The music industry has become an outlet for individuals to turn their passion into something all

people can relate too. With an endless number of genres, there is a song for everyone. Music
can express love, hate, or just shear happiness to be alive, there are endless topics a song can
address. 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 truly is, “The id is devoted solely to the gratification of prohibited desires of all
kinds- desire for power, for sex, for amusement, for food- without an eye to consequences,”
(Tyson, 25). Living your life truly for pleasure results in pain, and in Swift’s case, defense
mechanisms like projection and displacement; thus “Blank Space” should serve as a reminder
that allowing one’s id to take control will not result enthrallment, but heartbreak; therefore one’s
superego needs to be present in order to live happy lives.

Taylor Swift’s song “Blank Space” begins with her being fully absorbed in her new
relationship. She meets a man and decides to take a chance with him. Just like all the men
before him, Swift thinks she can change him. She does everything she can to please him and
express her love. When he proves her right, as shown in the music video, and appears to be
unfaithful, Swift takes it to heart, and is sought out to destroy everything that reminds her of
him. She gives a warning to her listeners that boys are a problem by saying, “​Boys only want
love if it's torture
Don't say I didn't say I didn't warn ya,” (Swift.)

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). ​She then goes onto say, ​So it's gonna be forever, Or it's gonna go down in flames, You
can tell me when it's over, If the high was worth the pain,” (Swift). This goes to show how
powerful her id is, by comparing love to being high, a intense feeling of pleasure. Her
subconscious is seeking pleasure, and immediate gratification without looking at the
consequences. In addition to this, these lines utilize the black and white fallacy, emphasizing the
idea that the relation will either be euphoric, or catastrophic. Swift also mentions her “long list
of ex-lovers” reaffirming how her id tends to use men to satisfy her subconscious. She also
expresses this with the line, “Cause you know I love the players, And you love the game,”
proving she only gets involved for the satisfaction the man will give her, knowing he’s also only
in the relationship to satisfy his id as well. ​When 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 a
man’s character. By insinuating that he 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), she implies that he was
unfaithful, yet will still come crawling back. When watching 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. 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.

Taylor Swift uses “Blank Space” as a way of sublimation to express her feelings toward men.
She insists that men are the problem, and the relationship was doomed from the start. In reality
Swift was only using her id to make decisions, resulting in a downward spiral. Going through
the trauma of being cheated on, she wants revenge and sets out to achieve that. Using projection
and displacement as a way to cope, she ends up making the situation worse. When viewing this
song in an psychoanalytic perspective it becomes clear how to avoid such situations. In order to
find true love, relationships need to be based on a mix of pleasure and morals. If both parties are
only satifiying their id’s, their relationship might never be genuine. Although satisfying one’s id
is important, relationships need a balance of lust and love. This song has a great takeaway
message for all it’s viewers, in learning that the way Swift handles trauma is not healthy, and in
fact, there is a better way to live.