of stuffing. He has hidden a mermaid figure in the mattress. And he didn’t stumble upon it, he retrieves it in a knowing way. The movie is telling the audience that we came to view later then the very beginning of the action. This is not the first time Younger has been in the room–it’s the audience’s first time seeing the room. The timeline of events starts PRIOR to the start of the film.

One of the first big hints that the story has begun before we started viewing is the first dinner (that we see). Older is really trying to push liquor on Younger, and Younger is very resistant to drinking. To the point that Younger pours the liquor down the sink and gets some water. The water is a big clue. It is already fucked up.

It’s at that point, the first dinner, the audience sees that something dead is in the water tank. And it’s still unclear which of the men is responsible.

Later, we see Younger look into the water tank and see a dead bird. Not a man, a bird. It’s the evidence the audience needed for why the water is fucked up. Older, told us earlier birds represent the souls of dead sailors. And Younger didn’t see a man, he saw a bird. That let’s us know that Younger is not in reality. He has separated murdering a man in his mind. Which is why, when confronted with reality, Younger’s first instinct is to grab the nearest bird and kill it–horribly. He is “killing” the knowledge of what he’s done. Younger has killed the man (in his alternate reality seen as a bird) in the tank.

This is enforced in an earlier scene. Younger is going about his chores and a bird blocks his way, and squawks accusatorily. That scene is telling the audience, “Remember the fucked up water, which we learned was caused by a dead body in the water tank? Well, the spirit of the dead sailor (the birds) is saying which man in the lighthouse did it–Younger.”

Toward the end of the movie, Older says something like, you’re probably not even really here [the lighthouse] you’re probably wandering like a mad man through the forest, muttering to yourself. And it made me wonder if any of the lighthouse was reality, or if it was a form of total escapism and denial for Younger after he was complicit in the death of the logging foreman. After all, his sense of time is very confused. But one of the primary things that makes me think, no Younger is in fact at the lighthouse, is the dehydration. In a fit of retaliation, Younger killed the Wiki that had been there with him. [This was not Older, who is not an actual person, he is the embodiment of Younger’s Id when Younger is denying reality]. Anyway, Younger killed the other wiki that had been there for (in his mind) picking on him unfairly. And had impulsively hid the body in his only supply of drinking water. He can’t get water from the tap, he can’t drink salt water, so when Younger runs out of water he drinks only alcohol. When he [seen as they bc Younger is blaming the murder on his base instincts, his Id (Older)] runs out of alcohol, the movie shows him thirstily licking at the rain and he desperately resorts to ethanol–the only thing left to drink at the lighthouse. If this were all a figment or dream, Younger would have access to water in a forest.

Little Fires Everywhere Review (Spoilers)

*Karen = Reece Witherspoon’s character

 

Mia’s attitude sucks.  She is rude the entire time.  The hostility boils barely beneath the surface–I wouldn’t have anything to do with her based on that demeanor alone.  The character is totally unlikable, snarling and growling her way through pretty much the entire series.

I think one of Karen’s biggest mistakes is not listening to her own gut feelings.  She shouldn’t have rented to Mia.  If I (as a white person) was looking for housing and it was a year lease, but I wanted month to month–they would tell me no.  Karen should not have felt white guilt and stuck to policy.  Also, hiring your tenant as house-help is a terrible idea–for both women.  It puts Karen in an awkward position if the renting doesn’t go well, or if the house-manager job doesn’t go well.  And it is a horrible idea for Mia to allow one person to be in charge of her housing and income.

I knew Mia would have a back-story.  I thought maybe she was raped, maybe Pearl’s dad was stalking them so they were running, or she had some sort of criminal charge she was on the lamb about.  But by the time the series finally revealed Mia’s background, it was already too late, I couldn’t overcome my dislike for the character.  The order of the episodes matters!  Maybe if her past was revealed sooner, I could have had empathy.  But as it was, the background wasn’t compelling enough to justify all her poor decisions and surly attitude.

When Mia says, “You know how to advocate for yourself.”  As if it’s not her responsibility as a parent to step in and make sure Pearl gets in the appropriate math class.

Mia wants

Mia’s professor is way out of line!  Taking coke in front of a student–offering it to the student.  Sleeping with a student.  That lack of boundaries and the power dynamic is predatory, and I didn’t care for it.

The author/screen writer didn’t make Mia’s dreams clear enough.  I thought she was having PTSD and that Pearl was a child of rape until I found out Mia was just afraid of being discovered.

Karen comes off as hyper-controlling, but it’s actually Mia who is the controlling one.  Mia controls when her and Pearl move and where they go.  She continuously says Pearl belongs to her, which never sat well with me.  She controls the length of the lease.  She takes a nonsense job she doesn’t want to control Pearl at Karen’s house.  Mia takes control of her coworker’s life, and baby search even though it’s none of her business, and they only knew each other for 3 months.  Mia controls what kind of life, and what luxuries Pearl gets–to the point she doesn’t sell art for Pearl’s life, but will sell it to pay her coworker’s lawyer fees.  Mia controls when Izzy can come by to do art.  Mia talks suggestively about fire and new beginnings to impressionable and angry Izzy–then sends her right home.  Mia is the one pulling the strings the entire series-yet she gets the better treatment of the 2 main characters.  I think Mia is a sociopath.

