Psychoanalyzing Taylor Swift's NYU Commencement speech (thoroughly lol) 

A year later- and one year of the Eras tour later- your bit about hard work with her career and vocals in particular reigns even more true now. The strength of her vocals now has truly blown me away remembering where she came from because you just know the conditioning and work she put in for this tour.

Your skill of seeing Taylor as a flawed human being sometimes is quite remarkable for me. Enjoyed thoughts a lot and gonna explore more of your content. Thank you!

Effortlessness: “I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try try try…”

To your point about her always bring up the 2016 drama: I agree with you that, career wise, it wasn't the worst thing, and it led to her being more successful than ever. But I think the reason she always brings it up is because that was emotionally the hardest time in her life. There is some interview from Red era where she says that one of her worst fears is that she will lose everything and shell be alone. And that really did happen. To her it seemed like her career was over and all of her friends left her, and we know that after she was cancelled she just kind of spiraled and hid for a year. Without getting too parasocial I don't think she is a very depressed person generally, and it pretty obvious that she went through a pretty depressive period, so that must have felt huge because she had never experienced feelings like that before. And as we know she doesn't like going to therapy, so Im going to assume a defense mechanism for her when thinking about this time is to only think about the business side of things and not acknowledge how traumatizing that whole debacle was for her.

I loved her speech so much. It felt like one of the most human and relatable moments we've gotten from her in a while. She said a lot of stuff that I just NEEDED to hear and I just love her so much.

Great video. You're right- Taylor is super charming and adorable. She's also thoughtful to other people's experiences - when she self funded her short film she acknowledged her privilege in being able to afford that. I'm an independent filmmaker and struggle to make no budgets films, so I appreciated her acknowledging that. She didn't have to do that and it shows she's a wonderful human being.

You're my favourite Swiftie because you have such a deep and extensive knowledge of her it's like listening to one of her inner circle almost. You are unbiased and critical when it's needed but you deeply love her and it shines through. Taylor has a unique thing about her that makes you fall a little bit in love with her. The parasocial connection I feel to her probably isn't that healthy but I can't help it and I've NEVER given a shit about a celebrity the way I do her. This speech just added to the list of things to love her for. Any insight to her mind is always endlessly fascinating. Would LOVE a Speak Now album breakdown from you too, that sounds amazing.

Thank you for maybe taking my suggestion of Twitter! This speech reminded me again that 2016 is not over for Taylor and she understandably needs time to process it. I enjoyed the parts of the speech that were about why we love Taylor: writing. I do want to bring up what Lainey posted about Taylor's speech and I totally agree with it: "...the full picture of it is that Taylor was never cancelled. Few people are ever really cancelled. She certainly was in no way ever going to lose her career. But that’s how she remembers it, and because she’s remembered like this, it has shaped every subsequent narrative she tells about herself. Which is that she’s the female artist who had her love life blown up in her face by the media and the public, almost as though it was her unique cross to bear. I watched Taylor’s speech after I watched Jennifer Lopez’s Halftime trailer and, well, it’s not like people haven’t tried to define JLo’s career by her love life. So it’s an interesting case study in comparison - of these two female pop culture titans and how each has handled that kind of scrutiny on their personal lives. JLo and Taylor both acknowledge it, but there is a subtle difference in their approach. JLo is Teflon, nothing ever sticks to her, and a big reason for that is because she doesn’t let it stick to her. That’s why we barely remember ARod. This is one of her superpowers. Taylor’s superpower is that she actually sticks to it, and almost… weaponises it. Which is ironic because part of her speech is about letting go of things. I’m not sure that’s necessarily true for her - it’s not that she can’t or won’t let go, it’s that she holds on to it so tightly she alchemises it into something she can use to retaliate with that much more force, and this is a superpower in its own right…only I don’t know if she’ll ever admit to that." Really good point about Taylor's ability to use her writing as a weapon. Thanks again for this video!

Omg… I’m watching this after the whole midnights release and you caught her Easter eggs …. Hinting at what was to come. SUCH A HUGE FAN of YOUR content!!

My dream TS10 is: all False God vibe. Jazzy, saxophone, NY... Ugh, so good

Can't express how much I love your videos. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE IF YOU CAN upload a video on your interactions with Taylor. Thank you for your time and effort into planning, making, filming, editing and uploading these videos - they are so worth it!!

