In the world of pop culture this year, one success story has eclipsed all others (sorry Rebecca Black). Her name? Stephanie Germanotta. You might know her better by her more infamous monicker: Lady Gaga. Recently, Lady Gaga released her third album, Born This Way, only to have debut number one on the Billboard charts and selling over 1.1 million albums in its first week, the most for a first week release in six years. She’s made appearances on this season’s American Idol as well as the Grammy Awards performing in prime time (in bizarre fashion… literally) in front millions of people. Her concerts known for their circus like spectacle are the hottest ticket in whatever major metropolitan area you find yourself. Her twitter following, which she “affectionately” dubs ‘little monsters,’ now counts over 10 million. In light of these impressive accomplishments, it seems safe to say Gaga has risen to the top of pop charts and pop culture.
To say Lady Gaga is no stranger to controversy would be a gross understatement. As alluded to earlier, Ms. Germanotta’s alter ego has been responsible for bizarre fashion statements to questionable subject matter in many of her songs. However, her most controversial and pervasive stance (it wouldn’t be going out on a very long limb to say her latest album title is a reference to the homosexual condition) has been her outspoken support for homosexuality, gay rights, and gay marriage. In fact, her pro-homosexual rhetoric in interviews as well as homosexual messages in her songs has raised the collective eyebrows and ire of conservative Catholic and Christian groups throughout the U.S.
While it would be well worth examining what Lady Gaga’s support of homosexuality means for the wider culture, there is something undergirding the message of the pop star in its totality that’s even more consequential. To find the ethos of Gaga we need to look no further than the lyrics of her latest single and title track of her newest album. Here are some samplings:
“My momma told me when I was young/We are all born superstars”
“I’m beautiful in my way/’Cause God makes no mistakes/I’m on the right track baby/I was born this way”
“Don’t hide yourself in regret/Just love yourself and you’re set”
When I read these lyrics, I’m struck by two things. First of all, despite all the hype regarding her controversial nature, it’s interesting how much of her songs’ content is pretty unoriginal. Gaga’s lyrics are simply the mantra of American culture recycled. You could walk into just about any elementary school classroom in America and see posters with essentially the same messages. Turn on the television and Nike or Coca-Cola will cater to your ego in just about the same way. Lady Gaga is essentially the hyper-individualism that is America.
Going hand in hand with her proclamation that we are all ‘superstars,’ Lady Gaga carries with her a message of guiltlessness. It doesn’t take much to notice that most superstars don’t seem to have the ability to feel shame. Judging by her mostly bizarre antics, Lady Gaga certainly doesn’t. With the advent of reality TV, participating in shameful behavior is now how you get famous. The dream used to be going to Hollywood, working some service industry job, and hoping you got a lucky break at an audition. Now, it’s sending in an audition tape to a reality show that shows you doing something outrageous or portraying a certain character type that will enhance the show’s casts’ ability to do outrageous things. Beyond reality TV, many “traditional” celebrities have taken their careers to new heights of fame or infamy by doing outrageous things. Lady Gaga wants America to know it’s ok to do whatever you want and be whoever you want. If it strays beyond the confines of “morality” or what society deems “ok,” don’t worry about it. You were born that way. After all, there’s no escaping who you are. Why feel bad about it then?
Here too Gaga is not the purveyor of something new. American culture has offered the same message for years. But what Lady Gaga has been proclaiming is not only an issue within our own culture but also within the human heart wherever it is found. Every human being senses there is something wrong with the world and something wrong with themselves. There is universal feeling of brokenness in the world. We spend our lifetimes trying to figure out how to fix us (ever notice how big the self-help section at the bookstore is?). We spend trillions of dollars trying to fix the world. Still, we fall so short of the perfection we seek. That leaves us with quite the dilemma.
The solution for American culture has been the message of Lady Gaga and the many who preached the same thing years before she ever came on the scene. ‘Sure, you’re messed up. But don’t worry about it. Ignore it. Be who you are. Do whatever you want. That’s where you’ll find true fulfillment.’ Sadly, the fulfillment part never seems to happen. Even a short glance at the tabloids will let you know how that sermon works out for its most outspoken preachers. Badly.
But that still leaves us back at square one. How do we fix ourselves? How do we get ourselves the fulfillment we so desperately seek? Well, we can’t. That’s the beauty of the gospel. We are all broken. So broken we cannot fix ourselves. But God can and He did. We have all sinned, and it is our own awareness of our sin that causes that sinking feeling in our stomachs that we are messed up people. God though took the punishment for the evil we have done. And He promises that if we confess our sin and need for Him, He will forgive us and begin to fix us. It will not be an overnight process. None of us will be totally restored to the way we were meant to be until God restores all things at His coming. But it has begun in the here and now. That should leave us in awe. But as the saying goes: only one who knows they are lost can be found. Sure, we are all born this way, broken and sinful. But we can be healed. We can be restored… only if we acknowledge our guilt and accept the help of God that we all need.
Gaga’s pro-homosexual stance is an interesting point, and I think is the reason she is targeted for so much harassment regarding her ‘occult agenda’. The hyper-individualism is also a great point. I think the core individualist natures she conveys are primarily of her own volition. But I think much of her persona is a product of both producers and the media. Then again I don’t know the woman. She could be a bonafide psychopathic Satanist for all I know.
Although I find the evidence, and the very notion that Gaga or anyone else connected to mainstream chart music both highly amusing and incredibly fascinating. I simply can’t believe it. I’m unable to accept that Gaga is intentionally trying to sow the seeds of evil through symbolism and Satanic messages. And even if she is, even if it’s working, what effect is she having?
I think it’s more likely that she, and every other pop star is a product of a media which manipulates their image in order to extract maximum coverage and finance from their situation. If that means ‘promoting Satan’ then that’s what they’ll do. It clearly works. There’s thousands of blogs on the internet that allege Gaga, Beyonce, Rihanne et al are all witches, employed by the Illuminati.
I’ve wrote a piece for my own blog regarding the presence of Satan within musical forms. It covers both visual symbolism and the musical techniques which could be used to suggest the occult. I’d love someone with a reasonable grasp on the subject to share their opinions.
Mac.
Good post, good food for thought…I did a blog post on the same song a while back. We reach the same ultimate conclusion about it, but I like how you weaved your post together. Very good. Here’s the link to my post on it : http://wp.me/pIgyO-h