E33: Show and Tell - Animal Studies

AP Taylor Swift

Now it’s too late for you and your white horse. What do white horses, foxes, vultures, and wolves all have in common? They all show up in our favorite Taylor Swift songs! This week, we’re looking to understand how Taylor Swift uses animals in her lyrics, through the lens of animal studies! Jenn takes us back to medieval times to help us understand the origins of the white horse and what that means for “White Horse” (Fearless, 2008). Then Jodi talks to us about the many connotations associated with foxes and vultures, which are referenced in “I know places,” (1989, 2014). And finally, Maansi talks us through the song “Daylight” (Lover, 2014) where there are implications of the animalistic concept of hibernation, and also references to wolves.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
• The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein
• Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton
• Hercules the Disney film
• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the film)
• BBC’s In Our Time - Chivalry episode
• BBC’s You’re Dead to Me
• Shakespeare’s Sonnets
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• Le Morte D’Artur by Sir Thomas Malory
• Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart by Chretien de Troyes
• The Templar Knights by Dan Jones
• Alison Weir Books
• Zootopia
• Mary Poppins
• Brer Rabbit
• Disney’s Robin Hood
• The Dark Knight
• Spiderman
• Beowulf
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• Twilight
• Once Upon a Time
• Little Red Riding Hood by the Brothers Grimm
• The Three Little Pigs

Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI

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Episode Highlights:

[01:12] Introduction to Animal Studies

[03:36] White horses in “White Horse,” Fearless, 2008

[23:05] Foxes & vultures in “I know places,” 1989, 2014

[38:19] Wolves in “Daylight,” Lover, 2019

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.