SPOILERS AHEAD (obviously)…
Sabrina Carpenter has taken the pop music scene by storm with her most recent album, Short n’ Sweet, featuring hit songs such as “Espresso,” “Please Please Please,” and “Taste.” Following the release of this album was the “Taste” music video, encompassing several allusions and surprises to be explored.
Chock-full of references and secrets both large and small, the video paints the hit song in an entirely different light. Despite its brief length of just over three minutes, the “Taste” music video plays on classic films, presents a punchy mirage of twisted death scenes, creates a strong narrative with a clear message, and adds to a growing universe.
Paying Homage to the Classics
The “Taste” music video stars Sabrina Carpenter herself as well as Jenna Ortega and Rohan Campbell. Jenna Ortega, despite her rise to stardom on Disney Channel, has made a big name for herself within the horror industry, having starred in multiple Scream films, American Carnage, X, Studio 666, and others. Ortega herself is a reference to the horror genre, which makes her a perfect fit for Carpenter’s nemesis in the video. Rohan Campbell also holds experience in the horror genre, having played a major role in Halloween Ends.
While Ortega has been known for playing a scream queen and Campbell is known for playing an ominous killer, their roles are flipped for the purpose of the video, as Ortega is a threat to Carpenter as her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, and Campbell, the ex-boyfriend, plays the damsel in distress, caught in a ruthless battle between the two women while they murder each other in comically violent ways over and over again.
The first death occurs when Carpenter sneaks into the couple’s bedroom with a machete and attacks a lump of pillows under the bed covers meant to appear as Ortega. The ploy works and Ortega emerges with a rifle, shooting Carpenter in the torso, sending her flying off of the balcony. Ortega runs to the edge to look down at Carpenter, who has been impaled by the fence below. She throws a knife upward into Ortega’s eye and then pretends to crank her middle finger up at her to flip her off. This is a reference to Ginger Snaps, a film about two sisters, Brigette and Ginger, that stage photos of themselves being murdered for a school project. In one photo, Ginger poses as if she has been impaled by a fence. When Brigette says it looks too fake, Ginger pretends to crank her middle finger up to flip her off.
The following scene reveals Carpenter in a hospital as a patient. A “nurse” turns around to reveal herself as Ortega, wearing a nurse’s uniform and an eye patch, before using defibrillators several times on Carpenter until she flatlines. Ortega’s look and role in this scene clearly reflects the character of Elle Driver in Kill Bill (Vol. 1 and 2), who seeks revenge against Beatrix Kiddo for losing an eye, and does so by sneaking into a hospital as a nurse. These two Kill Bill characters have an ongoing rivalry in which they violently attack each other throughout the films, similar to the relationship between Carpenter and Ortega in the music video.
Taking the audience back to the house where the video began, the next scene features Ortega and Campbell about to have a steamy moment on a couch next to an open fireplace while Carpenter hides behind a bush outside. She reveals a voodoo doll and bends its back in half, causing Ortega’s back to bend backwards as well. Carpenter continues to bend the doll around and pull its head off, torturing Ortega who has now stood up from the couch. She has revealed another voodoo doll and throws it into the fireplace, consequently setting Carpenter ablaze outside. Despite its subtlety, this is likely a reference to Child’s Play, in which Chucky the doll is brought to life through voodoo.
Two clearcut references can be identified in the following scene which begins with Ortega and Campbell showering together, the first being Psycho. Carpenter harshly pulls the shower curtain back and holds a knife above her head (reminiscent of the signature shot of Norman Bates in the classic horror film) before stabbing Ortega. Campbell reenacts the terrified scream of Marion Crane while Ortega chops Carpenter’s arm off with a hook. This is when the reference to Addams Family Values becomes apparent. Carpenter backs away from the shower with blood spurting from where her arm used to be. She wears a white dress with feathers around the shoulders, a clear homage to Debbie Jellinsky, a villain who seduces Uncle Fester but is later revealed to be a serial killer that murdered her past husbands for their inheritance.
