Katy Perry - Roar
1.What
is the concept of the video?
Katy has crashed and she must use her strength and skills to survive.
2.What
is the plot or narrative of the video?
After their plane crashes, Katy and her boyfriend are stranded in the jungle. Her boyfriend, who doesn't really seem fazed, ends up being eaten by a tiger. Then Katy, with the help of her jungle friends, rises up and becomes the queen of the jungle.
3.What
elements of intertextuality can
be seen?
References to Tarzan, Jungle Woman, Indiana Jones and Lost are seen throughout.
At the beginning and end are cartoon effects which are not unlike old jungle movies. One such movie is Jungle Woman. She herself is presented as a Jungle Woman, even using similar posters to the film herself. The plane crash and need to survive are like the TV show Lost. Katy herself, in the making of video, said that
4.What
are the main events in the plot?
- The plane crash
- Her boyfriend is eaten by the tiger
- She starts to acclimatise to the jungle and thrives
- She fights the tiger, and overpowers him
-She is now the queen of the jungle
5.How
was the mise en scene managed?
In terms of costume, when Katy crashes she is wearing explorer like clothing which goes well with the jungle theme, however looks dirty and she is distressed to signify her pampered lifestyle. Comparing this to after she adapts to the nature around her; wearing small leopard skirt and shirt, we realise she is no longer pinned by societies' stereotypes and pressures and signifies her freedom. Contradicting this is Laura Mulvey's theory of male gaze; because she is only wearing few clothes she is attracting the male audience and therefore succumbing to society as this is more likely to sell her more records. Furthermore, is this contradictory to the message she is portraying for young girls?
Lighting represents her moods, i.e. she is quite sad and weighed down at the beginning when the lighting is dark, and then as she becomes more free and happy the lighting becomes brighter.
Included in the props is a staff which she makes herself when adapting to the environment. At the end of the video, the tiger is wearing a collar suggesting she has now tamed or 'taken over' the tiger's mantle, this represents control and empowerment which is what the song is all about.
In terms of costume, when Katy crashes she is wearing explorer like clothing which goes well with the jungle theme, however looks dirty and she is distressed to signify her pampered lifestyle. Comparing this to after she adapts to the nature around her; wearing small leopard skirt and shirt, we realise she is no longer pinned by societies' stereotypes and pressures and signifies her freedom. Contradicting this is Laura Mulvey's theory of male gaze; because she is only wearing few clothes she is attracting the male audience and therefore succumbing to society as this is more likely to sell her more records. Furthermore, is this contradictory to the message she is portraying for young girls?
Lighting represents her moods, i.e. she is quite sad and weighed down at the beginning when the lighting is dark, and then as she becomes more free and happy the lighting becomes brighter.
Included in the props is a staff which she makes herself when adapting to the environment. At the end of the video, the tiger is wearing a collar suggesting she has now tamed or 'taken over' the tiger's mantle, this represents control and empowerment which is what the song is all about.
6.What
is the message of the video? How does this relate to Star Theory?
It's about empowerment. You cannot let people take advantage of you, instead you must rise up and be confident and not let anyone tell you that you cannot survive. This is especially an important message for young females (her main audience) as feminism and empowering are important to todays current society, where inequality if rife. This relates to star theory as even though Katy herself is in the video and therefore the 'star' she is using her influence over young impressionable girls to promote feminism and strength.
It's about empowerment. You cannot let people take advantage of you, instead you must rise up and be confident and not let anyone tell you that you cannot survive. This is especially an important message for young females (her main audience) as feminism and empowering are important to todays current society, where inequality if rife. This relates to star theory as even though Katy herself is in the video and therefore the 'star' she is using her influence over young impressionable girls to promote feminism and strength.
7.How
doe the video relate to Todorov’s
theory?
The video starts with a disruption (the crash) and like in Todorov's theory Katy must go on a quest to survive, coming across hardships along the way (the tiger). Even though at the end of the video there is somewhat of an equilibrium as she is now queen of the jungle, as an audience we aren't fulfilled because she hasn't escaped the jungle back to civilization and we don't know who, what or why the plane crashed was caused. But, despite this the events do occur in a linear order supporting this theory.
The video starts with a disruption (the crash) and like in Todorov's theory Katy must go on a quest to survive, coming across hardships along the way (the tiger). Even though at the end of the video there is somewhat of an equilibrium as she is now queen of the jungle, as an audience we aren't fulfilled because she hasn't escaped the jungle back to civilization and we don't know who, what or why the plane crashed was caused. But, despite this the events do occur in a linear order supporting this theory.
8.How
does the video relate to Propp’s
theory?
In Propp's theory we are told that in a narrative the characters take on certain characteristics. However, with the absence of characters (only her and her ill fated boyfriend) the animals take on some of the roles; The tiger is the villain, the monkey and elephant are the helpers and enablers, Katy is the heroine, and her boyfriend was the 'Princess' or damsel that needed rescuing (even though this didn't happen).
In Propp's theory we are told that in a narrative the characters take on certain characteristics. However, with the absence of characters (only her and her ill fated boyfriend) the animals take on some of the roles; The tiger is the villain, the monkey and elephant are the helpers and enablers, Katy is the heroine, and her boyfriend was the 'Princess' or damsel that needed rescuing (even though this didn't happen).
9.Why
was the video made?
In Katy's own words: "It's a bit of a self-empowering type of song. I wrote it because I was sick of keeping all these feelings inside and not speaking up for myself, which caused a lot of resentment. Obviously I've been through a lot of therapy since my last record and that's what this is about." So it was made to present her feelings to the world.
10.Do
the lyrics link to the video?
The title 'Roar' links to the jungle and tiger theme presented in the video, it's also a relation to he speaking out about her feelings.
'I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything' these lyrics correspond to her divorce and how she felt, the plane crash possibly indicates the crashing of her marriage and that despite it she survived and is now stronger.
'eye of the tiger'
'louder than a lion' these lyrics relate to the video immensely, following the jungle theme.
The 'eye of the tiger' line could also be in reference to the song by Survivor, featured in Rocky which could signify her need to fight and win in the song and video.
The title 'Roar' links to the jungle and tiger theme presented in the video, it's also a relation to he speaking out about her feelings.
'I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything' these lyrics correspond to her divorce and how she felt, the plane crash possibly indicates the crashing of her marriage and that despite it she survived and is now stronger.
'eye of the tiger'
'louder than a lion' these lyrics relate to the video immensely, following the jungle theme.
The 'eye of the tiger' line could also be in reference to the song by Survivor, featured in Rocky which could signify her need to fight and win in the song and video.
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