Katy perry music video deconstruction

1. Katy Perry – California Gurs
ft. Snoop Dog
Georgia Leaper

2. The music video begins with an image of a board game. This, as well as the pink, candy
floss clouds, suggest an element of hyperreality.

3. The audience are then introduced to featured
artist, Snoop Dog, who is dressed in a sweetie
patterned suit, portraying him as a “sugar
daddy”.
Through MES his
clothing can be
intextually linked
to Gene Wilder’s
costume as Willy
Wonka in Willy
Wonka & the
Chocolate
factory (1971).
Audiences will
immediately
identify the
similarities of
their sweetie
patterned
clothes and
brown walking
cane, associating
Snoop Dog with
the hyperreality
“sweet land”.

4. By placing him over the game board and CU shots of him putting Katy Perry into the
game, a God like status is created for him.

5. Here the artist is seen to be conforming to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the Male
Gaze as she is seductively eating candy floss, lying on a pink cloud naked, and
using direct address to the camera.

6. Again, an element of parody is seen in the music video, as the
references to Willy Wonka is reinforced as Snoop Dog is followed
by his “gummy bear” workers. These again link to Willy Wonka as
the audience can relate the bears to oompa lompas.

7. Here, the director uses pastiche to self-consciously
imitate the “fembot” scene from the
film Austin Powers: Inernational Man of Mystery,
1997.
This is reinforced, again, through MES as the
artist’s hair is styled in a similar way and she
fires whipped cream at the gummy bears from
her chest.