Taylor Swift’s Fortnight Video Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

What is the true meaning of Taylor Swift’s new single – Fortnight – video? Directed by Taylor Swift herself with photography by Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon) the video is quite unusual in its deep meaning visuals, at least within Swift’s prolific and divergent videography, so if you are wondering what is really going on in the video, just keep reading.

1 ^ What is going on the Fortnight video?

The video of The Tortured Poets Department’s first single – Fortnight – is divided in 5 sequences:

Sequence # 1: Taylor wakes up in a rather twisted bedroom. Disorientated at first, she is not quite sure to know where she really is. Suddenly, a nurse enters the room, walking across the ceiling, and administers a pill to Taylor. Once she swallows the pill, not entirely unwillingly, she is released from the chains binding her to the bed. She walks to the closest mirror and she cleans her face revealing Post-Malone’s tattoos appearing one by one.

Sequence # 2: Now Taylor exits through a door, finding herself in a typewriting room, where she begins working and we see Post-Malone in front of her. The scene implies there’s some kind of restrained feelings among them, only expressed by tender glances.

Sequence # 3: In an empty, desolate landscape strewn with typewritten paper, Taylor and Post-Malone lock eyes, holding hands. In this sequence they show true and authentic love to each other, laughing, hugging and kissing. But in one point they look at each other in disbelief.

Sequence # 4: Taylor is tied to a electrocution machine. She is about to receive electroconvulsive therapy by a team of doctors including Post-Malone and Ethan Hawke. When the machine is activated, Taylor is tortured but the malfunction of the electrical system forces Post-Malone to intervine. He and Taylor look at each other in complicity, while he unplugs the machine.

Sequence # 5: The final sequence depicts Post-Malone calling from a payphone, while Taylor is on top of the phone booth, under a pouring rain. Finally Post-Malone emerges from the box, his hand reaching to intertwine with Taylor’s. This sequence cuts back and forth between the moment under the rain and some flashbacks from Sequence # 1 and #2.

2 ^ What is real and what is not real in the video?

The only two sequences that are actually real are Sequence # 4 and Sequence # 5. In the video, a woman portrayed by Taylor Swift is locked in a mental facility, being treated, or more quite, being tortured with electroconvulsive therapy. But she has some kind of reciprocated connection with the doctor portrayed by Post-Malone, to the point he sabotages the torture machine. The final sequence implies Dr. Post-Malone has released Taylor from the facility. Next, we see him trying to call someone to help them while he reaffirms his love for her.

Sequences #1, #2, and #3 are delusions, each one deeper than the last. These fantasies portray a warped reality created by Taylor’s damaged mind. Fueled by the medication she takes, in these delusions it is evident Taylor is convinced Dr Post-Malone really loves her, but she is unsure if he’s really committed to set her free or if he prefers to let her stay in the facility, prisoner of her own mind. We know these sequences are only fantasies because when Taylor is finally released and she is with Dr. Post-Malone under the rain, the fantasies start to break down, and now the only thing that matter is the reality with him.

What do you think? Do you have another explanation for the video? Write it down in the comments.

The Actual Reason why Texas and California are Allies in A24’s Civil War

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

If you have seen or read a little about the current extremely polarized political landscape of the United States, you surely know that there are two states that are diametrically opposed in terms of political ideology. Those two states are California and Texas.

California is an extremely liberal blue (liberal) state, which promotes the integration of minorities and immigrants, the rights of the LGTBI+ community, establishment of measures that promote equality, minimum wages, labor rights, and essentially a bunch of state and federal protections on the population – whether or not they contribute to society.

Texas, on the other hand, is a heavily red (conservative) state, which promotes individual freedoms, the carrying of weapons, the American identity, the traditional family, hard work and free market as the only means to obtain benefits and income, and behind all that, the central idea that each individual is on his own, which means that everyone is obliged to contribute to social development, well if he does not want to starve to death.

Now, how is it that two states with such different ideologies are on the same side in the A24 studio film, Civil War? The answer is quite interesting.

