"Dark Horse" Music VIdeo

Today one of my friends ran up to me and told me that he just watched the new music video, Dark Horse by Katy Perry and was going to have an aneurism after watching because it was so good. I decided to check it out because obviously it had to be SO amazing since he was going to have a freaking aneurism! I love Katy Perry and I am a fan of that song, however I can honestly say I have no idea what I just saw. The cinematic techniques used were very well done, however I found the story incredibly odd. It takes place in Egypt and Katy Perry is some queen of some sort. These Egyptian men constantly are bringing her new gifts to woo her and she is not accepting any of them. Instead she turns the men into some kind of powder..? I honestly could not explain the story to you if I tried. Ultimately the theme of the video is about the power she has over all these men.

This being said, the way this music video was shot was very well done. The lighting is very bright and really sets the mood. The color techniques are incredible along with the special effects. The camera movements are very smooth and work with the entire video as a whole. There are a variety of close ups and wide angle shots. One really well done shot was when Juicy J comes into the song. There is an egyptian statue and when it opens up, Juicy J's face is framed perfectly. Overall I thought the music video was very well done in terms of the way it was shot and produced.

This music video also reminded me of an intriguing conversation I once had with my friend who is very interested in culture. She told me that when adopting specific elements of one culture and appreciating it is called cultural assimilation. However, she said that cultural appropriation is taking elements from a culture and using it in the wrong context. One example she used was when Katy Perry (ironically enough) performed on the VMA's. She dressed up as a geisha, however that culture was completely misrepresented. Katy wanted it to seem as though she was appreciating other cultures, however it came across the wrong way. Dressing up as a geisha does not mean you are representing the Japanese culture. Very similar in this music video, she dresses up as an Egyptian and maybe not intentionally, but she makes Egyptians seem selfish and materialistic. When creating any music video, film, television show, etc it is important to keep in mind how one represents a certain culture.

Needless to say, I found the production of this video interesting, however I did NOT have an aneurism