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Alexa Lank

Professor Granillo

English 103

10 April 2019

Pain or Pleasure?

“Where id was, there ego shall be,” (Freud). In 1856, Sigmund Freud discovered the

concept of psychoanalysis, and defined the idea of the id, ego, and superego. Today, the media

uses these ideas to justify individuals actions. Specifically, artists are using music as a way to

express their feelings. Famous artists like Taylor Swift show the media how they feel about

certain situations. Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” addresses how powerful relationships can truly

be, but in reality, it goes to show how endless flings do not result in true love, but instead, a

fading sense of infatuation. By examining this song with a psychoanalytic lense the audience

discovers how persistent her id and ego truly is, and how Swift dismisses her superego. Living

life truly for pleasure results in pain, and in Swift’s case, defense mechanisms like projection

and displacement; thus songs in the media, like “Blank Space” has put into place how women

contribute to love in today's society; Therefore, it’s important for her young female audience to

know that Swift is not a good role model.

Taylor Swift uses “Blank Space,” as a way to appeal to the emotions of her fans and

connect on a deeper level. Swift capitalizes on the feelings of heartbreak to create an upbeat pop

song that expresses her feelings about men. Swift uses this as a platform to reach her primary

teenage and young adult female listeners, allowing them to relate and appreciate her message.

Due to her having such a young audience, many of her listeners have not been in a serious long
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term relationship, making these individuals very impressionable. With this, Swift uses her lyrics

to explain the feelings relationships can allow. Swift heavily relies on pathos, or emotions, to

reach her audience, allowing her listeners to feel like they understand what she is going through

and possibly even relate to her message. She talks about the captivating feeling of love and the

devastating effects of heartbreak. Swift mentions, “So it's gonna be forever / Or it's gonna go

down in flames,” (Swift 0:00:52). This is a black and white fallacy that Swift uses to

emphasizes the lasting scar that love can leave. This emphasizes the idea that the relationship

will either be euphoric, or catastrophic. In addition to this, Swift says “You look like my next

mistake” (Swift 0:00:22), and is expecting the relationship to end before it begins, allowing for

a self-fulfilled prophecy. This leaves Swift’s audience with a false reality of the dynamics of a

healthy adult relationship.

Although some people will argue Swift’s song is an accurate representation of

relationships in the media today, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Swifts pleasure-seeking

principle is the primary source for her heartbreak. By engaging in shallow activities that are not

enough for true love, Swift is setting herself up for devastation. Swift’s quick and heart

wrenching relationships have become normal for her, leading her audience to believe that love

is unobtainable. As well as saying, “​Nice to meet you, where you been? / I could show you

incredible things​,” (Swift 0:00:14). This goes to show how after her first encounter she's already

giving herself to him with little regard for her self worth, setting a bad example for her

audience. Many of the people who listen to her music have not experienced the feelings of true

love, and have been in similar situations, due to lack of maturity. This video shows how living

for lust does not allow for falling head over heels, but falling straight into agony. “Blank Space”
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relies solely on the immediate gratification pleasure can allow, making Swift’s psyche purely

rely on the id and ego, leaving the superego left aside.

Swift’s music video perfectly exemplifies how she lives life strictly for pleasure.

According to Freud, “The id works similarly to System 1 thinking, in that, it is our first impulse

or reaction to our primal needs… From the moment we are born, we seek pleasure, or instant

gratification to fulfill these primal needs regardless of the situation,” (Freud). Within the lyrics

and the music video, Swift’s id is a driving factor through the song. It begins by explaining her

choice to try and change him, “I can make the bad guys good for a weekend,” (Swift 0:00:47).

Her subconscious is seeking pleasure, and immediate gratification without looking at the

consequences. Swift also mentions her “long list of ex-lovers” reaffirming how her id tends to

use men to satisfy her subconscious. She also mentions using men with the line, “Cause you

know I love the players / And you love the game,” (Swift 0:01:08), proving she only gets

involved for the satisfaction the man will give her, knowing he is also only in the relationship to

satisfy his id as well. This insists that Swift purely uses men in order to feel the sensations a

relationship will allow. She does not consider the consequences of her actions and goes from

being madly in love to wanting to ruin his life. The truth of the matter is, Swift’s way of

handling love is not ideal. Swift was only using her id to make decisions, resulting in a

downward spiral. Swift only pursues actions that make herself feel good at that moment. She

does not think of how her actions will affect those around her, or how they will affect her life in

the long run. This proves that handling relationships in such a way will not help, but hurt the

individual. Just as Swift used her id to go about her life, she used her ego as well.

Although the id is the most persistent, it wouldn’t get anywhere without the ego.
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The ego is the center of an individual's motivations, proving people cannot have an id or a

superego, without the ego itself. As explained by Freud, “The ego maintains a balance of both

the id and the superego, between primitive motivators, and internal morals. It works as a

secondary processor that allows a person to define what is realistic, or more rational. However,

it cannot differentiate between right and wrong.” (Freud). After looking deeper Swifts ego is a

huge factor of her personality, as it’s getting her what she desires. Swift explains this with the

line, “Screaming, crying, perfect storm, I can make all the tables turn,” (Swift 0:01:58). This

proves that Swift is using her ego to make the choices that will satisfy her id without thinking of

moral standards. She wants to make herself feel better by getting revenge to inflate her ego.

