10 golden rules

Roar- Katy Perry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

1.   How do the representations in the music videos chosen by the producers promote the artist?

Katy Perry is represented in the video as brave and not dependent on a man which creates a positive image for her younger audience to look up to. As well as attracting a younger audience with this representation, the older generations, who may be parents of these fans, will also be more likely to see her as a positive influence and role model.

2.   How do the music videos reflect individuals or social, cultural and historical issues and events?
Katy released the video shortly after her break up which shows a feminist message that females can deal with anything, reflecting the current move towards equality and female empowerment with movements such as Me Too encouraging women to be strong and stand up.

3.   How are the music videos influenced by the concept of intertextuality?
The first image is of the title which is in a comic style: making a reference to old jungle movies which gives the effect of the video being more of a short movie than a music video. The phrase “eye of the tiger” is also used during the piece which references the 1982 song, Eye of the Tiger, to promote the theme of survival and being the best which is what the 1982 song is about. Furthermore when Katy is swinging on the vine this mirrors Tarzan who was the man of the jungle, pushing the idea that Katy is the Queen of the jungle.

4.   What viewpoints/representations and messages and values does the media language of the music video highlight about society and how realistic do you think these representations are?
At the beginning of the video Katy and her boyfriend are shown by lots of high angle camera shots which is in contrast to the end of the video where Katy is shown, no longer with her boyfriend, by lots of low angle shots. The high angle shots at the start make her seem vulnerable and less powerful whereas the low angle shots make her seem in charge and confident. This conveys the message she is stronger without her boyfriend and doesn’t need him which is a powerful message to send to other women about self-confidence but is not necessarily realistic in that having a boyfriend is not the deciding factor for being confident or not. 

5.   Do the music videos challenge or subvert the codes and conventions of a music video? Does this lead to multiple meanings?
The music video fits the conventions of a mainstream music video because it focuses on the artist as the narrator and actor and the piece is set in a desirable location. The video also includes Katy Perry lip syncing throughout most of the piece and she is presented in positive manner which will help to build her fan base.

6.   Have stereotypes been used in a positive or negative manner (or both) how and why?
At the beginning of the video, her boyfriend is taking selfies whereas she looks scared and is assessing the situation. The stereotype that women are obsessed with their image and the way they look is flipped here, where instead the man is taking selfies. This can be viewed positively as it shows that both men and women are equally prone to vanity which has been done to promote the running theme of feminism throughout the video. However the beginning of the video also cements the stereotype that women are less brave and more uptight in a frightening situation by Katy’s facial expressions which has been decided in order to contrast Katy later in the video when she is no longer with her boyfriend and becomes a lot braver, showing she doesn’t need a man to rely on.

7.   When placed in a global context do you think that the music offer representations that are under or over represented in society. Why do you think this

The beginning shots of the man taking selfies and making sure he looks good is underrepresented as it is normally the female that is presented like this and the male more often shown to be more rugged and not caring about their image. However the video also displays representations that are more over represented, for example, later on the video Katy is wearing revealing clothes and her direct gaze shows the sexualisation of women’s bodies which is a common theme in music videos and generally in society, showing a more over represented representation.

8. How have the social and cultural contexts affected the representations on offer in the music videos?

The music video was released in 2013 during a time where there was a big push towards feminism and female empowerment, which has continued to the present day. This means that the video would be perceived much more positively by the majority of people as this topic is something that many people feel passionately about so the main theme of the video fits in well with the social contexts surrounding it at the time.

9.   How are the (different) audience/s positioned to respond and interpret the representations/messages and values/ideologies that the music videos offer the audience?

The video is designed to make Katy seem good role model for younger girls to look up to by making her seem powerful and confident on her own and the video may also be appealing to the older audience from its references like “eye of the tiger” which relates to a song in the 80s and would only be understood by people who remember that song.

10.   How has the music videos’ version of reality been constructed through the techniques of re-representations

The music video's version of reality has been constructed by the negative representation of men as mistreating women and the positive representation of Katy as becoming empowered and better off post-breakup which can be seen in the mis en scene because Katy looks much more put together at the end and the camera angles are generally low angle shots which makes her seem powerful.