Despite her virtually flawless PR record, Taylor Swift has found herself embroiled in a race-related controversy following the release of a new music video for her song ‘Wildest Dreams’, a cut from her hugely successful album 1989.
The clip was directed by Joseph Kahn, who previously worked with Swift on her videos for ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Bad Blood’, and was premiered during Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, quickly amassing almost 17 million hits on YouTube.
However, the clip has also been accused of racism and portraying an “African colonial fantasy” due to its almost exclusively white cast, despite being filmed in an undisclosed location in Africa.
The clip depicts Swift on the set of a 1950s-style film set as she engages in a romance with the fictional movie’s leading man, portrayed by actor Scott Eastwood. The sprawling production also features sweeping shots of African wildlife.
But as The Guardian reports, the stylish clip has received considerable backlash from bloggers and social media users, who’ve likened it to outdated film plots that romanticised European rule over Africa.
“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 colonisers just can’t get it together,” wrote Jezebel‘s Madeleine Davies.
Fader magazine titled a write-up of the clip “Taylor Swift Went to Africa to Film a Music Video and There’s Only White People in it“, while NPR criticised “Swift, her record label and her video production group” for glamourising “the white colonial fantasy of Africa”.
Meanwhile, the Huffington Post‘s Lauren Duca wrote, “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.”
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However, as Reuters reports, the clip’s director has defended the video. Taking to Twitter, Joseph Kahn wrote, “My long time producer Jil Hardin who did Power/Rangers, Blank Space, Wildest Dreams is a (super hot) black woman FYI.”
“I absolutely love that Taylor donated all her video proceeds to African parks Foundation. She’s lost a lot of money doing that. Good soul.” The Guardian has confirmed all proceeds from the video are being donated to the African Parks Foundation of America.
While Swift has not responded to the latest round of controversy, it’s not the first time she’s been accused of cultural insensitivity. Her video for ‘Shake It Off’ was previously criticised as perpetuating black stereotypes.
The ‘Shake It Off’ video featured only people of colour portraying urban dancers, while using only white people during ballet scenes. The video was slammed by many, including rapper Earl Sweatshirt, who assailed the video on Twitter.