To begin with, director Alex Garland has implied that the conflict involves the actions of the President (Nick Offerman) against the Constitution and the citizens of the United States, one can deduce that he attacks specifically against Texas and California. Let’s read what he said literally:

There is a fascist president who smashed the Constitution and attacked [American] citizens. And that is a very clear, answered statement. If you want to think about why Texas and California might be allied, and put aside their political differences, the answer would be implicit in that. –Alex Garland

If there is one freedom, guaranteed in the Constitution, that the citizens of Texas and California make wide use of, it is their freedom of speech. And it is also striking that there are many States that remain loyal to the U.S. Government. The issue could involve some type of Executive Order issued by the President against extremist activism, whether from Democrats or Republicans, in which basically all the civil liberties of these individuals can be restricted in a very Guantanamish way. Now, the fact that the film mentions that fire was opened on civilians seems to support this theory.

If there is one freedom, guaranteed in the Constitution, that the citizens of Texas and California make wide use of, it is their freedom of speech. And it is also striking that there are many States that remain loyal to the U.S. Government. The issue could involve some type of Executive Order issued by the President against extremist activism, whether from Democrats or Republicans, in which basically all the civil liberties of these individuals can be restricted in a very Guantanamish way. Now, the fact that the film mentions that fire was opened on civilians seems to support this theory.

In that scenario, it would be illegal, both for the recalcitrant activists of San Francisco (California), and for the armed rednecks in Amarillo (Texas), to say anything that could be understood as proselytizing for their causes, and surely after seeing that the President was not playing, by condemning several of his ideological colleagues to imprisonment, without trial, the situation could certainly get out of control. Now, the fact that several states have simply declared themselves neutral, such as the Florida Alliance, and those of the New People’s Army, only indicates that they are going to be on the winning side, because the United States is not even 1/3 of what it is, without those 2 states precisely.

If we have several imprisonments of activists who promoted extremist positions (at least from the point of view of the President’s Executive Order), it is quite likely that there have been riots and chaos in Texas and California, to the point of becoming unmanageable. Most likely under the pretext of protecting the life and honor of the population, President enforce his own Executive Order to open fire on the civilians. Now, imagine the reaction of ordinary individuals in California and Texas when their country’s army invades their territory and murders civilians.

This would undoubtedly force the governors of California and Texas to 1) ally in a strategic plan to safeguard themselves from a deeply unpopular government in their states, 2) occupy the positions of the U.S. military in their territories, including its arsenal, and 3 ) declare itself as two independent republics banded together. And this is how when the film begins, they have been so successful that they are 200 kilometers from D.C.

In any case, it would not be the first time that violent extremism ultimately ends in war. So, what do you think?

True Detective: Night Country ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Season Four of True Detective called Night Country is red hot with so many questions about what is going on in the remote town of Ennis in Alaska, and the true nature of the antagonist this season, so if after the episodes you still have question about what is going on, do not worry, here we are going to answer some of them. Of course, since the season is not over yet, there are some questions without answer, but still we are more than ready to offer some theories. You ready?

1 ^ What does the quote at the beginning of the first episode mean?

For we do not know what beasts the night dreams when its hours grow too long for even God to be awake

Hildred Castaigne

If this phrase means anything, it is that the long arctic night brings things that are not entirely pretty, things that can be scary, monstrous and terrifying. What are those terrible things that the long night dreams about? We’re about to see.

2 ^ Why did the reindeers jump off the cliff at the beginning of the first episode ?

In general, reindeers, caribous or Christmas deers – whatever the hell you prefer to call them – are animals extremely sensitive to stress. When they are close to an intense sensory source, such as a change in the intensity of light, sound, vibrations and even smells, the instinct of animals is to flee as quickly as possible from that source of stress, regardless of what they encounter along the way. That is why there are so many reports of these animals jumping at cars, generally because they are hearing the noise caused by other cars, and likewise when faced with a predator, they can also end up jumping off cliffs, or bridges.

In the series, it seems that the thing stressing the reindeers beyond their really low tolerance level was the sunset itself, the last sunset in months. Were they terrified about the terrifying thing the long night is bringing?

3 ^ Is there a town called Ennis in Alaska?

