A couple of days ago, Katy Perry
released her new music video for “Part of Me”. The attachment of the YouTube
video is below but, to sum it up, Katy has a boyfriend who is cheating on her
so, in order to cope, she decides to join the Marines. In the beginning of the
video, she is this girly girl who doesn’t seem to have ever stood up for
herself. However, through breaking off her relationship with her two-timing
boyfriend, she gets in touch with her more fierce side and becomes more
empowered, more willing to take risks and fight for what she believes in. I
suppose that is why the propaganda banner reading “All women are created equal,
then some become Marines,” struck a much deeper cord within Katy. As the video
goes on, she goes through boot camp and assignment and continues to exemplify
how her ex will never take “the part of me” that wills her to go on and believe
in herself. Katy even burns the letter that her ex sends her, begging for her
forgiveness and to just move past the infidelity. At the end of the video, her
face is painted in camouflage but her expression is one of sternness and
strength. She has finally become a person who can hold her own and is proud of
it.
I commend
Katy Perry for creating such a female empowering video for an inspiring song;
however, the idea is a bit too self-gratifying. The video focuses so much on
the fact that Katy decided to join the Marines in order to retaliate against
her ex boyfriend. For instance, Katy’s character in the video would most likely
have never considered joining the military before then. She needed that rage
that her ex sparked in her in order to push her to that edge. Thus, what I’m
trying to say is that Katy seems to be joining the Marines not for the noble
act of wanting to serve her country, but more to get her mind off of her ex
boyfriend and develop as a person.
On the
other hand, as I previously mentioned, maybe the cheating episode is what
tipped Katy’s character over the edge to a dream she always subconsciously had.
Discovering herself and serving her country may be one in the same within
Katy’s character. Maybe joining the military was just the necessary path for
Katy’s character to truly find herself. Besides, if serving her country isn’t
her number one goal, who deems her intentions unworthy of praise? Many people
do the same honorable acts but with different purposes in mind, but society
still applauds them for work.
In conclusion,
Katy Perry’s “Part of Me” is a video that depends greatly on the eye of the
beholder. Do you think that this video truly embodies the idea of female
empowerment? Or do you think it’s an unintentional shot at showing how females
will only branch out if a male pushes them to it?
I think that this video definitely exemplifies female empowerment. Sure, Katy is pushed by her cheating boyfriend to find such empowerment, but she nevertheless takes a stand and finds her fierce side. Other women may become depressed or simply find some other way to move on if cheated on. In this video, however, Katy proves that a woman can be strong without a man, and thus she embodies female empowerment. Throughout the video, she uses such strength to get through boot camp and join the marines. Such tasks are very difficult, and the fact that she succeeds proves her power as a woman.
ReplyDeleteI commend Katy for creating a video that she thought would display female empowerment. However, I have come to learn that woman who serve in different sections of the military are highly offended by this video. One of my very close girl friends from high school joined the Air Force shortly after graduation,I was talking to her and her other female friends from different sections of forces. They all seemed to be offended by this video.
ReplyDeleteThey felt that it was absurd to assume that a female would only join the military after breaking up with her boyfriend, they also said certain scenes in particular made them angry at how frilly and ridiculous Katy made this branch seem. For example, they all agreed that the parts when Katy is in her uniform and spinning around in circles under American flags was completely outrageous.
So even though Katy may have had good intentions in creating this video, it is clear that actual women in the military did not agree.
I like the idea that Katy Perry is intending to create a video that promotes female empowerment, maybe even inspiring some women. In a way, the video does break gender norms as there are not a lot of females in the military.However, I agree that her decision to join the military right after her realization that her boyfriend was cheating on her is a bit extreme. I do not believe that after breaking up with someone, one would contemplating on joining the army, it does not seem like a rational decision. In addition, joining the military just because you just broke seems even more illogical. As a concept, as far as the video, I think that Katy's attempt in promoting female initiative seems to be a bit far-fetched
ReplyDelete