Research and Planning - Video Analysis - Taylor Swift (You Belong with me)

Lyrics:

You're on the phone with your girlfriend, She's upset
She's going off about something that you said
She doesnt get your humour like I do

I'm in the room, its a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesnt like
And she'll never know your story like I do

But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find
That what you're lookin for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me

Walkin the streets with you in your worn out jeans
I cant help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on the park bench thinkin to myself
Hey isnt this easy?

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I havent seen it in awhile, since she brought you down
You say you find I know you better than that
Hey, Whatcha doing with a girl like that?

She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me

Standin by, waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that?
You belong with me
You belong with me

Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me.

Can't you see that I'm the one who understand you?
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me

Standing by or waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that
You belong with me
You belong with me

Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me
You belong with me

The music video is high school based, the star being teenager herself makes it easier for it to be related as she looks young she could easily pass off acting like she is in high school, making it easier to relate to people who are in high school or was recently in high school. It’s a story about a typical teenage romance where the main girl wants to be with a young boy who is with another girl, hence the song title ‘You belong with me’.

The star plays both girl main characters in the video which can take
out the realism and make people which could make viewers believe less in the video. It shows two different sides of the star yet we find the popular girl character she plays less believable to be like the star as we see her as the evil like character. The main girl character also looks like the star in real like which would lead us to believe that the star carries traits from the girl we see in the video. The star sings the lyrics in the video yet at the same time she is doing it in character.


At one point in the video we see the star dressing in different outfits, which look like they would reflect on different types of stereotype of students in school. For example Goth, hippy, dunce. This gives the star many different looks throughout the video which shows all the different types of people you may grow up with in high school. The main girl character that comes off to be like a typical smart geek like character. The features such as the glasses, messy like hair and shot reading books suit her nerdy like character.


The opposite character the girl who the guy is with looks like a typical popular girl who gets a lot of attention and wears stylish tight clothes driving an expensive fancy car as she does in the video. Being a cheerleader compared to the main girl who is in the school band which would be seen to be more geeky in the whole high school stereotypes. The main boy seems typically popular who is in the soccer team with everyone cheering him on in the video including the two girls.


The video goes on to the end to show that she turns up to the prom all glamed up and she and the boy end up together. The video shows realism in the way that you would expect this would be a typical situation you would expect to happen during high school years. However it creates less of a realistic situation as you can clearly tell that the star is already a beautiful girl rather than the nerdy, quiet and unattractive girl she tries to create an image of.

The locations of the video that the scenes are filmed in do not involve an actual high school yet you could imagine by the theme that they are in high school. For example the soccer event, the main girl studying and the prom. Also at the prom the two main girls where different colour dresses, one being red and the other white. This could give us the impression of the main girl in the white dress and the angel and the other the devil as it matches their characters throughout the video. The red is also more revealing which could reveal a more confident and rebellious side to the character. We notice just before the prom there is a close up shot of her taking her classes off which is a big event in the video as it shows she is just about to transform. Once she is there we notice how different she looks and we notice everyone is staring at her as if in shock.


The upbeat lyrics match the quirky and up beatness of the stars action in the video. For example when she is in her bedroom dancing, and when she lip syncs with a lot of exaggeration such as at the soccer game. In the beginning of the video when we see shots of the boy and the girl in the windows the camera angles make us feel like we are the girl looking at the boy from the other window making us feel a part of the video.


The CD cover also fits in with what the video is about and makes it clear what kind of characteristics the actors in the video have. Although the boy on the cover is not the same boy in the video. Also the 'Me' in the title matches the colour of the band girls hair which shows that it is from her point of view.