The pop singer revealed that a Paul Thomas Anderson film inspired her to write the lyrics to “Mastermind.”
In an interview with “TIME Magazine”, Taylor Swift explained that her song “Mastermind” from her 2022 album MIDNIGHTS is based less on her own experiences than on Paul Thomas Anderson’s film “The Thread”.
“Mastermind”: A track about calculation
The American singer explained that “Mastermind” came about after she saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s work “The Silk Thread,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The surprising last scene in particular was crucial for lines like: “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid / So I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since / To make them love me and make it seem effortless / This is the first time I’ve felt the need to confess / And I swear I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian because I care.” It was her reaction to having been described several times as calculating.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a text about being calculating? It’s something that was thrown at me like a dagger, but now I take it as a compliment.”
“The Silk Thread” shows a married couple having affairs. The situation gets so bad that the wife Alma tries to fight for her husband Reynolds, while he is rather annoyed by it. Towards the end of the film, Alma serves poisonous mushrooms to her husband after they had a toxic relationship. Reynolds, who knew he was being poisoned, eats them anyway and while they wait together for the effects, they confess their love for each other.
On the occasion of Swift’s being crowned Person of the Year, the 33-year-old spoke to TIME Magazine about her career. In it she describes her artistic path from being rejected as an opening act for Kenny Chesney at the age of 17 to her current phase in which she is performing with the “Eras” tour and releasing the accompanying film.