Taylor Swift's new video is dark, satirical and most of all - self aware.
The music video for 'Look What You Made Me Do', the singer's first single from her upcoming album Reputation, premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday afternoon (NZ time).
The song has divided critics and fans alike, and the video looks set to do the same.
It begins with Swift crawling out of a grave with a tombstone that reads 'Here Lies Taylor Swift's Reputation', a signal that the musician who once sang about princesses and true love has taken a darker turn.
The video is full of references to Swift's career and personal history, from an army of robotic women representing her notorious 'squad' to a literal car crash symbolising the nightmarish year Swift has endured in the public eye.
Snakes are featured prominently, a serpentine symbol that has haunted Swift since last year's altercation with Kim Kardashian-West and husband Kanye, in which Swift came off looking very much the 'bad guy'.
There are multiple 'Taylor Swifts' in the video, all wearing iconic costumes from past music videos and performances. At one point all the personas insult each other, calling each other "fake" and "playing the victim" - criticisms that have been lobbied at Swift herself.
With a song and video so different to anything she has done before, it's fair to say that the old Taylor truly is dead.
Newshub.
