Recently, came across a song “Firework” by Katy Perry by chance, but the video, its lyrics, its music, its luminance and inspirational message kept on haunting me until I decided I should pen down my thoughts about it. This song actually featured as #1 in Top lists at the time it was released as well. The song was filmed in the beautiful city of Budapest in Hungary. The video is available on YouTube at this link:
Katy Perry - Firework (Official Music Video)The video of the song is pretty thoughtful as well and quite in sync with the message it portrays. Well, I did find couple of interpretations and symbolisms for the song, but then thought of posting my overall detailed analysis of this beautiful song called FIREWORK
The song has a lot of messages in it. It talks about how every human being is unique and “cannot be replaced”. In spite of one or several flaws, each one of us is worth on this earth and need not feel like a worthless and empty “plastic bag” drifted away by the wind.
The video features a young boy incapable of protest against his fighting parents, a small girl suffering from cancer and without any hair after chemotherapy, a bulky woman afraid to join the pool party of her friends, a gay unable to express his love and feelings to a guy in the bar and finally a young magician being intimidated by a gang of robbers.
Evidently, the common cord which connects all these souls is imperfection and fear stemming from that imperfection. All of them are afraid to take a step further because of their inhibitions which are holding them back and precluding their glory from shining brightly.
In other words, what Perry hints through her song is that in fact all of have a “spark” in us which needs to be ignited, either by self-determination and self-confidence, or through confidence pouring from others in our group.
In this video, Katy acts like the fountainhead of fireworks generating brilliant lights which help to ignite the latent spark in all of the above characters in the video. It is remarkable how each of them, then sheds their respective inhibitions and moves on to shine brighter than the moon. Even moon has a black mark on it and isn’t perfect, but still shines.
“You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July”
One of the metaphors in the song which I find particularly striking is that of “owning the night, like the fourth of july”. These lines actually act like a clarion call to those characters and humanity in general, to set themselves free from the dark slavery of their fears and flaws and be independent, be ignited. Let the true colors of yourself burst through this night and like a brilliant firework shine to your glory and show your true colors and gain victory on the night which here again, refers to the darkness of the soul and the inhibitions.
Towards the end, the video also sends a message of unity of humanity as we see Katy dancing to the beautiful fireworks with a huge crowd where all of them are exuding lights and contribute to create a panoramic firework with brilliant colors. Thus, all of us, irrespective of our health, sexuality, age and ability should rise together in unity and let the colors harmonize to create a brilliant display of fireworks.
Lot of gems of inspiration are contained in this video and it asks every being to be optimistic in spite of all as “after a hurricane comes a rainbow”.
Los of references to colors in this video urge the humanity to accept that each one of us has the power to rise and shine and awe the world. Just as a lovely firework owns the night and glorifies it and ushers light, in the same way, all of us have the power to lighten this life and conquer the darkness within.
