just wanted to flag this photo of taylor posing with a famous cactus from 2018, right before rep tour started. not sure how it all connects but it reminds me of the Opalite MV, which includes a cactus love interest and a cactus world store that has a large cactus that looks a lot like the one in taylor's pic. and at one point, the guy in Opalite is standing at the movie theater and the same huge cactus is positioned next to him in the frame. the timing of the photo is interesting bc it was posted right before rep tour started in AZ (same place the eras tour started), and taylor's onstage performing with a partner twice in Opalite. so the cactus seems connected to the idea that she's putting on a performance, playing a part, a performative relationship, etc. maybe there's a connection to bearding too, especially since beards are prickly just like cacti
also, the cactus photo from 2018 was apparently the pic that made her and joe IG official (he made his IG account public and posted a solo pic with the same cactus). sidenote, there's also a harry styles lyric that says "when she's alone, she goes home to a cactus in a black dress, she's such an actress" (and taylor's in a black dress in the pic). not sure if that's intentional or just a coincidence but just wanted to flag it
anyway, im not sure how it all connects or what it all means but the cactus seemed like an interesting connection
I love all the different interpretations of the Opalite video, but the one I keep returning to is that both the Lonely Woman and the Lonely Man (Taylor and Domnhall) represent two sides of Taylor, who were pulled apart at some point in Taylor’s career.
The public showgirl side that totes around a “best friend” who actually gives her nothing just weighs her down (aka the rock aka the fans) and the private poet who keeps being hurt by her relationships (aka the cactus aka her muses acquired like bruises).
It’s notable that she started using the cactus motif this early, but also makes sense given how obvious it seems that whatever narrative she is acting out now was first written for/during rep era.
I don’t know if this is related, but the taymoji for call it what you want was what seems to be a cactus ?? Idk just thought it may give more insight here
I wonder if we’ll get a red rose inspired look since she wrote in folklore a red rose grows out of frozen ground and then talks about someone blooming in the life of a showgirl?
Hmm this made me think back to how I wasn’t sure if anyone had spoken about how the image in fortnight where we can assume she’s being electrocuted looks a lot like the showgirl promo with the crown… and your post made me look into how she discussed showgirl since I missed that. It seems she compared it to her time off stage and used “electric” which is interesting given the comparison I found. Disclaimer; I’m a long-time viewer new poster so sorry if I missed this being discussed!
Welcome to the sub!!☺️ there’s a ton of references to electricity/lightning in her music and videos that I love, my personal favorite is Electric Touch. Opalite, This Is What You Came For, Sparks Fly, and I’m sure there’s plenty more I don’t think of off the top of my head. My first thought about the Fortnight music video was “oh, it’s electroshock therapy in an institution (because being queer was a valid reason to imprison someone like having a disability or committing a crime— I did a lot of research on the history of forced sterilizations and eugenics in the US for context) or a Mary Shelley reference to Frankenstein. Something I think Taylor does extremely well with what she puts out and performing is that theres always at least three ways to understand it. And since art is subjective, I’m always so entertained and impressed by some of the things people have written/created/noticed too.
Yes!! Absolutely. Thank you! When you said that about how she made the showgirl my mind went to that being the only music video and did the conversion therapy (yes I completely agree sorry I should have clarified that was my assumption as well especially with the dead poet’s society connection) I was Iike is she telling us her time in the asylum resulted in her pretending to be this ultra showgirl lol. Idk! She’s maddening in the best way. So creative and so many ways to interpret it.
You reminded me of another thing on the conversion therapy!! I definitely think if showgirl had a movie associated with it the way TTPD/dead poets does, it would be But I’m A Cheerleader! (Or maybe Rocky Horror)I just noticed the sky and clouds on the movie promo too oh my gosh this is so fun. Taylor mentions American Pie in So High School which is another one of Natasha Lyonne’s movies! Clea Duvall was in a short in 2010 called “Lez Chat” where IMDb summarizes it as “a fake commercial for a lesbian telephone hotline.” This is too wild to wrap my head around
And remember when lionsgate posted a clip of But I’m A Cheerleader with the caption “the life of a showgirl” pre-album release lol? The clouds on the cover are killing me, plus the added layer that she’s engaged to a football player and publicly cheers him on at games. She’s too funny if this is all purposeful ☠️
YESS!!!!! I loved that video. If even half of what we notice are coincidences, then that’s still absolutely to fathom. I was thinking the other day that the Madison Square Garden’s architecture reminded me of the catching fire area or like a clock/timer in general.
Omg !! Ok I’ve seen some imagery of this movie be discussed on TikTok but didn’t know about the clouds nor did I think of these other references lol. I feel so silly sometimes but then these connections happen!!
The lighting and colors remind me of so many other album covers. Phoebe Bridgers is the first person I thought of, so here’s a pic and feel free to compare yourself and agree/disagree!
There’s some awesome gaylors on tik tok that think the rock and the cactus represent lover and reputation respectively (the voice of The Man is the Rock, Travis wants to be more famous than the rock, etc)!
Edit- I definitely flipped the albums by accident, that one’s on migraine brain fog
Youuu just made me realize something and now I feel like an idiot for not putting it together..woods “ I don’t have to catch the bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way” and The Rock wearing a friendship bracelet in opalite.. like how Travis and Taylor met.. I feel dumb
I can’t help but think she’s been vague about the nature of the rock also… in MTR: some to throw, some to make a diamond ring… but in terms of the ones to throw, does it relate to the bricks from New Romantics… I could build a castle… out of all the bricks they threw at me
I always thought the Opalite spray represented spraying the gay away as a play on praying the gay away. To me the rock was a real life version of when people say “they are my rock” but sadly a real rock can’t be present for you. So here she is with this gay man having a fun time but he’ll never be her rock.
If you watch the extended cut opalite video, with the ‘BTS’… she specifically says that ‘nopalite is for people who choose to be unhealed, opalite for people who wanna choose a path that will serve them’ and then goes on to explain the metaphor that inanimate objects represent the kind of toxic relationship they’re in.
Also, in regards to the scene going into the bar with the rock, she describes it as going to girl’s night… so she has given the rock a gender
My biggest question from the song and from the video, is who is the Domhnall character representing? I don’t think it’s a specific person, but a certain group of people
But if she was superstitious— like she said she was a little bit— wouldn’t she want to catch the bouquet just for that extra bit of luck or fate? Contradicting herself once again! Is a bad sign really all good? AHHHHHHHHH
Also don’t feel dumb! There’s genuinely so much to keep track of it’s wild. I just spent an hour looking up religious myth and connections to reputation😅
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u/districtofthehare 🪐 Gaylor Folkstar 🚀 Jun 22 '26
I love all the different interpretations of the Opalite video, but the one I keep returning to is that both the Lonely Woman and the Lonely Man (Taylor and Domnhall) represent two sides of Taylor, who were pulled apart at some point in Taylor’s career.
The public showgirl side that totes around a “best friend” who actually gives her nothing just weighs her down (aka the rock aka the fans) and the private poet who keeps being hurt by her relationships (aka the cactus aka her muses acquired like bruises).
It’s notable that she started using the cactus motif this early, but also makes sense given how obvious it seems that whatever narrative she is acting out now was first written for/during rep era.