Shortly after wiping all of her social media accounts clean, Taylor Swift released a dark new single that proved, at least for the time being, that the grown adult is not quite over teenaged dramatics.

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Despite recent, important freedom-fighting for sexual assault survivors, Swift still has something of a negative reputation in the world of popular culture.  Whether this reputation is due to the abrupt change from her country roots to straight-up pop, her role as the face of angry, white feminism, or her tendency to appear victimized in almost every confrontation she's involved in, Swift is one of those celebrities that is either worshiped or hated.

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The first single off of her upcoming album seems to also fit that bill. With its abrasive lyric and the strange, chant-like chorus, the song is the opposite of what a 2006 Taylor Swift fan would expect. Or even a 2012 Taylor Swift fan.  

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Even the title--”Look What You Made Me Do”--gives the feeling that Swift is not quite done writing names in her burn book. This reluctance to accept responsibility for the path her life is taking is especially evident in the cryptic, Spears-esque voiceover toward the end of the song, proclaiming the line that’s sure to be the most quoted and easily remembered:  “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.  Why? Oh, because she’s dead.”

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The video, perhaps, exemplifies the exact purpose for criticism:  Swift recognizes her own reputation and yet her efforts to squash this reputation has almost the opposite. The dialogue at the video’s conclusion seems to be throwing shade at a number of Swift’s most famous confrontations: whether that be the Kanye “narrative” she can't seem to find her way out of

That being said, Swift’s “shake it off” attitude seems to have been fleeting, as she doesn’t seem to be presenting her past personas with self-awareness. Instead, Swift is playing into the overall theme--that these Taylors were victimized unfairly, that though she has changed, she still remains unfairly criticized for every move she makes.

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The video, overall, is ineffective, though it does cause me to agree that Swift is called out for almost every move she makes.  However, as a powerful figure in the music industry, as a potential role model for millions of young people--male and female--this criticism, though fully expected by Swift and perhaps, admittedly, even a little tired by this point, is one-hundred percent deserved.  Swift hasn’t provided any reason for fans not to find fault in her actions--she doesn’t display the gracious, self-awareness necessary to display any “playing-the-victim” accusations.

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If Taylor Swift ever plans to grow out of her “woe is me” phase, that moment is nowhere in sight.