Every summer has its anthem, and regardless of your opinions on Katy Perry (especially if you’re a Britney Spears fan), her latest single, “Bon Appétit” is shaping up to be the only contender thus far–unless you’re the more maudlin “Malibu” sort. While Perry is continuing down her shallow purposeful pop path by turning the premise of the video–being prepared and handled like a piece of meat to be served on a platter–back around on those observing and consuming her for sport, if you strip away the “profundity,” it’s really a pretty straightforward ho’s mating call that’s been unleashed just in time for everyone being in heat.
To commence the video–directed by Dent De Cuir–an icing dispenser releases some presumable blood and an innard of some sort dots the “i” atop a circle of dough, then cuts to neon lights cautioning “NSFW” (though, in truth, there’s really nothing at all that NSFW about what follows–unless you’re a pussy, that is). The sound of the lights flickering might very well have been ripped from the one that opens Madonna’s “Hung Up” video when she enters the dance practice studio. Perry’s positioning on a table also channels the intro to “Bedtime Story.” But these subtleties aren’t all Perry borrows from. The concept also comes fresh on the heels of Raw, the controversy-causing, cannibal-touting film of Julia Ducournau, already rather unoriginal at this point in time (even True Blood did it up right in the second season with that signature pie). But in Ducournau’s case, her narrative involves far more cringe-worthiness. Mostly, the only cringe-worthy aspect of Perry’s video are her gross facial expressions while a slew of chefs knead (and need) her body.
Perry is subsequently given ample opportunity to objectify herself metaphorically by being boiled, chopped and tossed around some more until finally arriving in a VIP sort of area to be presented as the main course in the center. Magically, a stripper pole appears and she’s given the chance to “reclaim her power.”
Well, at least she tried for some form of originality–though this concept would have actually been better suited to, ironically, Britney’s “Piece of Me” single–but, all in all, the truly unexpected thing would be for her to simply just make this an outright visual for those “hos” who enjoy getting head. On the plus side, let us thank god or whoever no attempt was made to re-create the story of Sweeney Todd. That would have been worse than when Iggy Azalea re-created Clueless. Just elements of a softcore Tarantino movie with Migos doing all the dirty work. Maybe it’s more Get Out than anything else.
