Prompt 1: My cultural artifact
is Katy Perry’s Part of Me Music Video which is from the Teenage Dream: The
Complete Confection album.
Prompt 2:
Katy Perry would be the main creator of this message however
many other people helped including; Lukasz Gottwald, Bonnie Mckee, Max Martin,
Ben Mor, Tony McGarry, Danny Lockwood, etc. The “text” is a music video about a girl whose
boyfriend cheated on her but instead of being the typical weak heart-broken
girl who cries all day and cannot function joins the military and shows lots of
strength physically and mentally. I think for the most part this music video is
unlike most of the pop songs at the time because it challenges typical gender
stereotypes.
The camera follows the main protagonist, Katy Perry, on her
military journey after being cheated on. It shows the tough conditions she and
her fellow marines are put into when training which many people can only imagine
is like. The scenes look very real to what military training would be like
however I have never experienced it, so I cannot be certain. I can only infer
from what I have seen from movies and heard about from others. I personally
know many people in the military, so the video grabbed my emotional appeal very
quickly. The video also includes many females in the military doing the same physical
labor as men which is very empowering for me.
I have never experienced
any part of this myself. This media text has taught me that no one can ever
take away my strength and who I am as a person. It reminds me that my life does
not revolve around a single person, that I can be a powerful independent person
on my own. However other people may understand this message very differently
from me because they have experienced what it is like and how damaging it can
be to be in these tough situations.
The music video could send an unintentional message that all men
are cheaters. It also does not consider how a man would feel in the same
situation. Some conflicting messages can come into mind when thinking about
doing something as drastic as joining the military after a break up. It seems
that the protagonist does not consider all the aspects in her life that would
be affected such as their relationships with friends and family.
The media controls the creation and transmission of this
message. The song will only be heard if it makes it to the top billboard/hit
list. Although some listeners/viewers would benefit from the message of the
music video we must also remember that this was created mainly to profit the
investors and artist.
