I think Lady Gaga’s music video for the new single “Bad Romance” is a just taste of what is to come in The Fame Monster (to be released this coming Tuesday!) The video is…different. It’s ugly, almost, but in Lady Gaga’s own mesmerizing way. I mean, I’ve heard some guys going, “She’s so hot!” and maybe I’m not qualified to judge that, but for me her beauty is in how easily she can alter her appearance. And when I say the video is “ugly,” I don’t mean that it’s repulsive, necessarily, it’s just that it’s not what you would expect from a Princess of Pop. But she’s already established that she isn’t the typical pop girl. Her goal seems to be to make her songs into works of visual art through music videos.
Most artists attempt to tell a story in their music videos. Some really great ones, or at least some of my favorites, are “All That I’ve Got” by The Used, “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance, and “So What?” by P!nk. You don’t have to like those songs to get what they’re about. Other artists just like to make videos that depict them rocking out in different locations, without any kind of storyline behind them. Most of Lady Gaga’s music videos do not have a storyline, or at least not a very linear one, except for the “Paparazzi” one.
As per her usual, Gaga changes her outfit and make-up at least 3 or 4 times throughout the “Bad Romance” video. And I must be honest: I don’t like the video, but only because it’s just not to my personal aesthetic taste, not because of her performance. And I’m not going to pretend to understand the storyline, if there even is one. I think it’s about her debut into fame and how she got her power, which basically explains the scenes with her struggling in the bathtub and then being encased in that spiky, glittery costume, and then ultimately combusting into flames at the end. My interpretation is that the video depicts her struggle with who she has become and where she’s going from here. The closing shot of the video, with the charred remains of a bed and her laying on it, seems to be (to me) her ultimate conquering of who she is and what she wants—all the power of Lady Gaga, be it the power of fame or sexuality or love.
There’s a quote I’m pulling from Rolling Stone’s June 11, 2009 issue that I really loved because I think it sums Lady Gaga up perfectly and really puts her statement out there point-blank. The article closed with her saying, “I operate from a place of delusion…. I used to walk down the street like I was a f—king star. I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be – and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth.”
I love that, because she imagined what she wanted to be, and became it. She wasn’t born Lady Gaga. She didn’t wake up as Lady Gaga. She made herself Lady Gaga, and I know she wants everyone to see that they can make themselves into whatever they want to be, too. I think that is her point in all of these seemingly eccentric music videos and fashion statements, bizarre face masks and dazzling make-up styles. I really don’t think she’s doing it for attention or because she’s insane. She’s called herself crazy and delusional in various interviews, but she says she fights that craziness when she’s working at what she loves—performing.
Give three cheers for Gaga – I can’t wait for The Fame Monster!
Emily Noel
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