Hot and Cold
On analysing the video, it is evident to see that although Katy plays the role of a distressed and upset bride who appears to have just been rejected by her groom, she is still able to maintain a non-voyeuristic yet sexual appearance, all the while being appealing to her young female audience. This is effective because men who view the video are appeased as Katy Perry and all her supporting dancers still uphold a strong degree of sex appeal while in a darker way men are placated by the way the video shows how men often have power and control over situations such as this and empowers them while watching the video.
Despite this, the video reaches out to its main target audience as adolescent girls and young women where it identifies with what they may have experienced and might be feeling at that specific point in time. This gives them reassurance where they feel they are not the only one experiencing problems such as this. It doesn't matter whether it is to the extent of the problem in the video or their problem is similar but on a much more subtle basis.
This is another iconic Katy Perry video in the essence that it directly appeals to the teenage female audience where it helps them reflect on problems that they might be experiencing throughout school or college. She appears as a teenage girl who society would notoriously perceive as an outcast or someone who one would not suspect to be in with what is known as the 'cool kids' who condone and attend massive parties such as the one we see in the video.
The message of this video must be assessed on a more subtle level in regards to how Perry's audience would interpret the video. Young teenage girls who feel like they do not entirely fit in are empowered by the content where they feel like they can be as sociable and outgoing as Katy Perry in the video. This is effective and yet again boosts her audiences 'self-esteem.'
The bright pink mise en scene also helps to appeal to the young female audience as it is a popular colour with this specific group. This helps make the video light-hearted and proliferates the fun that is experienced while watching the video as the audience.
On analysing the effectiveness this video has on its audience, it is clear that it gives people a chance to escape into a world of fun and almost re-live memories of the past for older generations. It also shouts the slogan "young, wild and free"which can be helpful to the younger audience as they can identify with this while watching the video.
Katy Perry firework is another very inspirational music video with a very strong message for its audience. It highlights the idea that everyone is equal and has the opportunity to explode with their greatness. This means that the video empowers people to exhibit and celebrate themselves no matter what they have encountered in life. The content of the video is effective in representing this message with a strong mise en scene and efficient use of camera angles and shot types.
The video upholds one solid shot of Katy Perry standing rather solitary high up above the streets on a balcony in a white dress which is a representation of her purity. We are subject to witness many different seperarate storylines within the video of people facing adversity which are very common in society. This allows her audience to identify with the content of her video to a firmer degree based on the fact that she has personalised the video to relate to the audience and by the message of the video being the idea of overcoming these problems, people can be inspired by her videos.
Despite the fact that the video is not voyeuristic in nature, Katy Perry still has a certain degree of sex appeal with features such as her make up and many close up shots throughout the video. However, what is more prominent than this is the idea that Laura Mulvey's theory is not overpowering within the video and we see less women represented as sexual objects if we were to compare the features of this video to the features of a video such as Rihanna - shut up and drive. Moreover, the video addresses issues such as domestic abuse from different perspectives and also issues such as homophobia.
Katy Perry - California girls
This is one of the most controversial Katy - Perry videos and it is argued by many critics and even her fans that the video is contradictory of her previous videos in the sense that California Gurls is much more sexualised than any of her previous ones. The video does conform to theories such as the Mulvey theory and does uphold a voyeuristic representation of women. The message taken by the audience from this video is also juxtaposed to her previous work. She is talking about women in a sexualised way, and the innocence of a "candy land" is contrasted by Katy and her supporting women having sex appeal to the audience. These are many reasons why this particular song, made huge amounts of speculation in media circles and caused much controversy and discussion.
The idea that Snoop Dog is leading the game and is in control of the many women in the video is evidence to how it conforms to the Laura Mulvey theory of male dominance within media texts and the male gaze which represents women in a voyeuristic way. Also, some of the lyrics in the song read by Snoop Dogg contain some very demoralising content towards women which undermines them as almost objects for sexual pleasure. This is further supported when assessing the costume the women are wearing throughout and the mise en scene in the video. We witness many girls in candy stylised bikini's with cherries to give implications of nipples, which are highly associated with sexual ideas, and also at the end of the video we see Katy Perry fire cream from the positions of her two breasts. Again this provokes sexual thoughts and is appealing especially to a male audience.
However, this is overshadowed by the sequence in the video where Katy Perry is naked in the pink clouds. This would undoubtedly placate a male audience and provoke sexual thoughts in relation to Katy Perry as her behaviour matches her image where she is acting and moving in a sexualised way.
This shows the direct contrast between this video and her previous work where most of the target audience was young and adolescent women or a united world as a whole.
Overall, although this video has many sexual and voyeuristic elements, it is rather successful in the sense that the song is very catchy and is of high quality. Despite this, Katy Perry addressed the problems surrounding the video and there is clear change in tune within her following work.
Katy Perry - Wide Awake
California Gurls and Wide Awake are argueably the two most juxtaposed music videos placed next to each other by the same artist. The sexualised and voyeuristic nature of California Gurls is diminished by that of the dark and rather subtle nature of Wide Awake. The message recieved from both videos is also greatly contrary in either video. Within Wide Awake, we recieve Katy as almost reflecting on past mistakes and addressing the fact that it is time for change. There are certain implications that Katy is experiencing difficulties or problems within her personal life or issues surrounding her as an artist and these issues appear to be addressed within the lyrics of the song and the content of the video.
At the beginning of the video the audience witness Katy on the set of the California girls music video during the scene where she is naked on the cloud. This is significant because the message of this video is how she has made mistakes but now she is clear headed and ready to conquer and learn from these mistakes. This implies that the California Girls video was a mistake and she is ready to change now and not conform to the pressures of the industry and what they require her to do. At the end of the video we see katy emerging on to stage about to perform her next track, this implies that she has moved on and is back to "herself" for better words.
The technical aspects are effective where there are simple close up shots on Katy Perry's face accompanied with a medium shot of her back which is contrasted to the quick paced multiple shots from California girls. The mise en scene is dark and dim which is contrasted to that of California girl's bright and exotic setting. There is also a part of the video where Katy Perry punches a man depicted as a Knight and shining armour which is suggestive of Katy Perry doing this in real life.
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