Ethan Hawke Reunites With Dead Poets Society Co-Star After 35 Years In New Taylor Swift Music Video

Summary

• Dead Poets Society
  stars Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles have reunited 35 years later in Taylor Swift’s music video, “Fortnight”.
• In the video, directed by Swift, the duo play scientists examining the character played by the singer in a stylish black-and-white setting, though she is saved from their experiments by Post Malone.
• “Fortnight” marks the latest addition to Swift’s directorial filmography in music videos, with the 14-time Grammy winner also planning to direct a mystery movie she wrote.

Ethan Hawke reunites with his Dead Poets Society co-star Josh Charles after 35 years in Taylor Swift’s newest music video. The 14-time Grammy winner released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Departmentand debuted the first music video from the record, “Fortnight feat.” Post Malone. The video, directed by Swift, caught fans by surprise with an Easter Egg referencing Dead Poets Society. Released in 1989, notably the year Swift was born, the classic film stars the late Robert Williams as non-conventional professor Mr. Keating, who transforms the lives of his students at the strict boarding school Welton Academy.

Now, Todd and Knox are back, but this time with PhD’s, as Taylor Swift reunites the co-stars on-screen in the Fortnight music video. Hawke celebrated the video, posting on his social media to introduce him and Charles’ character from the video. Check out his post and the actual video below:

How The Fortnight Music Video Honors Dead Poets Society

The Fortnight music video features Hawke and Charles as scientists Dr. Anderson and Dr. Overstreet, a nod to their characters from Dead Poets Society. The video begins with Swift waking up in what appears to be a mental asylum. Later on, she is released into a lab, where Dr. Anderson and Dr. Overstreet are performing experiments on her. She is shown chained upright to monitors, with the scientists examining her vitals and taking notes. Then, they send a major shock through the pop star, only for Post Malone’s character, also a scientist examining Swift, to come to her rescue.

The Fortnight music video features an entirely black-and-white production, similar to the Dead Poets Society‘s dark academic aesthetic. The video also features Swift and Post Malone using typewriters, referencing not only the former singer’s lyrics from The Tortured Poets Departmentbut could also be a nod to the many used throughout the 1989 coming-of-age drama movie.

Taylor Swift co-directed her first music video in 2010 for the lead single
Mine
off of her third studio album,
Speak Now.

The Fortnight music video is just one of many of Swift’s self-directed projects. The international pop star wrote a feature film and is slated to direct it, and while details are under wraps, her music videos exemplify her ability to tell a story visually. She made her first solo directorial debut with the ME! music video in 2019, while some other self-directed videos include the critically-acclaimed All Too Well: The Short Film and Karma. Swift has expressed her desire to direct, and it seems her extensive film knowledge of such titles as Dead Poets Society will aid in her latest venture.

Source: Taylor Swift & Ethan Hawke/Instagram