Lady GaGa has become, for some reason, the pop star who is okay for smart people and sassy ladies to like. I don't understand it myself; I'm not a fan of her music. I think she has a talent for writing catchy songs that aren't very original, and for self-promotion. Good for her. But a narrative has sprung up around GaGa in ladyblog-land, a narrative in which, because GaGa exercises very tight control over her image and has signed some savvy business deals, she is the feminists' pop idol.
Well then, what is the deal with this:
GaGa gets thrown off a balcony by a boyfriend who has been exploiting her behind her back. She manages to survive, but COMES BACK to this asshole. She fetishizes her injuries by doing a crippled dance number in Thierry Mugler's Metropolis metal suit (first seen in George Michael's "Too Funky" video from 1992, by the way). There are more fetishized victims of violence, in the form of exquisitely painted models posed as corpses all over the place, in bushes, a foyer, poolside, etc. GaGa decides upon revenge by poisoning her boyfriend (yay, feminism?) not because he THREW HER OFF A BALCONY, but because she's pissed that a new starlet has taken her place in the media consciousness. And yes, that is why she kills him. See how she dresses up and glories in the flashbulbs at her arrest.
Is this supposed to be an ironic comment on domestic violence? Is the fact that GaGa kills her abuser enough to explain all the other images of victimized, yet still gorgeous, women? What the hell? I know her song and video are not ABOUT domestic violence, but seriously, way to make it sexy and glamorous. Is this feminism?
In this video from 1999, the Dixie Chicks ARE talking about domestic violence, and you can see that Wanda's face is beat the hell up. That's what domestic abuse is, not an excuse for edgy fashion (except the fashion was edgy in 1992, but whatever). By the way, when the Chicks came out with this video, about a wife getting beat up and murdering her husband as her escape, they caught a ton of shit for doing it. Because, you know, how could they trivialize and advocate murder?
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Omg, that really is horrifying. It reminds me of that sense of uneasiness I got after watching Inglorious Basterds. Like, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were brutal and violent too, so it's not like I wasn't expecting it; but there was something about Inglorious Basterds that celebrated violence and discouraged introspection. Mass murder ("halocaust" style, even) is okay because they were Nazis - and who deserves it more than Nazis?
ReplyDeleteOr, death and disfigurement is okay because it's pretty and glamorous.
I'd love to hear a contrary point of view on this, especially from a Lady Gaga fan, but the way I see it there are 2 ways people would respond to this video. First, they can decided that violence and self-fetishization are cool. Or, if they're a victim of violence, they can hate their bodies even more, having concluded that "beauty" is the cause for all their sufferings.
Yes, I think the lack of introspection is totally the worst thing about this video (other than the T-Rex--no offense--dance moves). Let's just use these gorgeous female corpses as set dressing! Yay! Fabulous! Except you know, it sucks in every way. If I had suffered domestic violence, I'd look at those chicks and think, hey, I guess it happens to the best of us, why not just dance?
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