Is everyone in Swiftie-verse okay? ‘Cause I’m not. I’m doing my very best to remain stable, but I really do belong in the Tortured Poets Department psych ward right now. Take me away. Obviously, I didn’t sleep a wink last night because I had TWO albums to listen to on repeat. The marriage lyrics ruined me, the depression lyrics ruined me, and the Matty Healy lyrics deeply disturbed me. Who knew a one-month situationship with a problematic man could do so much damage? (Okay, so maybe I did know that from personal experience.) Considering everything these two Brits apparently put Taylor through, it’s making more and more sense why she was craving an all-American football player.
Watch The “Fortnight” Music Video Here:
Swifties have only had 20 hours to process the album, and now Taylor and Post Malone are hitting us with this wild “Fortnight” music video. It’s a black and white cinematic masterpiece featuring an asylum, a typewriter, Clara Bow channeling, and “Blank Space”-level insanity. Taylor has countless iconic music videos that live rent-free in my mind (“Look What You Made Me Do,” “You Belong With Me,” etc.), and I’m adding this one to that list. I know Easter was a few weeks ago, but oh do we have an easter egg hunt to begin.
The Asylum Is A Key TTPD Location
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We’ve been learning that the Lover house is no more, and in fact, we were crazy for ever thinking it — or love — was real. Brutal. The “Fortnight” music video confirms that the primary TTPD setting is the asylum, which makes sense with lyrics like: “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me / I was a functioning alcoholic / ‘Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.” I need to have a word with these fucking artsy English men.
The Mourning And Wedding Dresses
Taylor gets violent in a gorgeous wedding gown that totally reminds me of her Schiaparelli gown from this year’s Grammys. As we all know by now, her not getting married is a major theme of this album. (RIP, “Paper Rings.”) She also wears a black gown with puff sleeves and ruffles, which fans have pointed out resembles a Victorian mourning dress. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, “Queen Victoria wore mourning from the death of her husband, Prince Albert (1819-1861), until her own death.” Throughout TTPD, Taylor compares breakups to death because she’s a dramatic queen.
The Clara Bow Homage
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1920s silent film actress and It girl Clara Bow is a star of The Tortured Poets Department — there’s a track named after her. In the “Fortnight” video, Taylor mimics Clara’s signature glam, wearing dark lipstick, a smokey eye, and super thin brows. Clara’s reputation was ruined by gossip magazines, and she struggled to navigate fame before retiring from acting at 28.
“Forget Him” Pills
While Taylor’s chained up in the asylum, a nurse hands her “forget him” pills, and she gladly puts one on her tongue. After she takes the pill, she’s freed from the chains. Basically, men are a prison. That’s a theme of TTPD, for sure.
The Matty-Esque Typewriter
In the title track of the album, Taylor roasts Matty for using a typewriter: “You left your typewriter at my apartment / Straight from the tortured poets department / I think some things I never say / Like, ‘Who uses typewriters anyway?'” Well, she and Posty are both using typewriters in this music video.
The Black Dog
A black dog briefly walks by in the video, which might seem like nothing BUT, “The Black Dog” is a track title on the album, a common metaphor for depression, and an actual bar in London. So it’s something.
