roar

1. Katy Perry- Roar
Music video analysis

2. The narrative of the song and how it
links to the music& lyrics.
• The narrative of this video is that Katy survives a
plane crash and is left with her not so nice boyfriend
in the middle of the jungle where she is treated
poorly and made to carry his bags, he gets eaten
and has to fight for herself and transforms herself
into the leader/queen of the jungle, in the video we
see her destroying her old belongings for example
she turned her heals into a weapon.
• This links to the song throughout for example she
sings ‘you held me down, but I got up’ just after her
boyfriend has been eaten which suggest now she is
free of him and can be independent.
• Also as she sings ‘I got the eye of the tiger’
repeatedly through the song we see one in the
video

3. Intertextuality within the video.
• There is a clear link to Tarzan when she is swinging on
the vine and note also how the beginning and end has a
storybook/ old/ cartoon feel. Tarzan was man of the
jungle and by using this it enables us to see that Katy is
women of the jungle and can be strong on her own.
However she does still have her own image as she’s being
very graceful and agile.
• ‘now I’m floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee’ is
reference to the boxer Muhammad Ali. Just a as a
caterpillar has its rebirth into a butterfly Katy is
resurrected from her past as she finds her new self in the
jungle starting a new life.
• During the video the tiger is wearing a label which says
‘kitty pury’ which is reference to her cat.

4. Camera movement& angles.
• The camera is not used in any unusual way which
makes the video seem normal and relaxed.
• The camera gives us high angles so she is higher than
everyone else and we are looking up to her which
suggests her importance and makes her seem like a
superior.
• However here we are looking down on her, this was
perhaps used as it shows that if she can be strong so
can we. Also here she just defeated the massive tiger
on her own which suggests to the audience we can
be as strong as her which gives a positive message to
her fans.

5. Camera in relation to the artist.
• During this music video , Katy is the main focus
throughout, she is the only star other than her
boyfriend who dies, and her sidekick the monkey
and elephant and nemesis the tiger.
• There are often close ups of her face which
repeatedly reminds us that she is solely the focus
of the video
• Also when everyone is included she is always in
the middle.
• The camera also often pans around Katy drawing
the focus into her closely.

6. Editing in relation to beat and pace of
the song
• The music has cuts that match the beat of the song, for
example every bar there will be cut or even every beat. The
cuts get faster in the middle of the song around the chorus,
this is because this is where the beat gets faster and more
energetic and it matches the mood of the song.

7. Video sequencing
• It starts with a title which makes
it look like a story, then the
story starts and has 3 parts
- Being sad and with her
boyfriend
- Being scared and having to fight
for her own
- Becoming leader of the jungle
• This matches with the song
lyrics as the story is only told in
each 3 verses.
• The song ends with the same
title it started with saying ‘the
end’ which carries along the
theme of a story.

8. Lip syncing
• Most of the video is lip-sync which allows us
to see that is her personal story and can relate
more to her target audience as she is their
inspiration so to hear the words coming from
her mouth means more. Also the song can be
seen as her journey in her life overcoming
similar problems.

9. Post production
• The fire flies that create a lion have been added post
production as well as the reflection of a lion in the
water.
• Another thing that has been added post production is
the cartoon of the west indians on the cave wall.
• all of the times a lion appears it has been added in post
production to go along with the lyrics when she sings
‘roar’.
• Another thing added psot production is the start and
the end where it says ‘the end’ and ‘roar’ this is what
gives the video its storybook effect.

10. Mise en scene
• Costume
- jungle like, made clothes out of jungle things, however is wearing leopard
print bra and grass mini skirt which is not practical at all but attracts the
audience.
• Lighting
- Dark at the start which shows the scaredness and as it goes on and she
becomes stronger becomes lighter and more happy.
• Acting
- Over dramatic very intense and overly acted.
• Makeup
- Natural yet perfect complexion. Wears lipstick made from a papaya.
• Props
- Monkey sidekick and elephant. Also her weapon she makes from her high
heel.
• Setting
- jungle.

11. Star image and iconography
• Katy perrys main image can be seen
as ‘bubblegum girl’
• She always has perfect hair and make
up
• This is similar to the video as she has
perfect hair throughout despite being
in the jungle.

12. voyeurism
• This video is quite
voyeuristic as we see
her life living in the
jungle and also see her
not only in the shower
but also in her bra and
skirt made of vines. Her
behaviour is also quite
flirty at times like when
she is leaning
seductively against the
tree.

13. Why this video amplifies the music.
• This video demonstrates the song
in a overdramatic way, this is
because of the theatrical acting,
use of huge unnecessary animals
such as the huge elephant and her
swinging on vines through the
jungle. It doesn’t contradict the
song, yet it isnt calm enough just
to illustrate the lyrics as it is quite
over the top.