What Really Inspired Calvin Harris' New Video?

You've listened to "My Way" and your mind must be made up. Given the timing, the pointedly passive-aggressive lyrics ("it was all about you"), the sheer need for Calvin Harris to rebrand himself as so-not-the-dumped party, you're crystal clear on one point: This song is all about Taylor Swift. But if you've watched the recently released accompanying visuals, you might now be asking yourself: Is Harris' "My Way" video actually about Swift — or another pop culture phenomenon? While most of the internet is giving a resounding yes to the first option, I'd argue they're missing something.

Because this video doesn't just seem to reference tropes from past Swift videos, but also the TV show Westworld. Yup, it's not just all about Harris' dissatisfaction with his music video girlfriend. It's also about him dating a hot, perfect robot and the screen glitching a lot. Why is no one talking about this? I demand a thorough, still-by-still investigation to settle the matter. Is Harris' video about Swift or Westworld ? Is it about both? Is it about neither? As a music video fanatic and pop-culture nerd with too much time on her hands, please, allow me to do the honors.

It's About Taylor Swift, Because The Female Lead Looks All Sorts Of Retro

Exhibit A: She's wearing polka dots and a '50s style dress. You know who else digs that wholesome '50s vibe? Swift in "Blank Space."

Also, Swift in "We're Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together," in which she wears — gasp — a red and white top with polka dots.

It's About Swift, Because The Girlfriend Has Another Significant Style: Black Leather

Is it me, or is this not a little reminiscent of sexy, scary Swift in "Bad Blood"?

It Must Be About T. Swift, Because This Couple Has No Fun At The Dinner Table

Which is another big Swift music video trope, as seen in "Blank Space":

And because sad kitchen table hangouts with your hot boyfriend are to Swift what mirrors are to Sylvia Plath, the same theme appeared in "We're Never Ever Getting Back Together."

Case closed.

It's About Swift, Because Let's Be Real ...

Swift is famous for writing incredibly personal songs about her famous exes, or at least that's how the public interprets them. If you got brutally dumped by Swift, wouldn't the best revenge be to pull a Swift on Swift and write a song for the entire internet to interpret? Whether or not this song is actually about her, Harris wants people to view it this way, right? More headlines. More buzz for his song. More money, baby. In the words of Beyoncé, "The best revenge is your paper."

Besides, the themes of the song are very Swift. Imagine this song sung by a woman about a man and it'd basically be her entire last album. A no-good romantic partner standing in the way of your individual fulfillment? Come on.

No Way Bro, It's Definitely About Westworld, Have You Seen Those Visuals?

OK, this is a little bit subtle, because Westworld isn't about virtual reality explicitly, but a theme park populated by robots who believe themselves to be human. However, it is about virtual reality in terms of it being difficult for humans and robots to know who's real, who's not real, what world is real. So this whole glitchy effect, which causes us to question whether the world Harris is in is "real" or computerized feels very Westworld.

It's About Westworld, Because There's Another Woman Who Seems Very Dolores

The whole opening is punctuated by this girl with long blonde hair galloping through the prairie-like landscape on horseback. Which is how Dolores, one of the main characters (and robots) in Westworld, gets around. She also has long blonde hair, just sayin'.

It's Totally About Westworld, Because Isn't This Dolores' Porch?

Dolores gets up every morning and walks out onto her porch, where her father sits on a chair, gazing out at the landscape. This porch is frickin' identical.

It's About Westworld, Because Look At This Landscape

Because seriously, is Harris just shooting on the Westworld set or what? I think I'm done here, people.

Also, Harris' Character's Girlfriend Is A Robot

A hot robot who seems to purely exist for his sexual and emotional satisfaction, much like the female robots in Westworld.

So, is this video about Swift or Westworld? I'd say it's about both. Harris may be using the Westworld robot metaphor to suggest that dating Swift gave him a similar level of emotional fulfillment to dating a hot robot. But this is kind of a weird jibe to direct at Swift, whose messy, personal songs feel like small acts of rebellion in a world where women are encouraged to smile, keep it together, and never lose their sh*t emotionally. I mean, isn't Swift kind of the opposite of a robot? Because she dates as many people as she wants, talks about her exes, and doesn't do what's expected of her?

So nice try, Harris, but I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid. Dating Swift may be a lot of things, but I can't imagine it being robotic.

Images: CalvinHarrisVEVO; TaylorSwiftVEVO/YouTube; Giphy (2)