And yet again: ATW original version: Liz Rose. The best gift ever for a writer: an editor

I normally don’t listen to podcasts, but I love your videos so I gave your podcast a listen. I love your podcast just as much if not more than your videos. I can tell you and Madeline are great friends and I feel like I’m in on that.

Im so thankful of finding your channel, really thankful I'm a new swiftie and I needed your videos to know more about taylor who is the best singer ever by the way. So thank you so much, and I hope you still updating lots of videos about her, because I have the feeling that I'm going to watch and rewatch all of your videos. Love uuu

Hi Zack. I've watched many of your videos. You are an EXTREMELY good speaker and extremely intelligent. You make it look so effortless! You have so many amazing talents at A+ level. I hope you find your path as you'll be undoubtedly successful at it! 😎😃

Loved your commentary on this. Thanks for making this video! XO

this video flew by, my god. what 44 minutes??? definitely one of my favorites from you! xx

I’d love a video on Taylor and her friendships! Or a specific friendship (you mentioned Selena, also Karlie and her were super interesting, they were so close)

I listen to your videos as podcasts!! Love it

Love this!!

this is the video i needed today! I haven't had anybody to ~discuss~ this speech with, so thank you :) also hope you are feeling better/OK post-COVID and sorry you had to miss your friend's wedding :(

Breathe in breathe through lyrics are from the song Labyrinth from Midnights. She had already written the text of the song or in the midst if it. Wow, what a connection!

THIS IS SO GOOD!!! More of this pleease

I enjoy your videos and POV. I’m a more recent fan of her and I’m 40+. Your veteran knowledge really helps me understand her fascinating career and artistry.

Okay I just discovered you and binge-watched all of your videos I’m OBSESSED with your channel!! Loving the unbiased Swiftiness while always keepin’ it real 🙌🏻 So excited to see your upcoming content!

Just Wonderful Zack. What a delightful reaction. I really loved her speech. thought she did a great job, she is very well spoken. There is a lot of hate right now, but I can't think of anyone more deserving right now of her peers. She did a great job. Congratulations to her, I think she was very humbled, she choked up at the end, I think this meant a lot to her. It was good to see her.

Old video, just as good as ALWAYS! Enjoyed your commentary so very much.

Omg i love you so soooo much......keep up with the great content

This is the first video I’ve ever seen of yours. I’m not done yet, but I love your insight. You just mentioned your podcast- how good is the tittle?! I’m intrigued! I’ll definitely binge it. Best regards from Berlin, Germany! PS: I’m hoping for a new world tour at some point. 2020 would have been my first concert of hers. I hope I’ll get another chance to see her live.

This is CONTENT. I love it.

That speech gave me goosebumps, too. Great analysis.

I love the fact you realize and acknowledge how Taylor herself actually encouraged all the gossipy who-is-this-song-about media scrutiny from the very first day - I’ve always felt gaslighted when she explicitly would complain about that, even to this day 😒 Yes, from the whole speech and analysis I choose *that* to comment on 😂 that you for being so real!

the fact that this is 44 minutes I love

some midnights easter eggs were in here... middle of the night; youre on your own (kid)...

This was delightful. Just obsessed.

Loving this content style and editing. The live chat was so fun!

Omg if you’re going to commentate the Bobby Bones interview please include the follow up where he accuses her of poisoning him 🙃 Would also love to see a reaction to that radio interview when she hung up on that guy who wouldn’t stop hounding her about Kanye. And possibly also a reaction to a compilation of one of those interview highlight reel videos (Taylor Smith, “I won’t be going home with any men tonight” etc) New Swifties need the juice!!

Hey can you make a ranking of Taylor's award show looks. Or maybe a ranking of her diff era hairstyles. My fav video of yours are where you talk about her style. Also I accidentally found your channel yesterday and binge watched all your videos. I just want to say you are absolutely hilarious and very insightful. I have been a swiftie for 8 years now and love you talking about her journey. You earned a new subscriber 👍

Zach your eyes are shinning! like ıdk if it is your camera or the light but holly shit ım having ready for it music video flashbacks LOVE YOU💛

That was a beautiful speech! Love her!

