'Unconditionally': Watch Katy Perry's gloriously nonsensical new music video

Now's your chance to see a flaming bed, an owl, and a flower-covered car all in one place

Katy Perry
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The music video for Katy Perry's "Roar" mostly relied on the complex metaphorical power of roaring animals. But for her new music video for "Unconditionally" — another cut from her latest album, Prism — Perry went a little more abstract. The video's diverse array of imagery ranges from a flaming bed to a crashed car covered in flowers to an owl, which takes off from a perch on Perry's arm.

In an interview with MTV News, Perry tried to explain the concept behind the "Unconditionally" video. It's "kind of inspired by a couple different movies, like Dangerous Liaisons and Anna Karenina," says Perry. "It doesn't have a complete narrative. I do that all the time: I usually have quite a big storyline, and you see the beginning and the ending. This time, I wanted to give a lot of gorgeous, beautiful looks — which I don't typically go for — and then some heavy metaphors. Like, the scene where I'm being hit by a car is kind of representational of when love hits you. You feel like you've been hit by a car."

Unfortunately, Perry did not explain the owl, so let's just assume it's about her love flying away from her, or whatever.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.