Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” Video Criticized For Portraying “White Colonialism”
Taylor Swift is no stranger to receiving critique for her music videos (1989‘s “Shake It Off” was deemed “inherently offensive” while some felt “Bad Blood” was a target towards Katy Perry). The singer’s latest backlash is for her “Wildest Dreams” visual, which premiered during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Joseph Kahn-directed video (the man also behind “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood”) shows Taylor and love interest Scott Eastwood tributing the Golden Age of Hollywood as they shoot a film on location somewhere in Africa. Many look at the video as a tribute to classics like Out Of Africa, but others feel Taylor is depicting a more white-washed affair.
One publication that called out the “Wildest Dreams” video was the Huffington Post, who stated: “Instead of the cultural appropriation that has become almost status quo in today’s pop music, Swift has opted for the bolder option of actually just embodying the political exploitation of a region and its people.” The writer went on to say the clip “channels white colonialism.”
NPR also gave their critique, saying: “Here are some facts for Swift and her team: Colonialism was neither romantic nor beautiful. It was exploitative and brutal. The legacy of colonialism still lives quite loudly to this day. Scholars have argued that poor economic performance, weak property rights and tribal tensions across the continent can be traced to colonial strategies.”
Other publications like Jezebel were more sarcastic with their statements: “Sure, it’s all passion and desire while on location (isn’t it funny how wild things get in Africa?), but once back in Hollywood and shooting on a soundstage, our poor lovelorn colonizers just can’t get it together. Sigh.”
The “Wildest Dreams” is a depiction of the almost utopian, fantasy world that white Hollywood stars lived in at the time, while flying to exotic locations for movie shoots. But, on the other hand, it is not representing a specific part of Africa. While Taylor is not always expected to show this truth (all proceeds of the video will be donated to the African Parks Foundation of America), this backlash does serves as an interesting topic of conversation.
[via THR]
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