No, Ennis (Alaska) is a fictional town created for the fourth season of True Detective, although we have some data that could be considered to see what its counterpart is in the real world. The data we have about Ennis is that it is 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle and that it has coordinates of 68°65N 165°35W, a strange point since if 65 is the minutes, it should be 66’05″ instead, because there cannot be more than 60 minutes in a point of coordinates . But if we adjust it to real coordinates, it would be a place very close to Point Hope. Keeping this in mind, Ennis seems to be a mix of many of the towns in the area, such as Point Hope and Selawik.

4 ^ What does TSALAL mean?

TSALAL is a research station in the Arctic, which at the start of the series has been operating for 18 years, conducting research in Arctic geology, chemistry and biology, including effects of climate change. Until now, the exact meaning of the acronym has not been revealed. But we will be attentive.

Thing we know for sure: it was created by Swedish scientist Anders Lund and it was mainly funded by several NGO across the globe, most of them interested in what they could find there. Not sure if they were more for the oil and gas, or more for the origin of life. We’ll see that soon.

5 ^ Who are the dead scientists at the TSALAL Arctic Research Station?

Ralph Emerson (United States): He is a geologist (or well, he was), an expert in molecular phylogenetics and microbial evolution, specialized in Horizontal Genetic Transfer. Well, this more or less translated means that Ralph was an expert in the study of the genetic particles of microbial organisms, and how on some occasions, genes are not transferred through reproduction processes, but rather through inter-species contact, that is say that a bacteria can take genetic material from a fungus, simply by contact with it. Are you still with me? Ok, moving on…

Anton Kotov (Russia): Geophysics expert, who according to what is mentioned in his file was the one who investigated how climate change affects ice layers, but not only within the current climate change era, but also within the multiple climate change eras that have occurred in the history of Planet Earth.

Li Jie (China): Expert in geobiology and statography, specializing in how a mass extinction event can influence an organism, and what makes it particularly susceptible, or resistant to such events. Was Li Jie investigating the new villain of the Serie? Some supernatural being resistant to anything?

Raymond Clark (United Kingdom): Paleomicrobiology. There is something very interesting about this scientist and that is that he was an expert in a very specific organism: Staphylococcus aureus . Curious facts about Staphylococcus aureus is that it is a bacteria that has evolved alongside the human species, to the point that almost all of us carry it on our skin or in our respiratory tract without it making us sick. The bacteria has evolved to live inside us, generally with a positive impact, ensuring its survival by being easily transmitted between human populations. But, be careful, this bacteria, under certain circumstances, can become a problem, and that was what our friend Clark was investigating. Or was he?

Lucas Merens (United States): Environmental Chemist. This one seems a little strange to me. He was an expert in the impact of metal ions on biology, having developed a laser that he applied to metalloproteins to study their processes. Well, here as a general information, many molecules in the body require metallic proteins to carry out their functions, such as hemoglobin for example.

Facundo Molina (Chile): Biophysics. We don’t know much about what he was researching, except that he made food tiktoks. Curious that he had a Buenos Aires accent, but his resume says that he was Chilean. Anyway. Suppose he was an assistant to the following scientist.

Veer Mehta (India): Biophysics. Here we return to a recurring theme in these scientists, and that is that Dr. Mehta studied how the genetic makeup of individuals made them more or less resistant to some drugs, not medical drugs, but drugs distributed by cartels. Are we seeing a pattern here? Why would they have these types of scientists on that station?

Anders Lund (Sweden) : Expert in Structural Biology and Biochemistry. He was the founder of the Research Station. It is noted that the pinnacle of his research was the high-resolution structural analysis of mitochondrial protein import mechanisms. He returns and plays the initial question: Why does it seem that scientists were researching rather microbiology and its biochemical processes related to survival events?

Mind Note: at the end of the episode, only three corpses were shown, so it is possible that some of these guys are not dead. And if some of them are not really dead, are they the real killers?

6 ^ What is the song that appears in the credits of True Detective: Night Country?

The song is Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish, not exactly one of my favorites, if you ask me. I would have preferred Sweat by Bob Marley which is the one playing when the delivery man arrives at the research station to find that creepy tongue.

7 ^ Who is Evangeline Navarro?

She is one of our protagonists this season played by ex-boxer Kali Reis. She was one of Ennis’ investigators, at the time of the murder of Anne Masu Kowtok, widely known as Annie K. This was six years before the events of Night Country.

