Analysis of CD digipacks 2

Katy Perry: Teenage dream

Genre: Pop

Characters- Katy Perry appears very provocative in these images due to the lack of clothing. It does not look as if she is wearing anything at all on the pictures on the cover although this has been contrasted using the pink clouds which almost makes her image acceptable. This means that she will still appeal to a younger and female audience although the nudity in the images may also interest a male audience. She looks very sexually objectified in these images as she is only covered up by these clouds. She is also very heavily made up and her hair is in a pin up style which is also a stereotypical female gender representation within the music industry, this makes her an object of desire, particularly to the male gender. She is making direct address with the reader in all three of these photos which is done to draw them in, it also again makes her look very confident and sexualised. There is a close up of Katy Perry on the cover of her album, followed by a mid-shot and a long shot, progressively wearing less clothing.

Narrative events- the photo inside the digipack gives the assumption that she is dressed up as a prom queen or some kind of fantasy character. She is wearing a crown which suggests this as well as a glamorous dress, surrounded by cakes. The prom narrative which is suggested inside the CD is links to the name of the album being ‘Teenage dream’. The stereotypical expectation of an American teenage girl is to obsess and lust over the idea of being a prom queen, or for younger audiences, a princess. It could portray the stereotypical idea that females enjoy eating and/or making pretty cakes and sweets. On the images in this album she looks very admirable to her fans and she is bringing the dream to life, it also gives a sense of narrative with the use of sweets and dream like atmosphere surrounding the images.

Iconography – the use of cake and sweets is extremely significant within the photos on this album as they intertextuality link to her California Girls video which features on the album. The actual CDs in the album also have been made to look like two sweets which is a fun and interesting idea. This will also appeal to a younger audience as it makes the album look very girly and innocent. This theme runs throughout the images on the album, she is also surrounded by pink fluffy clouds on the cover which could also be seen as candy floss. She is wearing a crown on the inside image which suggests a fantasy theme portraying her as a princess. The title of the songs on the back cover of the album are very bold, this creates a sweet look as it is written in red, standing out from the pink and blue background.

Setting – the image on the front of the album appears to be set in the clouds, they are candy floss pink surrounded by a bright blue sky, this suggests a dream like atmosphere which links with the name of the album being Teenage dream. On the inside cover it appears as if Katy Perry is attending some kind of party as she is dressed up in a glamorous dress, a crown and is surrounded by cakes. The idea that she is in the clouds also suggests that she is alone and free, living her life how she likes which again hints at the idea of a teenage dream.

Technical and audio codes- the images are shot using high key lighting which highlights the setting of the images being in the sky, the photos are also very bright which intensifies the use of sweets, this will appeal to a younger audience as there strong use of colour. All of these images give a sense of symmetry as she is situated more or less in the middle of the frame; this gives the images balance. The rule of thirds is also used which helps to make sure that nothing that will attract the audience’s attention is being covered.