Analysis of the Song The One That Got Away by Katy Perry, the Roles of Men and Women in a Breakup

In Katy Perry’s corresponding music video to her single, The One that Got Away, she addresses the roles of men and females individually, in the course of each a connection, and a breakup situation . Her visual tells two correlated stories. The very first is a story of a young, elated couple, credulous, and impassioned with the entity of adore. The couple depicted is rumored to be inspired by the connection in between her ex-boyfriend, Jonathan Lewis, and herself. After a few blissful scenes, the mood of the video shifts, displaying a lot more unfavorable interactions among the two. The second story is that of a a lot older version of the female character from the 1st story, depicted as wealthy and miserable without having her “one that got away.” All through the course of this visual representation, Perry brings into play a fantastic deal of symbolic material that strikes a chord with her teenage audience, exhibiting to them numerous subtle messages, each constructive and unfavorable, with regards to interaction amongst genders in various plights.

In only a couple of brief scenes, Perry does an outstanding job of displaying her male and her female characters as equals, rather than as a single superior to the other. In the segment of the video that displays the young lovers, they are portrayed as equally delighted, as they paint photographs of every single other, dance, and laugh collectively. She shows them as two folks against the planet. The two are united. Her characters are bold, silly, and adventurous completely and fully indifferent to the thoughts or opinions of any spectators. This is an excellent representation of gender equality in a connection, since it paints a picture of balance and mutual respect in between two people of distinct sexes to her audience of adolescents, who are soon to be getting into into dating relationships themselves.

By showing teens this depiction of a lively couple, Perry is inadvertently screaming to the youth messages about what a wholesome partnership must look like. In undertaking this, she is essentially preparing them every for their personal future relationships. She depicts happiness and playfulness, rather than erotic scenes or domestic violence. She does this virtually as if to say, “this is how two people in love are supposed to behave toward every single other, and this is the sort of joy enjoy can bring when done right.” This is the major purpose her portrayal of sameness between the male and the female is such a constructive point. It encourages her young viewers to withstand practically nothing significantly less than spectacular when choosing an additional particular person with whom to commit their lives.

Perry takes this display of impartiality larger as she brings the young couple back into the image right after their initial argument. Even though just before they were depicted in rather gender certain clothing Perry in a pink dress, and her lover in black leather jacket, now they are shown wearing nearly the precise identical ripped and stained white t-shirt. The shift into fundamental clothing in accordance with the severed bond the two shared effectively shows that when experiencing grief or heartache, gender is of little significance. This is Perry’s way of enforcing that regardless of sex, everybody experiences pain and every person has to employ coping mechanisms in order to maintain well being and sanity in occasions of difficulty. In their occasions of grief, they are not depicted in expressive clothing distinct to their gender and character, they are depicted in distressed and gender neutral clothes, simply because distress is gender neutral.

On a significantly less acclaimed note, in this quite same scene, Perry also depicts male and female of obtaining various strategies of expressing emotion. Though she does make it evident that each she and her lover are obtaining a hard time dealing with the loss of the companionship of the other, she chooses to show them coping stereotypically. Perry illustrates her boyfriend as fleeing from the property angrily and going for a drive in his Mustang, most most likely to blow off the steam accumulated for the duration of their spat. She displays herself with tear stained eyes and black makeup smeared across her face, crying out her frustration. This alludes toward the received belief that males are tough-bitten and tenacious, in no way shedding a tear or displaying even the slightest indication of weakness, although girls are then perceived as delicate and sensitive. This is damaging in the sense that it encourages teenage boys to conceal their emotions, and it severely damages the optimistic message about gender equality that was present earlier in the video, but could also be interpreted as a symbol of the gender equality the couple understood prior to becoming eradicated at the close of the connection itself.

Directly following this scene, there is a fatal car crash in which her lover’s black Mustang is lauched from the side of a cliff right after he swerved to keep away from massive boulders in the road. He had been distracted by a pink veil belonging to his sweetheart that had fallen out of his visor and into his lap a relic of the precious time they had spent together proceeding their assumed breakup. Shortly thereafter, the older version of his grief-stricken really like is pictured visiting the site of his crash and remembering her lost muse. She is once more pictured dressed in gender certain clothes: a fundamental black pencil skirt and a dark-colored blouse and black heels. Prior to, her feminine clothes had been vibrant and colorful signifying her happiness that accompanied her bubbly personality obtained by way of her partnership. Now, she is depicted in garments that are fundamental and harsh symbolizing her broken spirit and continual lamentation following the loss of her initial love.

This can be interpreted very negatively. It is a symbol that reveals to young girls a clear message that obtaining a boyfriend brings out your character and sparks a passion in you that can only be described as vivacious and inspiring. Even though this may not be totally untrue, it also promotes the concept that with no a man, these issues are unachievable, or lost. This belief encourages dependency on dating relationships at a young age and deters teenagers from generating the necessary stable habits of an independent and ambitious expanding member of society. Young folks directed this way tend to appear for their worth in the thoughts and actions of their substantial other, which in some instances, can have detrimental effects on their psychological health and all round self-esteem.

Whilst this video contains endless evaluable symbols and devices, it is evident that it speaks volumes about gender and of its established roles in countless important respects. From clothes designs to coping mechanisms, this video entails an array of requirements and stereotypes that are employed for various distinct rhetorical purposeses. Perry makes use of this visual representation to speak to her teenage audience, relaying both good and unfavorable messages about gender to them by means of the use of rhetorical methods and literary devices. Whilst, of course, Perry aims for her music video to get across a basic understanding of the song itself, she is also utilizing the characters in the video to convey propaganda connected to the genders and what they should–and ought to not–entail. Regardless of which aspect of the video the viewer is focusing upon, he or she will certainly be impacted by its sturdy points. No matter whether or not this is a positive effect, is entirely dependent upon how in depth the viewer is pondering although watching, and to which components the viewer is paying the most interest.