Girl Power Anthems; Positive or Negative?
The topic of pop culture and feminism are two very difficult concepts to grasp and fully understand. However, by studying music videos from different time periods, one can easily learn what the pop culture was in a given time period. Thus, a great music video to break down is Katy Perry’s “Firework”. Within the music video there are numerous audio and visual staples. Any of the visuals stand for something much more than what they may seem to stand for. The feminist movement has always been there, just not always at the forefront of the news or pop culture. This modern form of feminism is a based upon breaking down the centuries old rule of the male sex having more power over the female sex, as well as supporting females and their rights. Such writers as Natasha Theory and Samhita are valid sources of feminism beliefs. The latter authors, when combined with Dustin Kidd and cultural critic Mimi White provide great arguments to support the relationship between pop culture and Girl Power Anthems.
In order to fully grasp the idea of a girl power anthem one must first understand what the term pop culture truly means, as the girl power anthems are a large part of pop culture. Pop culture is commonly defined as ‘the mainstream current events that people can relate to their own lives, or use it in a sense to connect with one another’. According to cultural critic Mimi White, Pop culture “expresses and promotes values, beliefs, and ideas in relation to the contexts in which they are produced, distributed, and received” (White 122). When one thinks of the major categories of pop culture they often name categories such as music, sports, and entertainment. However, there is one more aspect of pop culture that is often forgotten. This is the category of social movements and current events. One of the longest lasting social movements in history, is still gaining steam and support, which would be feminism. This music video produced by Katy Perry could be considered a cultural artifact as it represents the ideals of society.
Dustin Kidd argues that “social norms, as guides to social behavior, are important mechanisms in social cohesion (Kidd 75).” A social norm is a belief or practice that is accepted by a large community, and thus often rejected by a smaller population. According to Kidd, “the matrix of pop culture, has become the chief space in which social norms are negotiated and transmitted throughout society” (Kidd 76). For example, a disturbing yet almost universal belief amongst girls is that they must be thin in order to be good looking or attract the attention of males. Much of this belief is caused by the A-List celebrities always talking about trying to lose weight and to look thinner. Just look at almost all the magazine covers of all the big name celebrity news magazines, one would observe such titles as ‘so and so dropped 30 pounds, find out how inside.’ Perry’s music video challenges this common belief among girls as wells as touches upon the issue of weight in a scene in her “Firework” music video, in which a girl of a larger size is seen removing her shirt in a pool party. Before removing her shirt, the camera zooms in on her face and there is an obvious look of contemplation. As she removes the shirt, fireworks come bursting out of her chest. The editing of the fireworks coming from her chest symbolize the removal of a false cover, which has led to the release of the female’s inner beauty. The Feminist blogger Natasha Theory, “I think any form of empowerment starts with an internal decision to be empowered” (Theory para 6). As the girl in the video removes the shirt, the line “Let your colors burst” is simultaneously sung, as if to add that sense of power to the scene. The latter verse is accompanied with the girl throwing her arms up in the air, which can be interpreted as physical showing of enjoyment and success. This part of the music video also touches upon the idea of sexiness as defined in the modern society. Some of the feminists dislike the ideas of women being portrayed as sexy objects, this is reflected in a statement by Samhita she proclaims “Feminists can’t be sexy?!”(Samhita para 2). Other feminist’s disagree with this aspect of feminism as Natasha Theory writes “I reject anything that tells me that I’m not allowed to be my whole self. I like stiletto heels and make-up” (Theory para 4).
In an article written by Dustin Kidd he states:
“Social norms, as guides to social behavior, are important mechanisms in social cohesion. Durkheim’s study of suicide and Robert Merton’s study of crime reveal that anomic communities experience higher suicide and crime rates.” (Kidd 75)
This statement is a clear example of how, if one doesn't adhere to the social norm, they often feel left out. When one is left out, they are often bullied and bullying unfortunately can lead to suicide and crime. Women have a higher rate of suicide compared to the opposite sex. This could be attributed to the constant belittling that the males are often caught doing. Women who are overweight are almost guaranteed to experience some type of bullying in their lifetime. The bullies are often males, who often call them horrible names such as “fatties”, “pigs”, and “whales”. The male population is the cause of female body image issues. As a result, women make up a majority of the population who suffers from such horrible eating disorders as Anorexia Nervosa (Anorexia) as well as Bulimia Nervosa (Bulimia). However, there is a rising cultural belief of a thin waisted, big butted females being attractive. In many of the modern rap songs the lyrics almost always contain a reference to women who have a large asset. Such rap songs as “Birthday Song” by 2Chainz, contains such lyrics as “all I want for my birthday is a big booty hoe.” Such lyrics as the ones written by 2Chainz are rather derogatory and demeaning and the idea that men are only attracted to women who have a rather large butt has been inserted into the modern culture and a has created an ideal in which women should be thin but have a large butt. Women are now seen going to the gym and solely doing squats, which is an upper thigh/butt building exercise, in order to get men’s attention.
Feminist such as Natasha writes in her blog response to Beyoncé’s “Girls Run the World” music video, that the idea of the ‘male gaze’; the term used to describe how video producers film and use techniques to objectify females in videos. The fact that women are going to the gym in order to gain a bigger butt is an example of a direct result of the male gaze being used in modern music videos. This idea of the male gaze, as presented by Natasha and many other feminists is being morphed into a phrase that describes how everyday pop culture is often modified to please the male audience. One music genre that has always been countering the ‘male gaze’ is the pop music genre. The pop songs are all about women accepting who they are both emotionally and physically (Theory). A prime example of this is reflected in Firework. Pop music is the base layer of girl power anthems and the top layer is the message of self-worth and value.
As previously mentioned, the overweight girl is reflecting the idea that one should live in the present and not worry about the consequences that may result. Her contemplation of jumping into the pool is just more than her thinking that she is gross due to her weight and that she will be judged. The most powerful and moving image in the video is the young female cancer patient, who is seen in a hospital and just waiting to die or to overcome the horrible disease she is suffering from. The message of the girl is to live in the moment and enjoy whatever you do. Despite the debilitating disease she is trying to live her life to the fullest. Towards the end of the music video her, look of sadness and emptiness morphs itself into a halfhearted smile. She embodies the ideals of strength and courage as she doesn't want to lose her life to a horrible disease. This aspect of the video reflects the fact of empowerment and strength, as these are two of the most common messages found within Girl Power Anthems. She is seen wandering throughout the hospital and coincidentally comes across a mother giving birth.
The image of the mother giving birth is an example of female strength, as child birth requires a great deal of strength and courage. Women are often told by males that childbirth can’t be all that painful. The latter is one of the many common misconceptions that surround women and their strength. Research has been done to support the claim that child birth is one of the most painful things a human being could possibly incur.
Katy Perry not only presents the facts that women are strong individuals with a great deal of inner beauty, which often needs to be released and exposed to the outside world. She uses her ability to lyrically and visually reinforce the latter, with great song lyrics and visuals in the music video. She is a great example of an artist who understands the idea of pop culture and uses this to her advantage.