Swifts superego is not present allowing her ego to justify her actions, making him feel miserable

in order to make herself feel better. This exemplifies how she uses her ego to create her ideal

life, regardless of what's right or wrong, in order for her id to get immediate gratification. This

makes the American culture look very self-absorbed as shown in the media. Granted, the lack of

superego causes her to not achieve her long term goals, making her seem crazy and desperate.

Most individuals have internal conflicts, deciding between right and wrong, but in

Swift’s case, her superego is not present. According to Freud, “The superego derives from

morals or ethics. These ethical standards are social constructions that allow people within a

given society to differentiate between right and wrong. The superego allows a personal to

control their primitive desires,” (Freud). Taylor Swift does not make any decisions based on

morals, or ethical standards. She does not take other people's emotions or ideas into

consideration. According to the article “Coda: Psychoanalysis and Music in the Psyche and

Society,” written by Julie Jaffee Nagel and Samuel Bradshaw, the authors explain that
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“Psychoanalytic and musical knowledge can contribute to many areas that impact human

motivation, critical thinking, decision-making, and our quality of life while probing beneath

external events and simplistic solutions to thorny and complex questions,” (Nagel and

Bradshaw, 147). This is very important as the superego is needed to progress these ideals. Swift

fails to allow her superego to contribute to her critical thinking or decision-making skills. She is

portrayed as an individual who does not care about other’s needs, but strictly her own.

Psychoanalysis proves that one needs a healthy balance of their id, ego, and superego for a

successful life. The takeaway message from Swift’s song is to see how her lack of superego

causes an alter in her behavior. This makes the women in the American culture look as if they

all want one thing, and will do anything to get it regardless of the consequences. The audience

needs to realize that having the superego present is vital to having a happy and thriving

relationship. In addition to this, Swift uses defense mechanisms that actually decrease her

quality of life.

Swift’s way of handling trauma is different in terms of the lyrics and the music video.

Swift uses defense mechanisms in order to cope with the tragic heartbreak. According to Tyson,

a defense mechanism is “The process by which the contents of our unconscious are kept in the

unconscious. In other words, they are the processes by which we keep the repressed repressed in

order to avoid knowing what we feel we can’t handle knowing.” (15 ) Swift uses these to help

herself after discovering she was cheated on. When just looking at the lyrics one finds that Swift

uses projection, ascribing our fear, problem, or guilty desire to someone else and then

condemning them for it (Tyson, 15), as a driving force in this song. The entire song is a way of

attacking the man’s character instead of acknowledging her own feelings. By insinuating that he
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was cheating with the line, “Oh my god who is she / I get drunk on jealousy / But you'll come

back each time you leave,” (Swift 0:02:07), she implies that he was unfaithful, yet will still

come crawling back. In order to make herself feel better, Swift attacks the man’s character to

suppress her feelings and avoid the reality of the situation. When he hurts her and appears to be

unfaithful, Swift gives a warning that boys are the problem, rather than maturely handling the

situation. She does this by saying, “Boys only want love if it's torture / Don't say I didn't say I

didn't warn ya,” (Swift 0:03:02). Swift uses projection in order to hide her true feelings, but in

reality, she is not tackling the problems head-on, and nothing will be resolved. When diving

deeper in the music video, Swift uses displacement, another defense mechanism to guard her

heart.

Swift is sought out to hurt him and make him pay for his unfaithful decisions. She does

this in a way that will help her ego feel better about the situation. In the music video, Swift uses

displacement, or “‘taking it out’ on someone or something less threatening than the person who

caused the fear, hurt, frustration, or anger,” (Tyson, 15), as the main defense mechanism used to

protect her ego. During the first half of the video Swift is seen riding horses, carving their

names into a tree, painting a portrait of “him”, and having a picnic. The video soon turns into

fighting and crying. She begins destroying and burning his belongings, ruining the painting,

cutting down the tree, and ultimately smashing his car with a golf club. (Swift 0:03:15).

Demolishing his car was the most powerful, as it represented “him” and her feelings towards

“him.” She is displacing her emotions from being cheated on, onto his car. She is satisfying her

id by wrecking his car, similarly to the way he wrecked her heart. After all of this takes place,

Swift is seen with another man, leading the audience to assume she will be headed directly
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down the same path. This proves that handling situations the way Swift did is just harmful, and

will not allow her to have the life she wanted.

“Blank Space” by Taylor Swift is not a good representation for young women in today's

society. Looking at it from a psychoanalytic perspective Swift’s way of handling trauma is not

healthy by any means. Before taking a deeper look at this song I felt as though Swift was just a

heartbroken girl who wanted to the world to see who she truly is. After hearing the song and

watching the video the way the media represents her, Swift comes across as hysterical and is

seen as playing a victim, but in reality, Swift is not fully innocent. Swift’s young and

impressionable audience needs to learn that this is not a healthy relationship, and living life like

Taylor Swift is not a beneficial way to live.

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Works Cited

Freud, Sigmund, and James Strachey. ​The Ego and the Id​. New York: Norton, 1962. Print.

Graillo, Ashley. “Psychoanalysis: An Introduction.” ​College of the Canyons, 2​ 019.

Nagel, Julie Jaffee, and Samuel Bradshaw. “Coda: Psychoanalysis and Music in the Psyche and

Society.” ​International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies,​ vol. 10, no. 2, June

2013, pp. 147–151. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1002/aps.1357.

Swift, Taylor, “Blank Space”​ Youtube, ​10, November 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg

Tyson, Lois, “critical theory today”​ Routledge, 2​ 015.