{"id":731,"date":"2017-11-28T20:28:56","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T20:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/?p=731"},"modified":"2017-11-28T20:28:56","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T20:28:56","slug":"round-of-applause-for-lady-gaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/assignments\/music-video-review\/round-of-applause-for-lady-gaga\/","title":{"rendered":"Round of Applause for Lady Gaga"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no arguing that Lady Gaga takes her artistic ideas to the next level. Whether it be her fashion decisions, or her music videos, she is not easily missed. She showed up to an award show in a dress made entirely of meat cold cuts. She wears shoes that put her 12 inches above her normal height of 5\u20192\u2019\u2019, wigs of every color from platinum blonde, \u00a0jet black, and all the colors in between. Lady Gaga\u2019s confidence to be a nonconformist and stay true to her views of art is what I believe makes her thrive in the industry. I cannot imagine what being a part of that pop music industry must be like, but there are certain trends within it that come and go but, I believe, that in some cases society adheres to. Lady Gaga introduced artistic ideas, both in her appearance and music videos and music which were new at the point that she entered and began to rise in the field. When given this assignment and reading through the prompt, Lady Gaga was the first to pop into my head. Honestly, it has been a while since I have listened to her music, as I find myself drawn to music that is of more a laid back feel. I wanted to write \u201ccalming\u201d but I figured there are people out there who find upbeat music something that can calm them down. <\/span><\/p>\n

After watching a few of her videos, I found that each one I watched were, obviously, very different. However, with all of the ones I watched, I thought: dark colors with pops of bright colors, scantily clad dancers and Lady Gaga, music video does not distract from the music itself, it just adds to it. I have seen some music videos in the past where the video content does not <\/span>add<\/span><\/i> to the music, but is just what I would have expected with a song. For example, videos which are just the song but in movie form, Taylor Swift\u2019s videos from 2010 or so come to mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lady Gaga\u2019s video for \u201cApplause\u201d stuck out to me the most. I enjoyed the pops of colors that she incorporated in the video. Also, before she even starts singing, we already see eight shots of her, in four different outfits already. That\u2019s 15 seconds, 8 shots, 4 outfits. You can tell the detail in which she and her producers\/directors think through the video, second by second. She stays active throughout the video, dancing, or being suspended from the ceiling. Also, even when she is wearing very little clothing, the bra she is wearing is designed as a pair of hands, which makes sense as the song is called \u201cApplause\u201d but still, I think it is pretty creative. I think shots such as 1:13 are really cool when the background is black out and but she is wearing bright blush and yellow eyeshadow, which must have been enhanced digitally. But that goes to show how detailed this video is and how the editing process must have taken a lot of thought and precise work. Her choreography is very angular which fits well together with the beat and the abrupt cutting from one shot to another. <\/span>One of the lines in the song is \u201cart and pop culture and me\u201d. I think this line really ties together Lady Gaga and her presence in this industry. And it goes beyond that as well, as she voices her opinions on political and societal issues. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is clear that she has a strong influence on her fans as I could not find a single critique in the comments. And that was after scrolling for 5 or so minutes and I did not even get through all the comments. A few of the comments stood out to me, as many of them were about how she had reached 300 million views. <\/span><\/p>\n

7 months ago, <\/span>semar R <\/span><\/i>wrote: \u201c<\/span>she’s definitely underrated. so authentic and beautiful. she’s a living work of art\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

Around the same time, <\/span>Hanna D <\/span><\/i>wrote: \u201cthis is ART.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This came from <\/span>Avatar Wan TV: <\/span><\/i>\u201cThis music video is a masterpiece. It’s SO trippy, colorful, fresh, creative, original, artistic, etc. the list goes on. I just love how daring and experimental Lady Gaga is, not only in pop music, but in pop culture as well. I respect her dedication. I also heard she’s back in the studio working with RedOne again. She’s returning and I can’t wait.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>claps claps claps\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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I liked all of these comments because in an article about her in Rolling Stone Magazine, the author wrote, \u201cThe former Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is on a mission: to prove that Lady Gaga is art and that her art is not a mask. It is her life,\u201d (<\/span>http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/news\/the-broken-heart-and-violent-fantasies-of-lady-gaga-20100708<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

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All in all, Lady Gaga has made and is making her mark in pop culture and this industry. She is going above and beyond and does not back down in using her voice and showing her artistic ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n