Style Music Video = Bearding Allegory (Taylor/Harry/Louis)
Hiya, I’ve come to elaborate more on my post regarding the overlapping themes happening between Taylor and Harry, along with other members of One Direction. I wanted to start with a baseline in the 1989 era, because I’m not sure how much overlap there is between Gaylors, Larries, Harries, and Directioners. Trying to keep this Taylor focused, so I won’t go into much detail to things not directly related to Taylor.
Baseline facts:
- Taylor Swift is queer
- Harry Styles is queer
- Harry Styles dated Louis Tomlinson
- Haylor was bearding, nothing more
Larry things I imagine Gaylors are unaware of:
- The presentation of Larry/Larries as “crazy” and “delusional”, that they are responsible for the downfall of One Direction, that they destroyed Harry/Louis friendship, is all homophobic PR generated by 1D’s management.
- Many Larries believe Harry and Louis are married. The fuzzy belief is that they had a commitment ceremony in 2013 and an official/legal wedding sometime before 18 December, 2019.
Taylor and Harry (along with all of 1D) were friends and hanging out in 2012. We can assume they were friendly before and that they are still friends to this day. They share Ed Sheeran as a mutual best-friend. Ed wrote songs for One Direction. Louis even wrote a song on his album Walls that mentions a show he attended with Harry. Harry and Karlie have hung out, with Taylor and we can presume Louis.
The music video for Style is about bearding and the artifice of it all. The video starts with the man (representing Harry Styles) laying in bed, bathed in purple. He then is looking at a projection of Taylor, bathed in purple. We can code these two characters as queer…in that lavender haze ✨
Following this, we have their lavender essence further reinforced when they are each shown with rainbows. I find the lipstick man interesting given the rumours and blinds about Harry wearing lipstick and his unreleased song “her.” Taylor is looking at you with the fake mirror image, while looking away with her private self. It’s all very through the looking glass.
Then we get this sequence of them literally obscuring themselves with the other, both hiding and being hidden. It switches from a mirror to a projection cast upon the person — what we see of them is a projection… Do you see a man or a woman, the real or the unreal, blue or brown?
The Style video, with its heavy emphasis on through the looking glass, is the first time I noticed or paid attention to the concept of Blue/Red. Keeping in mind that they are friends, Blue/Red are massively recurrent themes in Harry and Louis’ solo work. What is blue and red you ask? In the Matrix, you take a red pill to see reality, while the blue pill allows you to live within delusion.
Some examples of this theme in Harry and Louis’ work. And yes, those dashing gents next to the 1D guys do look awfully similar, don’t they? Gaylors aren’t the only ones portrayed as crazy simply for picking up on what the artist is intentionally conveying for those who look…beyond…the looking glass…
During One Direction, Louis’ colour was blue. Since One Direction, in his solo work, he has changed his color to be red. As his work (and ALL of his press about it) becomes almost entirely gender neutral, he has become “real.” At least as real as he can be at the moment.
This is all my Monday brain can handle. If I’m not eviscerated for this, I’ll post about their current overlaps in the SNTV/Midnights/Harry’s House/Faith in the Future era next. There is some with Taylor and every member of 1D in ways that are notable beyond the point of coincidence.
If anyone is curious about Larry/Larrie, I recommend Cosmic Leeds on YouTube. I’ve never found a good masterpost for Larry, not one akin to the sheer glory of gaylor masterposts
**I hope “allegory” is the right term? I’m suddenly doubting myself, but I can’t change a title, so it’s gonna stay regardless** 😬