Lady Gaga - Postmodern

http://newleft.tumblr.com/post/445851066/lady-gagas-telephone-and-the-postmodern

Monday, 11 July 2011

Lady Gaga - Post-Modern Article

After watching the now-infamous video twice, I’m convinced that it is indicative of postmodernism in every sense of the term.
Pastiche. The video has it in spades. It references other forms of media (Tarantino, exploitation films, Thelma & Louise) left and right, while parodying none of them. This is because parody relies on an underlying normative standard, which postmodernism categorically rejects. Instead it merely shows the audience a barrage of media, almost a celebration of how clever the director is for cramming so many references into a single video.
Consumerism. The product placement is obvious, but it is not portrayed as humorous. The camera lingers too long on each product, and the video knows it, but it still manages to avoid parody. Rather, the video uses these consumer images as an integral part of its aesthetic without any comment on their social context.
Self-reference. The blatant product placement shows a self-awareness in the video, but this particular brand of ironic detachment harms the video’s ability to make any sort of overall message on its own. Instead it implies that celebrating consumer culture is fine as long as we’re appropriately ironic about it, but this is a largely unintended consequence of the video’s aesthetic.
Appropriation of identity-based struggle. Lady Gaga is interesting for turning the male gaze back on men, and for portraying women as subjects rather than objects in her videos (albeit still scantily-clad subjects). However, the resistance to power on Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s part is purely individual and brief (it’s very telling that Lady Gaga is bailed out of prison rather than escaping) Behind this initial layer of feminism there is still an individuated desire to become rich, given that Lady Gaga was saved from prison by money. She maintains her glamorous image inside and outside the prison’s walls, an implicit message that “excessive materialism is empowering to women, somehow,” as Alyx Vesey observed. Therefore her kind of feminism is integrated neatly into the agenda of neoliberals, who love to talk about glass ceilings being shattered while heaping disdain on poor women.
Incredulity towards metanarratives. Lyotard’s famous description of the postmodern condition applies even here, as it’s difficult to find an overall message or narrative in the video. There is a sequence of events interspersed with pop culture references and product placement, but little else.

Most works of postmodern culture incorporate the ethic of postmodern philosophy with even less critical engagement than postmodern philosophers themselves, and in so doing implicitly endorse the status quo. This video is no exception.

Genre - The Naked and Famous 'Young Blood'

'Young Blood' is a powerful story, told not through a direct narrative of events, but through a series of non-related shots of energy, violence and power. Each shot portrays a different action taken by a different youth, for example, the destruction of abandoned vehicles, or running through vast, open landscapes or leaping, frolicking in the sea.
It portrays youth as strong, energetic, full of zest and slightly destructive. It embodies youth's need to revitalise and live life rebelliously, without the caution of adults. The video is very pro-libertarian. The youth are shown enjoying a wild, care-free existence, running and tumbling through the rugged countryside and swimming naked in lakes - acts which are deemed inappropriate in a conservative society. Little hindrance is given to materialism and wealth, quite the contrary, with the video displaying shots of mountain ranges, forests, rivers, junkyards - places of adventure rather than Western skyscrapers and commerce. It actually takes the image of an image-caring, consumer-heavy teenage population and literally smashes it to pieces.
Rather than Marxist, the video is more anti-Capitalist and is very much targeted toward a young, teenage audience who experience these rebellious, frenzied spells. Certain images are repeated, such as the imagery of blood to portray this free, fearless nature of youth - unafraid of harm. As well as this, there are repeated shots of fireworks and sparklers. These portray how dynamic and bright youth can be, in balance with their untamed and uncontrolled image (as seen with shots of teenagers crashing down on the bonnets of cars). They also fizz and whir about along with the impassioned drumbeats and chords of the song.
The band can be seen in the video, but are not particularly glorified, they are shot individually and in the same manner as any other actor in the video - though the female and male leads hold their gaze longer with the camera.
With no real power struggle except the struggle of power between youth and authority, there are still however, some inequalities in gender. From a feminist perspective it must be noted most of the more violent acts, such as throwing and smashing with blunt objects seem to be done by men. Females are given the activities of kite-flying and tree-climbing, though are also seen bounding and running. Perhaps even for teenagers, an image of a girl, tearing up her environment is ugly and a removal of her appealing femininity.
Overall, the video is one of energy and zest and empowering to a teenage audience. Sympathetically, it taps into their teenage angst and hormonal fury and provides them with an idyllic world, lit in such high key, that it is almost over-exposed (so as to create a dream-like effect) - a world without rules or boundaries.

Blur 'The Universal'

Blur front-man Damon Albarn takes on the role of the anti-hero Alex DeLarge in the ‘A Clockwork Orange’ reference-ridden music video of ‘The Universal’. The narrative is ambiguous; we are subjected to a series of separate characters that are actually satirical representations of what a dystopian future might look like (whilst throwing the nod to Kubrick at almost every shot). Te video reaches a climax as each character’s situation becomes more and more obscene and controversial. The theme of voyeurism and the female body is thick, with shots of women submitting themselves as sexual imagery and playthings to hungry men. These storylines follows an interweaving narrative. They are intercut with live performance of the band in the setting of the white-washed, padded-cell-like bar, surreal images in the style of Warhol and shots of emotionless looking people on a council estate looking reverently up at a giant golf-ball like object which has speakers and a camera lens.  The enigma code of the video is what this object’s purpose is. All conversations are seen but not heard, some are subtitled but the audience is left to wonder what mysterious and horrific truth the priest character left with his drinking companion. The video is more or less real-time, the audience being somewhat omniscient, provided a soundless view of each of the bar’s customers.