In the music video “Part of Me,” by Katy Perry is shown catching her boyfriend cheating on her and then joins the marines. The video shows Katy cutting her hair short, putting on a military uniform, and leaving for the marines. The whole song is about not letting her ex-boyfriend take away any part of her. She is now a strong independent women that does not need a man to be happy. Though out the music video, Katy uses a gun in the marines training, in a carnival fair game, and when she is stationed in war. The gun is used as a visual motif in this music video to symbolize power, which is important because it fits in with Perry’s overall project of breaking down gender barriers and stereotypes. She does this to show that women can dress and look anyway they want.

 The first scene I want to focus on is a flash back of Katy and her boyfriend at a carnival playing a game. It is dark and there are lots of bright colors. The background is really lively with lots of people laughing, smiling, and tons of carnival lights flashing. It starts with the camera focuses on a side view of the boyfriend pointing the army-like water gun at the clown’s mouth. The boyfriend is laughing and smiling. The carnival game uses water guns to shoot the clown’s mouth and fill up a water balloon. The goal is to be the first one to shoot into the mouth and fill the water balloon. Next, the camera shifts on to Katy, showing her from a side view on the left of her boyfriend. Katy is wearing a pink dress and her hair down. She is holding up her gun laughing, shooting the clowns’ mouths. Then the camera shifts straight forward so the viewer can see the clown mouth’s lined up. There are about ten clowns lined up with colorful prizes above them. You can see Katy’s clown mouth is filling up much faster than her boyfriend’s. The camera then shifts back to present time Katy on the marines aircraft. The shot is up close and shows Katy reliving the moment of her and her boyfriend in the carnival. She has a sad and depressed look on her face, showing how upset she is. Next, the camera shifts back to the carnival scene. The camera is moved quickly back and forth, from the boyfriend and Katy laughing. Then, the flash back ends.

The second scene I want to focus on is shortly after scene one. It shows Katy in her camouflage marine uniform with short hair and a hat on. The camera is angled on a side view from Katy’s waist up. She is aiming her gun, ready to shoot. The viewer can see Katy squinting her eyes to achieve a better aim, and then shooting the gun. In the background, all the marines are lined up. There are roughly 20 marines behind Katy. The camera angle then changes to over her shoulder. The camera is right behind Katy’s head, zoomed on her shoulder and gun. This shows the view Katy has of the target. We can see the numbered targets in the distance. The camera angle is changed a final time to an extreme close up of the gun. It shows the part of the gun where the capsule, that the bullet it holding, flies out extremely fast. As Katy pulls the trigger on the gun, we see the capsule fly out. The atmosphere of this scene is dusty and rural. It is set at a marine training boot camp. All the colors are very dull with camouflage green and tan. Throughout this scene, Katy looks very fierce and strong as she shoots her gun. 

In both scenes Katy is using a gun. The significance of this is to show empowerment of women. The video showcases Katy being able to be alone and thrive by herself as an individual in the marines. She does not need her boyfriend to make her happy anymore. One of the lyrics in the song is, “You took my light, you drained me down, But that was then and this is now, now look at me. This is the part of me that you’re never gonna ever take away from me, no!”. These lyrics ultimately show the differences between scene one and scene two. In scene one, Katy is dressed very girly with long hair and a dress on. In the second scene she is dressed in her marines uniform with short hair. Perry’s new look showcases her message of dressing how you want. She shows that you do not have to dress for a man or for anyone. Katy dresses for herself and in a way that makes her feel empowered. A marine uniform makes her feel empowered because it is a a constant reminder that she is apart of the marines, something she joined to make her feel empowered and apart of something more then herself. Something that makes her forgot her boyfriend and start her new life, alone as a new person. When Katy says, “ this is a part of me that you’re never gonna ever take away from me.” She is referring to the part of herself that will never be taken away from her. Her clothes and her hair are not physically her, she is referring to her inner self, something that is not an object. Also, by cutting her hair and changing her clothes she is breaking gender stereotypes. She is happy with the way she looks now and isn't conforming to societies image of a women. She can still be a women with her short hair and marine uniform. This “part of her” is her inner self, no matter her appearance. Overall, Katy is a powerful woman that does not need a man to make her happy; the marines helps her do so.

Throughout the video, Katy breaks down gender barriers and stereotypes. In traditional American history, as early the seventeenth century,  men were the head of the family, more powerful, and were the only ones participating in the marines and army.  Traditional meaning the customs and norms that were used at the start of the countries formation and have carried as generations continued.Women were not given the same rights and were not given any power in the household. They were not allowed to and did not play that role in society at the time. In the music video, Katy is shown cutting her hair and binding her breasts. This is a little odd because she is signing up to be in the female marines and is expected to have feminine attributes. Katy decides to cut her hair and bind her breasts so she can look more manly and powerful. Feminine traits can sometimes come across as weak. By cutting her hair and binding her breast she not only looks physically powerful, but is showing a different way to be a women. This also bring to attention femme stereotypes. Why does society automatically think a women with short hair and manly looking attire is a lesbian? Katy is not only making herself look more powerful, but she is defying a stereotype. She obviously is not lesbian if she is just broke up with her boyfriend. She is showing that girls do not have to have long hair and wear dresses to be straight.

In conclusion, Katy uses traditional masculine symbols to break down gender walls and guide her to a journey of empowerment. In the video Perry says, “ In fact you can keep everything yeah, yeah, except for me” this is Katy finally realizing that she does not need her boyfriend anymore. She says he can keep the diamond ring, the dog, etcetera, except her. Her boyfriend can hold on to everything from the past, but she is moving on. More importantly, Katy's journey is not about her leaving her boyfriend, it is about her becoming a new, changed, and empowered women, something she could have never done with him.  The music video ends with a close shot of Katy’s face. She has camouflage painted on it and has a fierce expression. This is significant because Katy’s journey of empowerment is coming to an end. She has forgotten about her boyfriend and she is now a powerful, happy, and independent women.