The last death of the video takes place when Ortega kisses Campbell by an outdoor pool, but when she opens her eyes she finds herself kissing Carpenter. Shocked and vengeful, Ortega takes a chainsaw to Carpenter’s torso, causing her to fall into the water. However, Carpenter runs up behind Ortega and both look over the pool at Campbell, revealing that Ortega hallucinated kissing Carpenter and accidentally killed her boyfriend because of it…oops. The chainsaw death is related to Texas Chainsaw Massacre and is likely another tribute.
The most prominent reference in the “Taste” music video is that of Death Becomes Her. Not only does Carpenter have the signature hole in her abdomen that the doctors can see through, just as Helen does in the film when Madeline shoots her, but the overall premise of the video reflects that of the film as well. Madeline and Helen are frenemies who fight over a man, and they drink a potion to survive each other’s attacks. However, they become friends at the end of the film over shared experiences of their relationships with the man. Carpenter and Ortega survive each other’s attacks to become friends at Campbell’s funeral when they bond over their shared experiences with him.
Switching the Narrative
“Taste” is a song written from the perspective of an ex-lover speaking to their ex-partner’s new lover. The narrator taunts the new lover, pushing the message that no matter what, their impression will always remain on their ex, and the new lover will never be able to escape them. Although the video stays true to the song and blends seamlessly with its message, it also provides a fresh take and may even make Carpenter’s narrative clearer.
Carpenter and Ortega have a rivalry throughout the video in which they attack and “murder” each other in violent, gruesome ways. Although they are fighting over Campbell’s character, the female characters do all of the fighting themselves while Campbell acts as the damsel in distress. This theme works well with lyrics such as “I leave quite an impression” and “he’s funny now, all his jokes hit different, guess who he learned that from.” The video helps bring this theme of female power to light.
Listening to the song without the video seems to paint the two female characters as enemies. One taunts the other about how she will always play a role within her relationship. Upon watching the video, however, the outcome and perspective that it yields is much different. Carpenter and Ortega violently attack each other throughout the video, but in a way that is punchy and comical. They even laugh during their brutal ambushes on each other. After fighting each other over Campbell’s character throughout the video and eventually killing him accidentally, they attend his funeral where they bond over what annoyed them both about him. They giggle and walk out of the funeral as friends, presenting the message that girlhood and female friendship transcends any romantic relationship.
The Sabrina Carpenter Universe
Several strings can be identified that tie Sabrina Carpenter’s recent music videos together. This phenomenon traces back to the “Skinny Dipping” music video. Carpenter released hit single, “Skin,” at the start of 2021. “Skinny Dipping” was released the following September, the first song revealed off the emails i can’t send album. The “Skinny Dipping” music video follows Carpenter fantasizing about rekindling an old romance.
Throughout the video she writes notes to herself that are displayed onscreen. A closer look at these notes reveals that each one is actually a lyric from songs off of her upcoming album. Examples include “no time for rewrites” from “Fast Times,” and “everything’s derailing” from “because i liked a boy.” At the end of the video, Carpenter runs into an empty street with a box of the notes she has written and scatters them around herself before laying in the road beside a chalk outline. This seems to be the end of the video, but the instrumentals for “Fast Times” (the next song released from the album) cuts in, accompaniment for another Sabrina Carpenter speeding into view on a motorcycle. The video abruptly ends there. It feels symbolic for a new era of the pop star.
The ”Fast Times” music video features a brand new look and feel for Carpenter, much more representative of her current visual branding. Her style is bold, vibrant, and seductive in this video and her signature “SC” logo is shown on a ring for the first time. This video is the start of Carpenter’s new era and notable visual branding. The theme of mischief runs strong in the “Fast Times” video, and it continues to hold prominence in her videos that follow. Mischief and mayhem play a large role in the ”because i liked a boy” and “Nonsense” music videos, featuring circus events and wild partying, but this theme takes a bold turn when the “Feather” music video is released in 2023.