I didn’t understand why Pearl choose Trip over Moody.  She had a lot of fun and quality time with Moody.  He was intellectually on her level.  He treated her nice.  She tells her mom Trip is easy and dumb, so I don’t get why she threw away her relationship with Moody for his brother.  Though I did like Izzy’s point to Moody that just because he likes Pearl, and just because he’s nice to her, doesn’t mean Pearl owes him anything, and it doesn’t mean he owns her.  I liked the message, but I think the author went against Pearl’s character to set up the situation to have Izzy say that quote and to bring Moody down a  couple of notches.  It’s not really consistent writing.

Mia made the decision to steal the baby she was carrying as a surrogate.  And she didn’t even have the courage to tell the parents that she was backing out of their deal (or to give back a portion of the money).  It’s ethically, and contractually wrong, but the author never punishes her, Mia is treated like a hero.

The author actually punishes most of the mothers, which I did not like.  Karen was punished for giving up her fiance’ because he decided he wanted a travel career instead of kids.  She was punished for putting her family first and having a part-time job at a small publication, and for living her life for her kids.  The adoptive couple were treated as pretentious, insensitive and less-than, even though they wanted kids so badly, and loved the baby for the 1st year.  The surrogate family was treated as an inconvenience to Mia and Pearl’s story.  Bebe had a more sympathetic story line, but also was questioned for being poor, illegal, and single.  The author has peculiar and stringent ideals about motherhood, instead of accepting all types of mothers and situations as legitimate.

I didn’t think any character was likable, and I don’t think any one of them took accountability.  But not all of them were punished for that.

Mia and Lexie were my 2 least favorite characters.

Karen got a bad deal.  Yeah, I said it, and I stand by it.

All the Fake People: Miss Americana Primary Observation

I had cancelled Netflix before.  Because it was getting more and more expensive, while the content was stagnant.  But then 2-3 months after I did, of course Miss Americana was only released on Netflix.  I stuck to my guns to save money, read the Kaylor-verse to keep up somewhat, but was disappointed.  Then, once coronavirus locked me down for a month, I got out the credit card (no matter the email, Netflix tracks the cards) and got a free trial.  So I’m burning through all the content I ever want to see before my month runs out.

Miss Americana top of the list.  Obviously.

It struck me that Taylor Swift’s Interactions (at least most of the ones portrayed on Miss Americana, which I understand is not everything in her life) left a lot to be desired.  And not because of anything she did or didn’t do.  I thought Taylor seemed honest, thoughtful, sweet, more open than I expected, and funny.  She was talking to others.  She told ideas, plans, and jokes.  But almost all of the people that she was talking to on the film were:  Distant, distracted, disengaged, disinterested (that may be too strong of a word), awkward, hysterical, over-emotional. 

From the start, when Taylor gets bad news in a phone call, and you can see she just wants to cry (like any person would) but she has to put on professionalism and hide her disappointment.  Yes, it’s a job and it’s important to be a professional, but it made me sad she has to build a wall around her feelings even with her own people.  In the studio, the producers seemed busy and like they were working just kind of half paying attention to what she was saying.  Brendon Urie seemed like he was half-listening and ready to dart out the door when she was excitedly describing her inspiration.  Todrick always seems self-absorbed and superficial, though I don’t really care for him, because he’s always stirring up drama so that just may be my perception.  Abigail seemed like they had grown distant and no longer know each other–but that vibe might have just been her feeling awkward to be on film (maybe?  hopefully?).  At any rate, I thought they seemed uncomfortable with each other.  Taylor’s Dad always seemed distant and authoritative, interrupting her and just being all-business from what I saw in the film.

I thought Taylor was especially gracious with her fans.  But it’s such a one-way street.  Meaning, many of them were screaming or sobbing when they saw/met her.  And I kept wondering what I would do in that situation if I was as famous as Taylor.  It’s such a weird way to interact.  And Taylor handled it really well, being sweet and funny, and really putting up with shenanigans.  Like, people, what are you expecting from Taylor when you come in so hot with that energy?  Really, how is a person supposed to react to that?  I think take it down a couple levels and treat her like she’s human.  Because if I were in her shoes I honestly wouldn’t know how to be if someone came up to me screaming, shaking, sobbing, proposing in front of me.  So major props to Taylor for being ultra cool in just strange interactions…  I think that stuff would make me feel alien and lonely.  But she was really nice, and I respect that a lot. 

I hope what the film didn’t show was real (two-way) conversations with people engaging with Taylor.  I want for her to have someone who really is on her same level, and listens to her, and cares about her (not just what she can do, or do for them).  I’m sure Miss Americana didn’t show every single thing.  So I hope what it didn’t show was so many rich, authentic relationships.  Will there be a sequel with Karlie, her friends, and her family relating to her on a more personal level?  I hope, for the entertainment value for me, and for Taylor’s sake that there’s more to see…

Directors, editors, if you’re reading this, the first film seemed like Taylor was isolated, so if that wasn’t your point, please put in more personal connections and show that she can have a conversation.  And Kaylor, always show more Kaylor 🙂 ❤ ❤ ❤