Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Crazy new Lady Gaga Video



I have to watch this a few more times to figure out WTF is going on. There's something about the male gaze, there's definitely something about control, the artificial, the feminine, the spectacle, commodification of women's bodies... and she's wearing those crazy Alexander McQueen heels, but I'm still at a loss. Interpretations please!

9 comments:

  1. UM im so glad you just posted this because I was literally just about to!! I am blown away by this video. I absolutely LOVE it. I think its incredibly unique and just mindblowing. She is innovative and creative in such a creepy way its not even funny!! She is so unconventional and it just works so well. When I first heard the song I really didnt know what to think about it, but after hearing it a couple of times and now putting the video to it, I LOVE IT. But they definitely did some heavy editing on her body or else she needs some serious help because no one unless your barbie has a figure like that. I also think the end of the video is really interesting with the fire and finally her laying on the bed with the dead mans body and shes smoking a cigarette. She reminds me of Amy Winehouse sort of. Anyway, LOVE the video!! Very interesting!

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  2. I watched this video so many times already, and I'm trying to figure out what (other than product placement) is going on in it.
    I mean, we can sit here and discuss this for hours, and every time, each one of us could come up with a different suggestion. None of them would probably be correct, I'm assuming. I think that it is important to take under the consideration the fact that it is Lady GAGA and none of her videos or performances makes sense:) So unless we can directly ask her what the hell did she mean by all of this.... I think we can only speculate. No?

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  3. oooh.. and yeah, i agree. there was a point in the video when i thought she was Amy Winehouse, but just blonde:) coincidence or not?

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  4. OK, so I went and read some of her interviews about it. Dominika, I actually don't agree that her videos/performances don't make sense. I think she usually has a very specific idea of what she's going for, even if it's obscure. Here's what I can gather:

    1) In the beginning she's sitting surrounded by characters/costumes from her previous videos.

    2) She's kidnapped by supermodels, poisoned with vodka (product placement!) and sold to the Russian mafia.

    3) This represents the point where she becomes the monster - her new album is the "Fame Monster" - representing a new era. I think this is what the photoshopping is all about - the big eyes where she's in the bathtub tweaking, and the creepy spine stuff in the weird shower-ish scenes.

    4) At the end, she torches the guy who buys her. I am almost positive that in this scene there is a drag queen playing her part, which would be a clever response to all the "Gaga is a tranny" homophobic bullsh*t thrown around about her.

    I think Gaga is making some sort of commentary on fame and sex as a commodity, but she's (like Madonna) also exploiting her own sexiness. She's fascinating.

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  5. Lady Gaga has done it again. Definitely an extremely visually appealing video but do i know what it means? I'm in the same boat as the rest of you. I'll take a stab at it though--Perhaps it has to do with how our society pre-programs us, especially girls, to crave sex and strive to be at the center of the male gaze. "I want your love, I don't wanna be friends." The beginning of the video has those white matrix-y capsules which could be interpreted as the starting point or the "birth" of creating this person and then various scenes like the two women forcing her to drink that glass of water (alcohol?) and forcing her to dance half naked in front of the group of men only emphasizes this process of socializing girls into becoming men's "toys."

    Maybe?

    The last scene gave me goosebumps.

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  6. ahh, that makes a lot more sense now.

    In the very beginning it has the word "monster" written on one of those white capsules (with a cross?)

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  7. I feel like her acts are always a satire on the entertainment industry/celebrity lifestyle while she's fully enjoying it.

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  8. hmm.. well this definitely makes much more sense now.
    But I agree with the girls.... I think that most of her songs (especially the Paparazzi) are aimed as a social commentary of the industry. I think that because she is so graphic, and not afraid to take risks, is the reason why many people think she is so controversial.
    I love her. Group trip to her concert in January?????

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  9. She's definitely made into some kind of perfect, robot spectactle in this video just like in her other videos. I think its cool how she mocks but embraces her image at the same time. After seeing this video I kind of have a new sense of respect for her. Before I was annoyed because I thought she was trying too hard to be innovative and mindblowing and crazy. But now I feel like she's over exagerative in order to make fun of the media.

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