She is sooooooo charming 💜

Loved your commentary! Can you please do a psychoanalysis on “Nothing New”? When I first heard it I thought it was so vulnerable and shows us her insecurity(?) about not being ‘new’ anymore - which is something we haven’t really heard before. Would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Omg what if way back when NYU decided to make purple their color they knew Speak Now TV would be coming soon after their 2022 commencement so they told Taylor to come and give a speech in a purple robe :0 This HAS to be an Easter egg!!1! (this is obviously a joke but in all seriousness I'm dying for Speak Now TV to be released, please Taylor)

I like what you said about the cancellation, cause thats what i thought about it too

I LOVED the Red era fashion!!!

So many hints to midnights in the end of the speech

Please make a reaction and analysis about her TIME person of the year profile!!! I’m also a journalist and your perspective is so unbiased and free and refreshing I love ittttttt

I loved this speech so much that when we had to do a class work of choosing a speech and analysing it and than presenting, I chose this one😂❤ goosebumps!!!!

Watching this now, it’s amazing how many Midnights references and direct quotes from future songs are in this incredible speech.

omg i would love a video about her and selena's friendship, that would be so interesting

You should keep in mind that she is speaking to a full stadium that is NOT there for her, so if she is going to reference her life experiences in a concise way the internet cancellation is one of the few things the majority of her audience is likely to be aware of even as non-fans. Just because someone who religiously follows her is sick of hearing about it doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to reference for that specific audience. Just a thought 🙂

I want someone who know's me like you know taylor lol😂😅

Omg can u pls make a vid abt Taylor and Selena’s relationship

Lol swiftologist marathon but actually i loved the 2016 drama shlick, maybe im biased as a new swiftie not around when it happened, i did recently read she got into drink making in that strange time so i thought it was pretty funny, and the fact that it was gave the feeling shes over it imo

You predicted midnights!!

THANK YOU I thought her 2012 looks were SO cute

Me, waiting in Germany for your Eras Video. Have a wonderful weekend ❤

oh my god. you're so right. you're on your own, kid was an Easter egg

I absolutely need your thoughts on karma

Wait hold up Selena and Taylor’s relationship is complicated? Please spill because I haven’t Heard this before this is news to me

Catch and Release would be a good album title

Good job

Thank you for bringing up her vocal journey. It's definitely cringe (ha) when fans try to paint her as the best singer ever. She's not. And that's ok. She doesn't have to be. We know, and she does too, that her voice is a vessel for her song writing, and the writing (and the work) is why she's where she is. When people try to elevate her vocal ability higher than it is, it gives people a foot hold to not take us or her seriously. She doesn't have a voice like Ariana but it's obvious she doesn't need to.

Could you do a deep dive video on her media training plzzzz

I am from 2024: Taylor will release a song called your on your own kid. She referred to that

As someone who also holds grudges, the 2016 incident being brought up is totally fine with me. 🤣

omg.. watching this after TTPD is sooo interesting. She quoted Labyrinth towards the end of her speech; “breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out”, knowing now that she swirled Matty into songs on Midnights and knowing now that they were crossing paths during this time in and out of the studio.. this has me questioning if Labyrinth is possibly abt Matty, and how she was falling back into him and her journey in realizing and accepting that she was falling out w Joe and in w Matty..

Me still waiting for the secret sessions vid

But actually, had she known what she knows now, she wouldnt be taylor swift the biggest popstar we know today. Had she known to ‘protect her privacy’ and not leave all those clues on her relationship in songs, she wouldnt have cultivated such an involved fanbase she has now (me included). No one would care for a boring artist they know nth of. She’d still be moderately successful-like lorde level.. but not THIS BIG. U cant have everything in life, as she said. U cant have this much star power w.o sacrifices.

i'm sorry the LABYRINTH EASTER EGGS we didn't know!!!!!!

Hey Zack! Love this video of course. :) I was wondering -- do you think the following examples are Midnights Easter Eggs? Her mentioning "what's coming next" while looking at the camera, and Midnights was announced about 3 months later. I also thought the mention about "I don't wanna give you advice, that's annoying, etc" was "Dear Reader" coded, YLM & "The Great War" for that part about losing / fighting. And then YOYOK right after that bit when she said "you're on your own now" and looked *directly* at the camera right then + a direct line from Labyrinth! I tend to agree with you that Easter Egg hunting has gone out of control within the fandom in general, but this one seemed like the Lover teasing you mentioned a la looking at the camera sparingly yet intentionally, carefully choosing words, etc. I wonder what your thoughts are about this in hindsight. :)

Watching this now in sept 2023 when she talks about dressing as a 1950s house wife, that was a huge Easter egg for midnights!!

