LACEY’S REPERTOIRE

OF ELEMENTS• Characters

• Narrative Events

• Iconography

• Setting (mise-en-scene)

• Technical and audio codes

Characters

• Katy Perry is the only character on the album artwork. She is represented in only one image across the whole outer packaging. On the cover image, she appears to be completely naked and is covered sparingly by the pink clouds that she is lying on. She appears to be in the sky lay on these cloud which look like candyfloss, linking to the theme of the album which is candy and sweets. The colour scheme of the image which includes pale pinks and blues is stereotypical of the pop genre; however the fact that she is naked and posing in a sexualised manner suggests that this artist adds another dimension to the genre. Despite the provocative representation in the image is still maintains an element of innocence and youthfulness. The binary opposition between these angelic and childlike surroundings and the characters sexualised nudity helps to emphasise the stereotype and themes of the pop genre, such as the sexual objectification of women.

Narrative Events

• The only aspect of narrative in the image is the

representation of character in Katy Perry. Her parted lips

and direct mode of address add a romantic and sexual

tone to the image and suggest that the album is themed

around love and relationships. This creates a narrative

enigma as the audience may wonder what is going on

and why is Katy feeling this way.

Iconography

• The use of props includes the pink candyfloss clouds

which allude to the general theme of the album. The CD

itself is stylized as a large pink and white candy and the

back cover uses these sweets to replace the letter ‘O’.

The props may be seen as iconic of childhood and

fantasy which fits with the theme. The fact that Katy

Perry’s hair and makeup are both perfectly styled along

with her lack of clothing is a stereotypical representation

of women in the pop genre as she is shown to be a sex

symbol and an image of perfection and beauty.

Setting (mise-en-scene)

• The setting appears to be in the sky above the clouds,

arguably suggesting that the setting is heaven for the

character. This may also suggest that the idea of candy

and sweets or love and relationships is like heaven to the

majority of the audience. The mise-en-scene is left

relatively plain to allow the viewers’ attention to be

focused on Katy Perry and the setting. The image and

colour scheme suggests happiness and a youthful

atmosphere.

Technical and audio codes

• The use of high-key lighting again reinforces that this is a

positive image and suggests love and happiness. The

camera uses a long shot to include the length of Katy’s

body and make her the main focus of the frame, using the

Guttenberg design principle to include the protagonist in

the primary optical area and strong fallow area. The

unique font is effective as it is formed to look like sweets

such as jelly and candy sticks.