Andrew Goodwins theory applied to california gurls by katy perry

1. Andrew Goodwins Theory
Hollie Gittins

2. 1) There is a relationship between
lyrics and visuals
‘Sun kissed skin so hot’
Katy Perry is shown here
with tanned skin
therefore matching the
lyrics sun kissed skin.
‘Snoop doggy dog’
We’ve got it on
lock’ Here the girls
are doing an action
which matches the
lyrics.
‘Daisy dukes, bikinis
on top’
‘California girls’
4 girls are shown in
this connoting the
California girls and
there is also CA
wrote in the sand.

3. An interesting shot that I found within the video was the one of Katy climbing
a candy cane with the word ‘Hollywood’ in the background while the lyrics
‘you'll be falling in love’ are being sung. This portrays that the candy made
world would be thought of as a dream and that the audience would love to
live in this made up world and also in the world of fame which links with the
‘Hollywood sign’.

4. Response to key feature one
When I was analysing ‘California gurls’ there were parts of the video where it was
illustrative which I have shown examples of in the previous slide. The illustrative aspects of
the video mainly appeared in the chorus of the song as this is where the lyrics matched the
visuals. Pop music videos tend to have some aspects of illustration which makes them
redundant however if they are to illustrative they become entropic.
The music video also contains some aspects of an amplifying relationship with the lyrics.
The two screenshots I have taken are examples of Katy
Perrys reactions to the lyrics sang. The image on the left is a
reaction to the lyrics ‘Kiss her, touch her, squeeze her her
buns’ and the image on the right is a reaction to the lyrics
‘tone tan fit and ready’ as she is looking mischievous.
The song is 3:55 which is quite a long time so by having the music video having a clear
narrative, it helps keep the target audience interested. There is also parts of the video
which reflect Claude Levi- Strauss’s theory of binary
opposites as at first Snoop Dogg seems to be the inferior one seeing as he is playing the
board game and so controlling what is happening however near the end of the song Katy
Perry defeats Snoop Dogg after freeing all the other California gurls therefore connoting her
as the inferior one.

5. 2)There is a relationship between
music and visuals.
The video changes between Katy Perry and
Snoop Dogg. The majority of the way
through the video Katy (when she is
singing on her own) is doing hand gestures
to match the lyrics.
At 1:13 in the video
Katy points in three
different ways
while singing ‘fine,
fresh, fierce’ as
though she is
listing everything
that the California
Gurls are.
As the beat of the music slows down
Snoop Dogg starts singing. Although
Snoop is supposed to be singing it
appears as though he is talking
instead which would go with the
slowed down beat of the music.
At 2:56 Snoop
Dogg says ‘Katy
my Lady’ and
she then does a
waving hand
gesture whilst
saying ‘yeah’

6. Near the end of the song the words
‘California gurls’ are repeated over and
over again in a higher pitched voice and
Katy Perry is shown to be mouthing these
words.
The editing pace of the video
appears to be quite quick and this
is shown through the visuals within
the video. The fast editing pace
within pop music videos is a
redundant feature.
1:24 1:25 1:26

7. The dance moves also match the tempo of the song as they are exactly in time with
the quick upbeat music. The simplistic dance moves allows the audience to copy
them which makes the video more enjoyable for the viewer as they can learn the
routine and the upbeat music makes the viewer want to dance along.

8. 3)Music videos demonstrate genre
characteristics
Katy Perry creates upbeat songs due to being a
pop artist. Within the video ‘California Gurls’
there are dance scenes which take place which
is a common feature of pop music videos.
Dance scenes connote excitement for the
audience.
In this dance scene is appears as though
Snoop is watching therefore connoting
that the California girls are very appealing
to the male audience.

9. Another feature of pop music videos is that
there tends to be many shots of the artist
looking directly into the camera to make the
audience feel more involved.
As the tempo of the music gets
quicker, the editing pace matches
the speed of the music. So the
quicker the music is the shorter
the take is of the shot which makes
the music video more interesting.
The lighting used within pop music
videos tends to be high key. High key
lighting is used throughout Katy
Perrys ‘California gurls’ video which
therefore connotes happiness,
importance and excitement.
0:46 0:48

10. The locations within pop music videos tend to be bright and the majority of the time they are
in interesting and fun locations that are made up and so in this case a candyworld. The
locations within the candyworld are the clouds, a candy room which Snoop dogg is sat in, a
candy road and a candy board.

11. The clothing within pop music videos is stereotypically very bright and glamorous or unusual.
The makeup also tends to be bright and girlie for female pop artists. Katy Perry’s bright
coloured hair and clothes helps create her brand identity appealing to a young audience. In
one scene Katy is in a brownie outfit and has her hair in bunches showing her childish side
however when she is on the beach she is shown wearing shorts and a bikini top appealing to
an older teenage audience.
Katy's clothing fits in with the candy theme due to her candy dress and candy bikini. Towards
the end of the video Katy is wearing a more sexual outfit therefore attracting male attention
as she loses her innocence.

12. 4)The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of
the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a
visual style).
There are many close ups
throughout the California Gurls
video of Katy Perry. This connotes
her importance and helps focus
the attention on her. Close up
shots are a generic convention for
pop music videos.
A motif for Katy Perry is her hair
which is always different colours in
each of her music videos. The hair
colours tend to be bright and
unusual and this has helped with
her visual style.

13. 5)There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors,
stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
In 1975 Laura Mulvey published her
essay titled ‘"Visual Pleasure and
Narrative Cinema.”’ The essay
established the male gaze presented
in cinema.
Voyeurism can be used to sell an artists
music through sex appeal. Katy Perrys
‘California gurls’ song contains aspects of
voyeurism throughout the video. The
notion of looking and sexualisation of pop
artists is stereotypical of the pop genre.
This image would appear to the female audience
as Katy appears glamourous and holding a shoe
with no sex appeal involved.
However this image of Katy lying on a cloud
attracts the male attention as she is naked and
winking to the camera therefore creating a sex
appeal.

14. More examples for notion of looking/Voyeurism
Throughout the video there is a lot of focus from the
camera on the female bum as there are many shots
where it is the only part of the body shown. There
are also shots of Katy shooting cream from her bra
which focuses attention to her boobs. In the image
of Katy on the cloud she appears to be giving a
seductive look whilst taking a bite from the
candyfloss in order to attract the male gaze. By
focusing the camera on body parts such as bum and
boobs this adds to the sexualisation of the artist
which helps to sell the song.

15. 6) There are often inter-textual reference (to films, tv
programmes, other music videos etc).
Goodwin states that in music video there are often inter-textual references and this is
particularly stereotypical for pop music videos. At the start of the video a board game is
shown called ‘Candyfornia’. Katy Perry appears as a board piece who has set out to free
other women of the candyland. This appears to be similar to ‘Alice in wonderland’ due to
the fact she appears lost in a magical world and also ‘Charley and the Chocolate factory’
due to the whole candy theme. Also Snoops clothing is similar to that of Willy Wonkas as
he is has a cane and is wearing candy patterned clothing. The video also shows a link with
the Wizard of Oz which is a film as Katy appears to be like Dorothy saving three candy
females which could represent the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow.