In her music video for “You and I”, Lady Gaga challenges the conventional structure of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. Have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YMU0WeBwU&ob=av2e
To clarify just how much Gaga’s depiction of a relationship departs from convention, we’ll have to compare “You and I” to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E&ob=av2e
The structure of both music videos is quite similar. Both feature lush, open country fields. Both begin with the artist singing alone, segway into various flashbacks, and end with a resolution between the artist and her lover. However, the two differ in their treatment of a romantic relationship.
“Love Story” is one of the most socially accepted depictions of, well, a love story. Sweet, innocent Juliet meets cute, charming Romeo. Juliet falls in love with Romeo. Daddy disproves. But their love overcomes all obstacles and they can be together in the end. There’s nothing “perverse” or “dysfunctional” about the story the video portrays. “You and I” also depicts a love story. However, Gaga’s video complicates the binaristic understanding of love between one man and one woman. It’s not a simple boy meets girl story. The tension and differences between “Love Story” and “You and I” reveal an unconventional approach to love and romance.
For instance, there are two male characters in this video versus just one. The structural decision to develop a love triangle challenges the traditional understanding of love as a relationship between only two people. Gaga doesn’t have just one soul mate in this video; she has two loves even though convention dictates that a person can only have one true love.
Gaga also undergoes several costume changes and transformations in this video. One of her male lovers is seen pinning her down while she is in human form. He violently fixes nuts and bolts to her neck. In the aftermath, she emerges from the operating room as a mermaid. He proceeds to make love to Gaga while she is in mermaid form.
The obvious depiction of bestiality raises several questions. Why is her lover trying to change her? Why is he abusing her in the process? Why is he de-humanizing her? At the end of the video, Gaga is seen lying happily with her love while she is still in mermaid form. She is satisfied in her de-humanized state. The structural decision to make this scene the resolution of the video challenges the conventional idea that love can only be successful between a man and a woman. At the end, Gaga is non-human and thus has no gender. The love that her lover has for her in the end is a love for who she is and all the memories they have shared. He still retains his love for her despite her de-humanized state, revealing Gaga’s belief that love does not have to be between a man and a woman or even a human and a human. Gaga challenges convention when her music video asserts that love can exist between two or three or more individual souls who have transformed and triumphed over obstacles together.
This is all really interesting. I like the contrast between the universally-adored Taylor Swift and the controversial Lady Gaga in similar songs.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't believe that Gaga is advocating bestiality or even trying to depict it. I think the video was more about her boyfriend forcing her to change for him. He was molding her into the woman that HE wanted her to be, rather than just being herself. The torture-chamber-turned-evil-scientist-lab represented the ways which he broke her down and tried to create his ideal woman. He wanted to turn her into a mermaid (the mermaid being replaceable by any male fetish/fantasy), and he did so violently. This, to me, indicates an abusive relationship on top of everything else.
They both seem in love after her transformation as well. He finally turned her into the woman he found most desirable, and she allows this to happen to her. And even after everything, she still lets herself love him, which is a common trait in women who go through such treatments by "loved ones."
And one final point, the "man" on the piano who looks like a Greaser is actually Lady Gaga. The relationship between the man Gaga and the woman Gaga represents the need to love oneself before being able to truly love another.
I agree with Brad. I think Lady Gaga's song has a lot to do with the condescending and corruptive nature of her boyfriend, and his tendencies to coerce her into changing for him.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't really like Lady Gaga and her songs, I have to admit that she has a very good perception of gender similarities and differences, and all the remaining space on the spectrum. She's not afraid to break free of societal notions of gender and show the world that she, too, can embody a man if she wants to.
You're totally right about Taylor Swift being the epitome of her polar opposite. Her songs are about love and heartbreak and the typical romantic story between a man and a woman. There is no room in her geographical, religious, and familial background for something as bold as Lady Gaga's expression. Derrida would commend Lady Gaga for being unafraid to express herself, gender aside.
I'm really surprised that nobody has analyzed the lyrics in relationship to the visuals. Let's see some close reading! Also, I take Brad's point that Gaga's love song to herself on the piano may suggest that you have to love yourself first. This is a valid reading. It will be interesting to come back to this video after we read Freud's essay on narcissism. Oh, and as far as bestiality goes, I *do* think Shannon has a point... Gaga toys with bestiality in a lot of her videos, this one included. We can disagree about the symbolic function of the mermaid figure, but we can't deny the bestiality... as much as we may want to! Shannon is right that Gaga is interested in questioning what exactly constitutes a human.
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt that Taylor Swift's song and video depict a traditional love story between boy and girl. Boy meets girl, boy and girl love each other, boy and girl are separated, but boy and girl live happily ever after in the end. Lady Gaga's song is obviously more controversial, and her video creates an even more convoluted depiction of love. However, I think it is more traditional than it may seem at first. The lyrics of the song are about a lost lover: Lady Gaga moved to New York but she longs for her soul mate in Nebraska. He was the man who she loved. He was her first and only soul mate, and now she is going back to get him. Despite the bestiality, machinery, and other man, she ends up with her lover in the end. If you watch the video clip until after the music is over, you see Lady Gaga in a wedding dress with her lover. Both her lyrics and her video end with the notion that she won't leave without the love of her life. Even though they have problems, they love each other and are together in the end. Taylor Swift presents the same notion: she and Romeo are star-crossed but they end up together.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these videos show somewhat traditional depictions of love. However, Gaga certainly defies femininity. While Taylor Swift wears a ball gown represents a very feminine female character, Gaga is rougher and more masculine.