Taylor Swift - Mean is a song by the popular country-pop artist with an upbeat tone and a tone that makes the song seem very positive. In the music video Taylor sticks to the country-like situations she has used previously and begins the video with her playing the banjo on a farm. The rest of the video continues along with examples of someone being bullied such as a young man in a purple sweater vest, slacks, and a bow tie being harassed by a group of football players, or a young woman having trash thrown at her and cups being put on her star costume as she stands outside the front of a restaurant. The song concludes with the same upbeat tone it began with but this time it shows the same people who were being harassed as becoming very successful, such as the young man who was being harassed by the football team walking down a runway at a fashion show accepting a bouquet of flowers and taking a bow and the young woman who was being made fun of at her job is scene in an office with skyscrapers in the background and her college degree on the wall hanging up as she signs for something.
Taylor Swift has been an advocate for bullying for as long as she has been in the spotlight and this song is no exception to that as Taylor still adopts the same tone and uplifting beat she uses regularly but within this song is a subliminal message that although you may be bullied by someone who may seem bigger than you in whatever aspect as long as you aspire and continue to be yourself you will rise above the people who are your bullies.
In the image depicted a young woman is drawn in pencil and is seen sitting down on on a box with her head slightly tilted down. Most of the woman's face is covered except for her obvious frown. She is slouched over and there are words written in blood, drawn in a red pen/paint, and that are penetrating her back. The words that are written in blood seemingly have handles on them and say malicious things such as "Waste of Flesh", "Fat", "Stupid" and many more. The words that are drawn in blood penetrating the woman's back are also drawing blood which is pouring down her backside and onto the box she is sitting on.
Something as simple as words can effect the way someone may think of themselves. Words may not only have a psychological effect but also a physical one as a person being harassed/bullied may lead someone to self harm. The old saying "Words cut deeper than knives" really has a powerful meaning here as the picture depicts words cutting deep into the woman who is seemingly depressed or sad. Finally, we never really think of how our words may affect the way someone may feel and some words may make someone feel like the words are cutting deep into them, or making them feel like they are those things when in reality they are not.
"Bullying: A Legal Form of Torture" reads the caption, and nothing more true has ever been said. People day in and day out are forced to endure their bully's wrath with little to no repercussions coming towards their attacker. The suffering a person who is bullied has to endure is enough to make someone cry and tear at their face much like this woman is here. Bullying makes someone not want to do something as simple as go to school or a workplace because they are afraid of their bully. It is sad reality we deal with where a bully may harass their victim freely and when they are caught they are simply told to apologize and both parties are told to go on their own ways. Often people forget about the psychological effect it may have on someone who is being bullied and the things they had to deal with. Pushing the issue to end the suffering of people who have been bullied by giving them the support they need is what this image is trying to convey.
