Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Chained To The Rhythm is the first single from Katy Perry’s fourth album
Pop star turned human emoji Katy Perry has just released her new video, Chained To The Rhythm – and its message is hard to ignore.
Set in a futuristic theme park, it finds the star seduced by the delights and distractions of modern life. Then slowly, like Katharine Ross in Stepford Wives, she begins to realise something is terribly wrong with the (American) dream.
Adhering to Katy’s new mantra of “purposeful pop”, it’s political without being polemic. Here are some of the key moments from the video, which you can watch in full on YouTube.
SCENE ONE: A theme park, daytime
The futuristic theme park (actually Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California) is a metaphor for the infinite distractions of modern society – but in case that was too subtle, it has been renamed “Oblivia”.
The song’s lyrics depict a world of repetition and ignorance, where technology renders us oblivious to people’s real problems.
“Are we crazy? / Living our lives through a lens / Trapped in our white picket fence / Like ornaments / So comfortable, we’re living in a bubble, bubble / So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble“.
At first, Katy is awestruck, just like the other guests. But when she pricks her finger on a rose, there’s a hint of trouble in paradise.
SCENE TWO: Roller coaster rodeo
Kudos to Katy, who manages to lip-sync her single perfectly while experiencing a G-force of 4.9 on a roller coaster.
Fact fans: The ride she’s on is The New Revolution, the world’s first vertical loop coaster, which featured in the final scenes of cult comedy National Lampoon’s Vacation.
SCENE THREE: Something sinister is afoot
As Katy loops the loop, we see another ride, which hoists tiny suburban houses towards the sky.
Suddenly, it malfunctions, and the houses plummet to the ground. A metaphor, perhaps, for the US housing crisis, where reckless lending left thousands of people homeless.
BBC