There is also this strange scene where Navarro receives a message from a colleague in the army, possibly on a mission in Afghanistan, with the disadvantage that the colleague in questions had half of her head blown off.

8 ^ Who is Elizabeth Danvers?

Played by the legendary Jodie Foster, she is the current investigative detective in Ennis, Alaska, recently relocated (less than six years), although it seems she worked elsewhere in Alaska before, where she married a native who already had a daughter: Leah.

Something we suspect from what we see in this chapter, and from Leah’s terror when the car slid, is that they were both involved in some accident, somewhere else in Alaska, and that was the reason for their transfer.

9 ^ Who is «She» of whom some in Ennis speak with such fear?

Entering the realm of speculation, but «She» seems to be the antagonist of this season, and it would seem to indicate that it is some kind of supernatural being, but I have my doubts about it. Maybe there’s something they’re mining near Ennis, some kind of chemical agent that creates some kind of hallucination, which is magnified by the beliefs of the locals, but again, that’s just me speculating, and maybe it is a beast that the scientists woke up from the ice and now she’s murdering people and ripping out their tongues. Maybe.

10 ^ Who are the Iñupiat and why do their tongues have marks?

Well, the Iñupiat are a Native American group that lives exactly in that area where Ennis is supposedly located, they are a group that speaks Inuit and English, and they are very well organized within the social and administrative structure of Alaska, dedicated to fishing, hunting and gathering. Iñupiat people have been incorporated into the American lifestyle in Alaska for quite some time, so it is not unusual to see people of the Iñupiat ethnic group in different professions such as lawyers, scientists, athletes and singers.

Those who still have fishing and gathering customs usually work on fishing nets by themselves, which are usually made and repaired using their tongues, which is why these people usually have marks on their tongue, although not as exaggerated as seen in the series, although it is justified to exacerbate the dramatic tone. Good for you, HBO.

11 ^ What did Danvers find by comparing Annie K’s photos with those of the Tsalal scientists?

One of the scientists, apparently the British one, was wearing the same Annie K jacket, which had a tear, which the scientist covered with a smiley face. Could they be the murderers? Is that why the t tongue appeared there? Is that Annie K’s tongue?

12 ^ Who is Holden?

It’s still not clear who Holden is, but my theories here. Holden was the son of Elizabeth Danvers, and he died in the accident in which either she or her husband were drunk, and in which Leah was also present. Now Holden is a spiritual presence, or the mental illness that scares our protagonist.

Questions that we will continue to answer: Who is the lady who sees her dead son? Who is Travis? How did you find the dead scientists? How did this lady find the bodies?

Is Yellowjackets based on Society of the Snow?

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

If you have just watched J.A. Bayona’s new feature Society of Snow, and previously have watched Showtime’s flagship series Yellowjackets you probably have jumped to the conclusión that it is basically the same plot: A sport team have to survive in the middle of the deadly nature after a plane crash in the middle of nowhere, and its members have to do the unthinkable to survive. But, is The Society of Snow based on Yellowjackets? Or is it the other way around?

1 ^ Society of the Snow is a based on a real tragedy

First things first, Society of the Snow is based on a real tragedy: the crash of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the middle of the Andes in October, 1972. The Old Christians Rugby team was in the flight, on their way to Santiago de Chile. After 72 days exposed to hunger, anthropophagy (otherwise known as cannibalism) and the deadly elements, sixteen passengers were found alive.

2 ^ J.A. Bayona’s Society of the Snow is not the first retelling of the events of Flight 571

Actually, The Society of the Snow is the third film to retell the story of Flight 571. The first one was Survive! a mexican film released in 1976, shortly after the real events. Alive, starring Ethan Hawk and Josh Hamilton, was the second film about Flight 571, and it is very well known for being the American retelling of the story. And of course, there are numerous documentary films and tv series about the tragedy, featuring interviews with the survivors. But feature films with actors, just those three.

