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Hailey Johnson

English II

Prof. Kretzer

Friday 22, 2021

Katy Perry Video Comparison

In 2007 Katy Perry released the first version of this music video, followed by the resale

of the “Vevo” brand music video in 2009. Even though this song has the same lyrics and artists

singing it, we are taken on two different journeys while we watch the music video. In the first

video, we see Katy getting out of a relationship that had ended with bad blood between both

parties. We are unsure of how this relationship ended, but by the end, we see how both parties in

this relationship were hurt. In the second video, we are taken through a story of how Katy had

loved a man who was severing in the war and was killed, in this version she is mourning over his

death and losing her lover. The two still have the same meaning, although breakups are hard and

painful, everyone will go threw them a few times in their life. Katy wrote this song to show the

raw emotions of breakups and to tell us that our emotions are valid, and we are not alone.

The first video that was filmed in 2007 had a bloody end. Nothing in the video shows us why

but we can collect hints from the video that tells us cheating may have been involved. Katie may

be so emotional because she had betrayed her significant other by sleeping with another man. At

the end of the video, we see a knife on the ground, and sheets filled with blood. when we look at

this, we can picture not only the husband feeling like he had been stabbed in the back but Katy

knowing she had ruined “perfection.” In the lyrics of the song, we hear “comparisons are easily

done when you've had a taste of perfection”, Katy can now not be happy with anyone else
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because her ex was perfection. In this version I see her trying to tell young adults/ teens to be

smart in their dating life. Just because something sounds like a fun time does not mean risking

losing your perfect person is worth it. This is so important because so many young adults get into

relationships and don’t realize how much hurt they cause by not putting their whole heart into

each other. If relationships are not one hundred percent effort, people will have bloody endings

to relationships such as Katy experienced in her first video release of this song.

The second video was filmed in 2009, this video was created along the story lines of a

heartbreak, but of a different kind. In this video we see Katy in a healthy relationship, everything

she could have asked for. But her boyfriend of the time was fighting in war and showed how he

tragically passed. The boyfriend of the time was shot, and Katy was beyond hurt. In the lyrics we

hear the words, ¨I guess second best is all I will know, ¨ this goes to show her deep love for the

man she had lost. This video is directed towards a person who has recently lost a companion. But

to narrow it down farther, this video is intended for the loss of a spouse due to military. This is

devastatingly a common thing that happens to couples when there is a significant other in the

military. Although they are gone, the spouse will always remember and love them. Katy did a

wonderful job of showing such a harsh reality in a video.

Although these videos were presented in different ways, the hurt and pain of losing a

significant other is shown. Katy did a wonderful job of showing raw emotions in her videos. Her

being so raw helped her viewers who are going through similar situations, to not feel alone. In

both videos, we see Katy pulling on her audience's emotions. By her using emotions so strongly

we see the use of Pathos being used in both videos. This rhetorical device helped her grab the

viewers' attention and sell the harsh realities of breakups. In both videos, the intended audience is

young adults who are experiencing the loss of love for the first time. In the first video, we see
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this happen due to personal actions, and in the second video, we see it happen from being shot.

Although the way the love was lost was different in each video, the purpose remains the same.

Although everyone goes through breakups, we are valid to our emotions and to feel

upset. By using Pathos, she gained credibility and empathy from her audience. Katy did a great

job not only with this song but also with her amazing remake of the video.
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Works Cited

Katy Perry - Thinking of you (official) - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdGZBRAwW74.
Katy Perry - Thinking of you (first version) - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V6AxOFY0gM.