Goodwins Theory.

Wide Awake- Katy Perry.

Genre Characteristics: Katy Perry’s music is within the pop genre and therefore the different aspects in this music video conform to the genre. Features including bright colours throughout the majority of the video. However there are also aspects of the video that do not conform to the stereotype of pop videos such as the dark twisted fantasy land. Katy Perry has gone against her stereotypical clean cut image in some parts of the Wide Awake music video, as her image usually portrays a vibrant fun image whereas in this video she is represented more seriously to the target audience giving Katy Perry a diverse outlook to the pop genre.

What is the relationship between music and visuals? The pace of both the music and visuals is slow as Katy Perry Is taking her time to explain her feelings to the audience because she wouldn’t be singing a quick paced song if she was upset. As well as this there’s a story being explained which is why the video is slow paced to build up to the anticipation to the realisation of the actual video and the narrative behind it. The song is building up to a quicker pace where she grows more powerful in the actual video when preparing her younger self as she is superior in the video at that point.

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals: the lyrics and visuals are in sync in this video. At the beginning, Katy Perry is seen filming for her previous video on a cloud in a pink wig before climbing off the cloud and removing the makeup and wig in the privacy of her dressing room, this relates to the lyrics “falling from cloud nine” as she literally climbs off the cloud. They also relate to “crashing from the high” as she’s literally stripping herself from all the colours which could represent her happiness so the audience understand that something has happened and sympathise for her, meaning the relationship between visuals and the lyrics is evident. After Katy removes her wig and make-up in her dressing room she appears with a darker image than her usually bubbly one. The lyrics foreshadowed her emotions that she then went on to display in the video.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs: there are close-ups of Katy Perry throughout the Wide Awake video which engages and involves the audience because they feel more connected to the artist? It also gives an insight into the artist’s emotions at certain points of the song that are not clear because of the conflicting images she portrays.

Is it performance based, narrative based or concept based: the Wide Awake video is mainly narrative based as the narrative is Katy Perry is connecting with the audience through her different emotional side and warning her naïve self of the down falls of fame when she’s younger. The video is mainly based on Katy Perry preparing her younger self that fame and the celebrity lifestyle is not as glamorous as she predicted when she was not as experienced.

Intetextual reference: none.