Roar analysis
Roar- Katy Perry close analysis:
Katy Perry's 2013 hit "Roar" was a defining moment for the singer. This was her first single from a new album in which she wanted to show that she had grown up and transitioned into a more mature artist.Plot:
The narrative of the video follows Katy Perry dealing with being stranded on a dessert Island with her useless boyfriend. Initially, Katy shows signs of worry at her new situation while her boyfriend doesn't seem phased and takes selfies while dumping her with all the bags. As they explore at night Katy's boyfriend is killed by a tiger and she is subject to the dangers of the jungle on her own. To begin with she is scared and apprehensive but as time goes on she adjust and even becomes the "queen of the jungle" making friends with all the animals and taming the tiger.
Intertexuality:
The entire plot of the video has similar themes to the TV show lost as they are also have a plane crash and are abandoned on a island and have to survive.
The most obvious reference is to "Tarzan" as the iconic vine swing is used within the video as well as her becoming the Queen of the jungle alike to Tarzan being the "King of the Jungle."
The posters and art style used at the beginning and the end of the video are influenced by films as they share the same design and have the same mise-en-scene.
Mise-en-Scene:
At the beginning of the video Katy wears khaki couloured traveling clothing, a conventional outfit for jungle exploration. As time goes on this clothing becomes ripped and stained to show the hardships she faces as she attempts to survives. However, it the second half of the video her costume transforms into a leopard print bra and banana leaf skirt. These items of clothing look as if she has adjusted to survive in the jungle as she takes elements of nature and uses them to her own advantage. Also, she wears a flower crown signifying that she is "Queen of the Jungle" as she has tamed the animals and thrived in her surroundings. This embodies the songs message as she becomes empowered as she becomes "The Tiger."
The day and night setting creates a contrast in lighting, to begin with the jungle is dark which makes a more scary environment for Katy but as she overcomes her fears the lighting at night becomes glowing as she is surrounded by fireflies. She is illuminated by them which presents the night as beautiful rather than scary. Also, the lighting at the day is extremely bright escpically towards the end of the video signifying the happy ending to the narrative.
Editing:
The video is edited using montage editing dividing the piece into many quick cuts of different locations and events creating an energetic pace to the video. At the beginning of the video the tiger that kills Katy Perry's boyfriend is CGI, it was added during the editing process. Another piece of CGI is used as the fireflies create the shape of a tiger.
There is also a graphic match as the scenes transition the CGI tiger mouth matches the shape of the cave exit as they dissolve they almost blur into one.
Star Theory:
Firstly, there are a large number of close up and midshots of Katy being the entire focus. This has been done to induce her star image. The video has a very comedic feel as showing that Katy doesn't take her self to seriously allowing audiences to see her personality. However, there are deeper meaning showing how she changed from being passive into her own person. The lyrics "i use to bite my tongue and hold my breath" show how she use to keep quite and not express her own feelings but "you gonna hear me roar" show how she has become more vocal, thus powerful. An audience is likely to empathize with Katy and find her relateable as they most likely have experienced something similar.
Todrov:
The plot begins at a disruption of the equilibrium, the audience assume that before the couple were happily flying in the air. Disruption continues throughout the video has Katy is subject to the harshness of nature such as spiders and her boyfriend being eaten. However, recognition happens once she enters the cave and see that she can become a "tiger" and thus restoration occurs when she defeats the tiger . Equilibrium is restored at the end of the video when it shows shots of Katy happily living her new life as "Queen of the jungle".
Propp:
Katy portrays both "the princess" and "the hero" as she is the stereotypical damsel in distress but saves herself within the narrative. The tiger is considered to be "The villain" and her boyfriend is the "false hero" as the audience would expect him to be the one to save Katy. Additionally, "the donor" and "the enabler" is the animals that she meets throughout the video.
Relationship between video and music:
At the beginning of the video Katy passively accepts her boyfriends ignorant behavior as he takes selfies and makes her carry the bags mirroring the lyrics "so i sit quietly, agreed politely." The audience can clearly see the relationship as the dominating male clearly has control over a complacent Katy. In the pre-chorus she states "you held me down but i got up" which is seen in the visuals as Katy is facing her fears by being covered in spiders and over coming it, becoming stronger. Throughout the song Katy repeats the lyric "Tiger" and "I'm the champion" showing her to be a victor and the hero to her own story. The word "champion" has connotations of fighting which will make the audience assume that she is a fighter, literally in the video and metaphorically in real life. The lyrics "eye of the tiger" have significant meaning as in many south-easten countreis a "tigers eye" is a type of rock that is used to ward of evils and curses". It is also said to promote positive energy complimenting the vibrant themes of the video.
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