“Feather” is part of the deluxe version of emails i can’t send and one of her most streamed songs on Spotify to date. Upon the release of its corresponding music video, it stirred up a steaming pot of controversy and received some backlash for its implications, as it was partially filmed inside a Catholic church in New York City.
Throughout the video, several young men are featured being creepy toward Sabrina Carpenter. Some catcall her on the street, one takes a nonconsensual picture of her from behind, and some attempt to mansplain her workout to her before fighting each other over her, despite her obvious lack of interest in all of them. They all die in gruesome, gory ways, giving Carpenter peace of mind and freedom to go on about her day without them acting as roadblocks. At the end of the video, Sabrina dances around the church where all of their coffins lay, wearing a skimpy black puffy dress, sheer black tights, a black veil, and black stiletto heels.
The ”Feather” video introduces the horror genre into Carpenter’s music videos but also the theme of viewing death positively, as a new beginning. The “Taste” music video reflects this idea when the boyfriend character dies, as Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega attend the funeral together, wearing stylish black dresses and black veils. They bond over faults of their past lover and spark a new friendship with each other, leaving the funeral happily.
“Espresso,” a pop hit off Carpenter’s most recent album, Short n’ Sweet, as well as her most streamed song, accompanies a video that continues the theme of mischief and mayhem, but it also pays homage to the “Feather” music video through its color scheme of blue and pink. Carpenter wears a blue and pink outfit for every scene of the “Feather” video aside from the funeral outfit that she wears in the church. She begins the “Espresso” video wearing a white dress in an entirely black and white scenery as she drives a boat with a man sitting at the stern. As he tries to get close to her, she sharply turns the boat in disgust, throwing him overboard. The scenery changes to a world of color and Carpenter emerges from the water.
The next shot shows her white dress replaced with a pink headscarf and blue bathing suit. The color similarity does not end there. She reads a book with a blue cover, the umbrellas on the beach are blue, and at one point she lays in a different blue bathing suit inside of a convertible car with a blue interior, filled with water to resemble a pool (a car-pool, one might say). She is then discovered by the man she threw from the boat alongside police, who arrest and shove her into the back of a blue police car.
This is a perfect setup for her following music video, that of her song, “Please Please Please,” as it begins with Carpenter being bailed out of jail, wearing a sparkly blue dress. There, she meets Barry Keoghan’s character, who has just been arrested. They form a relationship, but when Carpenter bails Keoghan out of jail, he proceeds to commit several violent crimes including an underground deal gone wrong and a bank robbery.
Carpenter’s signature blue and pink as well as her “SC” ring are all featured multiple times throughout the mayhem. The end of the video features Carpenter handcuffing Keoghan’s arms behind his back and placing duct tape over his mouth before planting a kiss on top, leaving a prominent lipstick stain over the tape. This seamlessly bleeds into the beginning of the “Taste” video, Carpenter’s latest music video project to date.
The video opens on a bed covered with an arsenal of weapons and presumably some instruments and toys used for BDSM purposes, including a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs, most likely an allusion to Carpenter’s song, “Juno,” off the Short n’ Sweet album, which was released the same day as the “Taste” video. Propped against a pillow on the bed is a pink teddy bear with a rifle tucked against one arm and what appears to be a ninja star in the other arm. The stuffed bear has a strip of duct tape over its mouth with a lipstick stain on top, a clearcut allusion to the final shot of the “Please Please Please” music video.
Her ”SC” ring makes another appearance and she wears bright blue and/or pink for the majority of the video (and we can’t forget Rohan Campbell’s bright blue coffin), and the themes of violence, mischief, and death being viewed as a new beginning are all prominent. The themes that coexist within all of Carpenter’s recent videos are clearly very intentional. It is reasonable to presume that she will continue to expand on this universe, but there will undoubtedly be more surprises to uncover as more videos surface.