I can't wait what's next either 🤭 #soloup #taylord

I just love how much you hate me! 😂😂

Is it just me, or does it feel like the whole video is sped up? Recommend turning the playback speed down to x0.75, cause Taylor’s voice sounds too chipmunky and fast

YOURE ON YOUR OWN KID EAST EGGING

i just realized she dropped a Labyrinth lyric easter egg in this speech --

I think Taylor should learn more about her personality type, she’s an ESFJ and so many things she thinks is someone else’s fault or pressure on her is actually a blind spot of hers.. We all have our weak and strong traits; E.g.: people pleasing, being competitive, always wanting to be on top and praised, perfectionism, involving in gossips and rumors, the need to creat a perfect public persona, difficulty seeing an objective more neutral point of view- are typical weaknesses of her personality type..

Coming back to this video to say would still love an analysis video on Taylor and Selena’s friendship 👀

I'm also Irish, what part of Ireland are you from?

At 39min I was crying lol

She says "I've made and released 11 albums" in minute 24:50?

I think taylor swift has changed since 2011 but taylor swift that we know since the beginning of 2012 was the beginning of taylor swift life

💚

oohh OOHHH u prolly already know this but Taylor is apparently an ESFP, and they are known to be real documenters of the past, and time keepers, reputationally. and its hard for them to let things go even if they get over them, they tend to add events significant to them like patchwork quilts on their timeline, which may explain however much Taylor is over the 2016 drama, ESFPs cant help it, they never forget lmao. This same ability is what makes her an excellent songwriter so u gotta deal with both ends of the stick bestie 😅

Literally foreshadowed youre losing me by talking about how shes rising from the ashes

I want to respond that your somewhat dismissal of her difficulty about “being canceled on the internet” … sure it was only a year or two where she was down… but when you’re in it, you don’t know how long it will last. You don’t know that you’ll pull out and come out on top. Not everyone does. For her, it wasn’t a blip. For her, it was a long long hard hard hard time. And when she is sharing her emotional reality, and especially sharing about pressure and fame, it’s always going to be a valid example. I’m sorry you’re tired of it. I think you should reconsider your position.

Omg I i love your channel but that thumbnail is hilarious and creepy. I'm sorry, it made me giggle.

Whats about selena ?

Kenapa harus takut di tinggal temen temen , takut hidup sendirian .. .hidup realita....kalau punya uang bisa taylor bos dg temen temen , yg tidak punya uang tidak bisa punya temen itu terbaik emang mudah untuk bertemen , meningan sendirian , dari pada repotin orang melulu , hidup selalu bersukur saat gempa rumah hancur ...hidup itu sekarang di atas taylor suatu saat akan di bawah itu kodrat....suatu saat akan di ganti oleh orang lain apa musik tua laku. .? Hidup apa adanya dari pada ribet ada apanya. .taylor hidup itu realita ....hadapi kenyataan ...

I think she probably has trauma over it (2016 I mean). And that it's okay if as such she isn't quite over it, and can't really forget it.

That 1950s shit... 😊

watching this after the release and realizing breathe in breathe deep breathe out was a labyrinth easter egg

(I’ll stop now.. 🤪)

Not the Tumblr speech.💀😁

You do understand that you can get in some legal issues with that title and no actual degrees behind your name? No hate at all, Swiftie here as well, I would just adjust the title of this video.

Yes! I, too, am so horribly over the "cancellation" already. Girl, you already made several albums addressing it- one that is literally all about it-, a documentary, several interviews, etc. It really reads like "I have no hardships in my life except this one time I had an isoverparty hashtag trend." Like girl. It's over and done. Find a new struggle 🤭

I just can't stand her 'cat personality' anymore. And that is coming from someone who loves cats. Being a quirky cat lady was SLIGHTLY funny 8 years ago but not anymore

Now we can see Taylor always in social media and always broadcast her pictures ... So yeah what you said a little wrong Don't u think so?

Valuable perspective....BUT more effective tp be concise in your criticism of her talk about being canceled. Ionically you became annoying, same as you speak of her