Task 2 (Research - Genre Comparative Study)

Comparison of;
Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

Lady GaGa - Love Game


These videos are very similar but also every unique to themselves. They are both from the pop genre, and have very traditional conventions of this genre which are very apparent in their videos. However, they both have very unique styles which may only be apparent to a more mature audience, meaning that as these songs will most likely be aimed at a younger female audiences, they can enjoy the song and music, whereas mature members of its audience will understand the unique and sexual subliminal styles to these songs.

Both songs have these generic conventions, fast beat tune, female colours for example pink, yellow and purple, attractive women and you could imagine them being played at school discos. However, especially in the Lady GaGa video, her style is very voyeuristic, as you can see from the video I have embedded, Lady GaGa only wears very tiny costumes, for example a white swimsuit with a white jacket, with her legs on show. This will entice a male audience perhaps, but as the majority of the male audience will enjoy this voyeuristic trate, it helps sell Lady GaGa as an attractive, feisty pop sensation. This trate is also apparent on the video by Katy Perry, as she is in a pink, fluffy and fun room, which to younger naive audience would appear happy and 'girly', whereas to a more mature and wiser audience it could represent a room perhaps used by the sex industry.
Also, starting at 2 minutes 27 seconds when Lady GaGa pushes a 'police officer' into a cabin, certain sexual positions and sexual references, such as passionate kisses are clearly visable, again adding plenty of voyeurism. However, in the video by Katy Perry, it manily focuses on her, seductively rolling around in various positions across a bed, with silk sheets, so because of this showing a similar theme as Love Game by Lady GaGa.
There are not many intertextual references in these videos. There are a few in the Lady GaGa video, such as, at 0.48 seconds into the video when Lady GaGa is dancing down the stairs, it struck me that the scene almost replicated a scene from 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'.

The selling of the artists are very similar in these two videos, Katy Perry and Lady GaGa are both portrayed as being attractive, seductive and feisty young women. However, Katy Perry is 'sold' as an artist in a much more subtle and subdued way, for example she is costumed in pale, blended and feminine clothes whereas Lady GaGa is wearing very striking costumes, often with bare legs, and cleavage on show. So perhaps a video more focused on selling her to an older audience or both men and women, as the songs will appeal to mostly women where as the outfits and costumes perhaps are made to entice males.

Visuals and Lyrics, there are not so much direct links between lyrics and visuals in either video. But there are links between music and lyrics, as in both videos, at the beginning when the music is at its least fast paced tempo, the cuts/scenes/dancing is also at a slower pace, however as the tempo of the music increases so do the cuts/scenes/dancing etc. Finally leading up to the climax of the song which often in these videos means the climax of the story or dancing within the video.

Overall, these videos are similar but also very different, unique in their own ways. The way the artists are portrayed, the themes and costumes used are quite similar and the way the two female artists are represented also mirror each other. However, the audiences that these videos are aimed at quite vary from Katy Perry's is more of a 'classic' style of pop song, even with subliminal messaging however, Lady GaGa is a lot more overtly sexual in her lyrics and actions throughout her video.