Finally finding her moment to wield the long-standing callout that Zooey Deschanel is her doppelganger, Katy Perry’s concept behind her latest single and video from Smile, “Not the End of the World,” comes at a fitting time for Instagram’s new rollout of a privacy policy that has invoked the outrage of the likes of Madonna (who once appeared in S&M poses with Perry for V Magazine) over the “dictatorship”-like qualities of cyber surveillance. In other words, pretending to act shocked that we’ve increasingly evolved toward a complete replication of 1984’s Big Brother.
So it is that while Perry’s Similar But Different-directed video centers on a case of mistaken identity, the core of its message is about Earth needing to save itself from destructing by “unplugging.” As in, from the internet. Like that is something 1) even possible or 2) recommendable in our present increased need for it due to re-creating an ersatz feeling of being around other people amid a pandemic. Still, Perry is all for a “cause,” particularly one that’s in keeping with the escalating chicness of being anti-internet among celebrities–just another of the latest in their never-ending arsenal of hypocrisy. That’s why Perry, who, like every other famous person, depends on the internet to peddle their wares, managed to say with a straight face, “Even if we can’t 🔌 the internet, we can reset our minds!” Oh dear. Why don’t you go on ahead and join Jim over there in Jonestown, Kool-Aid drinker (side note: Perry’s cult sensibilities were amply explored in 2019’s “Never Really Over” video)?
Revisiting another tried theme apart from “smokin’ the good shit,” Perry also employs the use of aliens (à la 2010’s “E.T.”) as the driving force behind the video’s plot. And as Zooey reads from a newspaper (again, there’s a lot of that suspension of disbelief of late where we’re supposed to believe anyone is reading hard print news–see also: Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special) while Katy blithely pushes a stroller in some L.A. park tableau, she drops a stuffed animal that Zooey tries to give back, somehow causing her to get sucked into space as the aliens have been pinpointing Perry’s location. Considering their aesthetic similarities, none of the aliens can be convinced she’s not Katy (despite the fact that dark tresses haven’t really been her signature for a while).
“We saved you from Earth!” the captain happily announces as he flashes his fanboy pride with a Katy Perry t-shirt featuring the classic image of her spraying whipped cream from her tits in the “California Gurls” video. Many a human at this moment in time would love to hear these words, and to experience this type of relief–the kind that can only come from exiting the realm (not unlike Dr. Manhattan, with his famous aphorism, “I am tired of Earth. These people. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives”). Zooey, little self-righteous bitch that she is, however, is horrified to think that Earth will be obliterated in roughly forty minutes. So it is that she conspires with the two aliens who brought the wrong girl–using that information against them (which clearly wouldn’t matter considering that, like humans, all of these aliens have decided to believe what they want to believe)–to “save Earth.”
And, according to Perry, how do you save Earth? Simply by disconnecting the internet. A panacea for all the social ills and injustices that were there long before the fiber optic cables came to roost. Never mind the fact that without the camera phone meets uploading to social media scene, black people would have absolutely no recourse for “proving” the rampant police racism they face. Therefore, all of the sudden–“coincidentally”–white folk are declaring the internet and social media a detriment to mental health. How very convenient now that a push for greater equality is being made. Perry, meanwhile, tries to give those barely hanging on for a paltry $600 “stimulus” check with the assurance, “It’s no funeral we’re attending/Actually, just the beginning/Throw on your fancy attire, fears in the fire/Don’t lose hope.” Kk. Since you said it, we’ll be sure not to.
She continues to annoy with her “effortless positivity” by showcasing the privilege of her wealth in the lines, “A fortune teller told me, ‘The power’s in your mind’/You might see a cliff, but I see a way to fly.” It has to be said that, yeah, of course, she sees a fucking way to fly. She’s a rich, famous person. Not so hard to see the goddamn bright side, is it? When you know money can buy a way out of certain catastrophe.
Elsewhere, the eeriness of Perry sampling from Steam’s 1969 classic, “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” lends a further element of mockery to those wishing this nightmare would end as she sings, “(Na, na, na, na)/What a time (Na, na, na, na)/To be alive/(Don’t say goodbye) Don’t say goodbye.” Eh, wouldn’t mind bidding adieu to this planet though.
