Part Of Me Music Video Analysis

 

Katy Perry's Part Of Me music video to me is powerful and inspiring, portraying Katy as an independent strong female lead. At the time the song was released back in 2012,  lot of Katy's audience were young girls so I feel that this music video creates a really strong role model to impressionable young people. The music video starts with Katy sat in her car looking at a heart shaped locket with a photo of her and a man who we assume is her partner. On the radio we hear someone talking about how they suspect that their partner is cheating on them but also talking about the reason why they haven't left them. In another shot framing is used so that we see Katy looking in the car mirror and her partner flirting with another woman at work in an office. These shots are short and only last up to about 10 seconds in total but immediately we are given context into the situation and we side with Katy. 

As she gets out of the car and goes into the office a handheld camera is used making us feel as though we are there with her, again making the audience feel more connected to her. Again, in one shot when she is arguing with him a handheld camera is used filming from outside the office through the windows making us feel as though we are really there watching this, linking to Goodwin's idea of voyeurism. 

At this point as Katy storms out of the office as they still argue and the song begins. The first lyric reads, 'Days like this I want to drive away". At this point we see a shot of Katy driving away, illustrating the lyrics. The saturation is very low, creating a melancholy atmosphere. This faded colour scheme was also very popular on social media at the time.

We then see Katy notice an advert for women to join the marines in the petrol station shop noticeboard. She then goes to a public toilet and starts drastically changing her appearance by cutting her hair, bounding her chest and changing into jeans and a hoodie. 

When she joins the marines, a mix of symmetrical tracking shots, representing the formality and discipline of the army, and handheld camera shots, making us feel as though we are in on the action, are used. The music is also amplified at certain points with shots of them kicking or punching to the beat. 

A few times we see flashbacks of times in her relationship when she was happy. The colour scheme in the flashbacks is very 'rose tinted' showing it was a happy time but also too good to be true. In one flashback we see her and her ex boyfriend shooting guns on a fairground game. This is contrasted with Katy using a real gun in the army, amplifying the lyric, 'now look at me', showing her growth to the viewer now she has broken off that relationship. 

Overall I think the music video is very empowering to women. After reading some of the comments on the video, I saw several people saying that I helped them get out of toxic relationships or deal with similar situations in their life.