Blog 9: Katy Perry- how her pop videos appeal to her target audience and reflect her private life.

Blog 9. Katy Perry – how her Pop Videos
appeal to her target audience and reflect her
private life.

Target audience = young girls (14-17).


Katy Perry has to:

a) be like an older sister / friend

b) reflect some of the anxieties young girls have

c) be someone young girls can admire and want to be (appear sexy in
a non-threatening way).
                                                                                                                                                                 
Katy Perry – how her Pop Videos appeal to her target audience
and reflect her private life.


Download and analyse each of these Katy Perry videos. As part of your analysis refer to Goodwin’s 5 characteristics).

.Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).
There is a relationship between music and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs
which recur across their work (a visual style and ‘fireworks’?).
There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, looking into the camera etc) and
particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Katy Perry’s videos appear ‘Feminist’ but she also appears ‘sexy’ in
parts.
There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc – “Wide Awake” refers back to
“California Girls” and “Firework”).
                                                                                                                                                           


Katy Perry – how her Pop Videos appeal to her target audience
and reflect her private life.

Target audience = young girls (14-17).


Katy Perry has to a) be like an older sister / friend b) reflect some of
the anxieties young girls have c) be someone young girls can admire
and want to be (appear sexy in a non-threatening way).


Download and analyse each of these videos. Analyse (use Goodwin’s
six characteristics).


Katy Perry – how her Pop Videos appeal to her target audience
and reflect her private life.
                                                                                                                                     
“Hot and Cold” 2008


Presents herself as a victim – slightly comic – everybody’s friend – laugh at
herself?



                                                                                                                                       

Last Friday Night (2010)

Not afraid to be ugly (braces) – becomes beautiful.

  Targets possible insecurities of young girls such as superficial appearances and the need to feel accepted amid a very active time in life. It shows this via a relatively unattractive Katy struggling to find acceptance until she changes her appearance to fit in.

   This does not entirely fit in with Goodwin's theory, since there are no inter-textual references or screens involved during the filming.
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“Firework” 2010


   The point of this video is to tell girls, or people in general that is okay to be who you are, no , matter your shape or sexuality.

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Elaborate special effects.

Lacks the screens or references of Goodwins theory
However, use of obesity in women and homosexual males averts Laura Mulvey's theory of it being solely the male gaze
This is fitting as the song is not meant to be about a singular demographic, in fact the total opposite, wherein no-one should be excluded.

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Katy Perry – how her Pop Videos appeal to her target
audience and reflect her private life.

“California Girls” 2010

New – sexy image (Dating Russell Brand) – alienate young audience?

    In Mulveys theory, this is sexualising and objectifying her, in a meta theory some could see this as how people in the media saw Perry. It also consistently follows the male gaze, and draws attention to it through innuendos and imagery.
   
  In terms of Goodwins theory, there are multiple close ups of both Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg, and is combined with a sense of voyeurism, especially in the ''cloud'' shots where Perry appears to be naked, although the rest of the song could apply, with women seen walking around in varying amounts of clothing.
  The lyrics illustrate in a symbolic way, of how ''sweet'' the aforementioned California girls are.
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Wide Awake” 2012

Reconnecting with teenage fans – almost an apology – Russell Brand figure – female
empowerment.

   in this particular video,  the song is amplified over time by the video, which shows her encountering hardships, and overcoming them, and in some aspects could almost be seen as an apology to teenage fans, after the objectification of herself in songs such as California girls.

   Goodwins theory can be seen here, as seen in the mirror hallway, though instead of a screen showing voyeurism, it's used in the video to show reflection of how she alienated her fanbase to become more of an idol.
  However, both Mulvey and Goodwin are subverted in this as due to this being a self-aware video, the sexualisation happens at the begging, and then the rest of the video is showing regret to choices like this.



“Roar” 2013


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  This video appears to be a callback, or possibly a return to the old Katy Perry, appearing to be colourful, fun, and, unlike in previous songs still somewhat sexual, but instead for herself, and not because men want her to be.

   Laura's theory is somewhat subverted, as instead of being sexualised for the male gaze, she does it for herself, as a form of female empowerment.

  This is true for Goodwin as well. However, this video does however contain several of his other theories. This video is presented as a spoof of the old Technicolour movies, as well as the amplification, the jungle themed lyrics go with the jungle themed video, as well as lot of close ups of the singer, as even the thumbnail shows.


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