Have you ever told a story to a new friend and you didn’t want to give too much away because it’s personal and private about your ex-boyfriend?
So, you disguise it by not saying the person’s name, but you give away details of exactly what happened in your relationship. Well, if you have, you have something in common with a certain current blonde musician.
If you haven’t heard of her, you may be living under a rock somewhere. Taylor Swift is re-recording all her old albums. She is doing this to gain control of her master recordings for her first six albums, which not only earned her major success as a songwriter but reflected her personal life. Swift is a gifted storyteller.Her music has a way of making the listener captivated by her stories and even personally invested as the listener applies Swift’s heartbreak to their very own.
Swift encourages her fans to delve deep into the meanings of her lyrics by responding to many creators crediting their theories and providing clues. These can be called “Easter eggs” in her videos about what songs will be released next.
Swift’s most recent album release, Red, originally premiered on Oct. 22, 2011. The album includes several personal songs about her crushing heartbreak during a time when she just turned 21. The critically acclaimed song, “All Too Well” widely believed to be about Swift’s ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal recently got released in a 10-minute version detailing Swift’s sadness about how the actor let her down.
Something that is prevalent in the song is him not showing up at her 21st birthday party. Swift also sings about leaving a now-famous scarf at the actor’s sister’s house that has become a heartfelt memento of a long-lost love.
There has been a global reaction to Gyllenhaal’s actions.
Tik tok and Twitter were abuzz with thousands of people expressing disdain toward the actor. There were many videos of hardcore fangirls of Taylor Swift called Swifties expressing anger at Gyllenhaal’s actions more than a decade ago. Twitter was overfilled with people’s reactions.
One celebrity singer, Dionne Warwick, tweeted, “If that young man has that scarf, he should return it.”
One fan wrote, “I say we boycott Jake Gyllenhaal’s birthday since he ruined Taylor Swift’s 21st birthday #AllTooWell.”
Another young woman wrote, “Jake Gyllenhaal can go to Gyllenhell.”
All in all, people are boycotting his movies and expressing hate for him online. One can wonder, “Is this reaction a little extreme?” Some on Twitter are expressing confusion as to why this re-release of the song has created such a big mess.
One Twitter user said, “Jake Gyllenhaal is getting cancelled over a 3-month relationship that happened 10 years ago!”
While I believe Swift has a right to express her emotions and I enjoy her super vulnerable songs, I agree with many online that some people are taking their reactions a bit too far. Although Swift was hurt and heartbroken over this relationship for a couple of years, it was 10 years ago and cancelling someone for such a small length of relationship might be excessive.
Not to fret, Swift has expressed that she is recovered from the relationship turmoil and basically is not still in the midst of the heartbreak.
Swift now appreciates the songs just as a snapshot in time. She recently said on a late-night talk show, “It’s like watching your twenties in your thirties with sunglasses on and drinking mojitos. It’s chill this time around and it is much better.”
Gyllenhaal has also expressed when the original song came that he though the song was a beautiful capture of time.
So, taking a cue from Swift herself, instead of getting upset, we all should just view these personal songs as the art form they are meant to be.
