After teasing its release earlier this week, Taylor Swift dropped her latest music video for “…Ready for It?” on Thursday night, delighting fans with the sci-fi-inspired clip that calls to mind films like Tron, Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell.
While the clamor after the video’s preview was released was over the fact that Swift appears in a nude bodysuit, the actual video tells a much wider story, beginning with Swift, dressed in a black hooded cape, walking down a hallway to visit a bodysuited cyborg Swift, who is trapped in a clear glass box.
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Cyborg Swift tries several times to escape her prison, and finally does so by using her voice, shattering the glass and effectively destroying hooded Swift in the process.
Naturally, fans have already come up with plenty of theories based on the video, including pointing out the telltale Swift Easter eggs that appear throughout the Joseph Kahn-directed clip.
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When Swift walks down the hall at the beginning of the video, the numbers 89 and 91 can be seen in graffiti on the wall, with 89 clearly a reference to Swift’s birth year, 1989, and 91 a possible reference to boyfriend Joe Alwyn’s birth year of 1981. The name Joseph also appears in Chinese characters, although that could be a nod to Kahn rather than Alwyn.
There are also secret messages written on the walls that include “UR Gorgeous,” “All Eyes On Us,” “I Love You In Secret,” and “This Is Enough,” the first of which likely references her latest release, “Gorgeous.”
Once she gets to cyborg Swift, fans speculate that the glass box represents the box the media has put her in or the way that everyone is so fascinated by her private life. In her box, cyborg Swift creates a whole lot of lighting, a move fans think is a reference to the song she co-wrote with ex Calvin Harris, “This Is What You Came For.” The cover art for the track features lightning and a blue colors scheme, much like cyborg Swift’s powers.
Swift also references past music videos, with cyborg Swift at one point riding a white horse like the singer did in her video for “Blank Space.” A snake-like creature is also seen on cyborg Swift’s face, a nod to the snake theme the star began in her clip for “Look What You Made Me Do.”
At the end of the clip, cyborg Swift rises above hooded Swift and her robotic guards, standing on a platform that reads, “They’re burning all the witches.”
Swift’s upcoming album, Reputation, drops Nov. 10.
Photo Credit: YouTube / TaylorSwiftVEVO
