Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when a text’s meaning (story, book, article, song, video, and movie) is
influenced by another text. In the song of Katy Perry entitled “Roar”, intertextuality can be seen. Upon
scrutinizing the whole lyrics itself, the line “”Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar”, it
is somewhat similar with one of the greatest songs of Queen which is entitled “We are the Champions”.
This song has the same meaning with Katy Perry’s Roar in a way that they both express that no matter
how hard or difficult our situation is, we’ll still fight and not surrender.

In addition, another example of intertextuality in Katy Perry’s aforementioned song is the line “I
got the eye of the tiger, a fighter…”, the italicized words are somewhat similar as well with the song “Eye
of the Tiger” by Survivor. Eye of the tiger, by connotative meaning, means dangerous, beautiful, or
ruthless depending on the situation one applies. Both of the lines show courage and bravery to fight
against the odds of life just like a tiger.

Therefore, the song “Roar” by Katy Perry has intertextuality inside it along with the lines given
above. Clearly, it is influenced by other songs which help it be understood more.