3 ^ Yellojackets took key plot elements of the tragedy, but it’s not a retelling

To summarize, Yellowjackets indeed took key elements of the Flight 571 tragedy and first make a gender swap, making the main characters females in a soccer team, instead of male rugby players. Second, Yellowjackets was set in a way more favorable landscape than the deadly Andes mountains, with the passengers being stranded in the forests close to the rocky mountains in Canada. Third, the time the passengers spent lost in Yellowjackets was way longer, nineteen months instead of 72 days in the case of the Flight 571 tragedy. Of course, in the real story and the fictional one, cannibalism and survival is one of the main themes.

But the most important change in Yellowjackets is the infusion of mythological elements within the story. Of course we are not going to spoil you, so you probably will have to check it on yourself.

Night Swim ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Night Swim struggles to find a good reason to revisit the old conflict between Dreams and Family, with a compelling story about a family attempting to settle after the rise and fall of one of its members, and the consequences they must face if they want that success back into their lives. But if you did not really quite understand what was happening in the 98 minutes of haunting pools, broken baseballs, and holding breaths, here we are to explain Night Swim.

1 ^ What is Roy Waller’s condition?

The whole movie is about Roy Waller’s frustration for stopping a successful career in baseball, as a consequence of a irreversible health condition. But, what was Roy Waller’s condition?

The conversation between Roy and his doctor reveals he has some form of deterioration of the nerve fibers, consistent with multiple sclerosis. According to Mayo Clinic [1], Multiple Sclerosis is a disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), in which, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body.

For Roy Waller it is the end of his career because, long story short, he can lose control on his body in any moment, in the so-called crisis his wife often mentions. Also, in the long run, the condition just gets worst, so Roy will not only lose contact with his body episodically but permanently. That is the reason why he is suggested to use a wheelchair.

2 ^ What is exactly in the Haunted Pool?

In the movie, there is no explicit answer to what is exactly haunting the pool, but magic water is not uncommon in myth. Nimue, Thetis, Diana, are nothing but divine representations of the idea of water as a source of power, strength, and health.

So, in the movie, the pool is connected to some underground water, that in the past used to be a spring. Several people along the centuries understood that the water was able to concede the deepest wish of anyone who dared to jump into the heart of the spring, but the consequence was obvious too: someone had to die.

So, the pool is just another version of the old spring where some kind of ancient water spirit just make a fair trade: a wish for a soul.

3 ^ What happened to Rebecca Summer?

In 1992, the Summers used to live in the same house bought 30 years later by the Wallers. Tommy, Rebecca’s brother was very sick, and his mother just accepted the deal with the water: Rebecca’s life in exchange for Tommy’s health and happy life. So, when the woman saw her daughter drowning in the pool, she did nothing to help her.

Now, Rebecca is the only spirit that actually helped Eve to rescue Elliot from the deep and dark waters beyond the pool, but we could see several other spirits trying to stop her. Why did Rebecca helped her? Because Rebecca’s death was relatively recent and she was not totally absorbed by the water spirit like the others.

4 ^ Why did the pool showed some specific people to its victims?

The water spirit, or the haunting pool, could take the shape of anyone who had wished for something, or any of its victims. That is why Rebecca could see his mother, because she was the one who wished, and why Eve, Izzy and Elliot could see Roy, or the cat. Most of the people that the water spirit used to haunt Izzy were actually previous victims.

5 ^ What happened at the end of Night Swim?

Although Eve got to rescue Elliot, and Izzy got to release Roy from the water’s mojo, there was no way back, someone has to die, and when Roy realized that Elliot was not going to make it, if they dared to leave the house, for him it was clear that he had to take his son’s place.

Roy exchanged his life for his son’s and his family, who stayed in the house, decided to fill the pool, so none else could be affected by the water spirit.

6 ^ Why did the water spirit chose Elliot?

The water spirits were smart enough to test each member of the family and quickly realized Elliot was the weakest. Elliot not only was bad at making friends, but also his mother pointed he was really struggling with some emotional problems, depression perhaps.

7 ^ What is the big theme in Night Swim?

Big theme in the movie is that what happens with dreams and ambitions when they clash with your desire to love and protect of your family. In a world that only measures you for your goals and success, we usually are in a position where we have to choose if we want our dreams come true, or to spend less and less time with your family. If this movie shows something is that, if you choose wrong, you will end up with nothing. Like Roy.

[1] Multiple Sclerosis, Mayo Clinic