Ah well, well, well, nice to see you today.  I guess I had to take a break from catching an abundance of rays down here in the Jersey Shore to see how the bunnies are doing… the things I do for you hoppers.  As promised, I am writing today about the performance-forward Lady GaGa and her latest creation for the music video to her summer smash “Alejandro.”  Now I know the lyrics sing about men like “Alejandro” “Fernando” and “Roberto,” but in the music, she is mainly preoccupied with the likes “Madonna” “Liza” and “Bowie.”  Yes, rabbittos, she manages to call on three legends (among a multitude of other influences) and masterfully craft them into one epic 8-minute cinematographic journey.  Before you continue reading, I implore you to watch the video for yourself, so click here.

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And so we begin.  The video’s central preoccupations are definitely war and religion, and the homoeroticism associated with both (especially the former).  While I originally thought GaGa would continue the story of Paparazzi-Telephone that would result in her escaping to Mexico to be hit on by countless sexy Spaniards, I was beyond thrilled with the veering away from the possible trilogy, and very pleased with the end product.  Directed by fashion photographer Steven Klein, the video is aesthetically beautiful as any scene could be a spread in any fashion magazine.  I find it shocking that this is Klein’s first move into moving pictures, because he clearly has talent, and I look forward to seeing his future pieces.

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GaGa only casts her male dancers in the video and couples them with each other instead of using her female dancers to pair them, which is where the homoerotic themes are initially seen.  While they are in traditional male roles, a la the military, they are tweaked with female tendencies as they wear heels or fishnet stockings or little-to-no clothing.  GaGa, initially seen as an empress-like character, sits pretty with an innovative headpiece furnished with laced goggles seen below…

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She watches her homoerotic heroes dance for her below her perch and fidgets with frustration, which is where we begin to understand how she wishes to romanticize with these gentlemen, but clearly cannot because they are doing that with each other.  GaGa’s loneliness is a common theme throughout the video as she is frequently separate from her masculine back-ups, even when they are together.  For example, in one of the main dance sequences, which I have admittedly mastered thank you very much, we see the men clad in black (including their hair) and GaGa all in white (including her hair) as seen below…

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What can be gathered from this theme, applying to current events, is the commentary she is offering to the recent “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  She exhibits the strength of these homosexually-portrayed men in hopes to combat the traditional notion to associate homosexuality with weakness or disease.

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Then the religious references come into play as GaGa takes on a priestess role in her cross-ridden garb.  As she takes on this role, she is no longer in sync with her men as they surround her and begin to throw her around.  The commentary provided here suggests an uprising to the Church for bashing and shunning homosexuality, and again highlights the strength that the homosexual population has even when they are tried to be silenced.

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As for her influences, above we can see a suggestively Liza Minelli influence for this segment of the video as she clothes herself in a black-collared jumpsuit with a short bob.

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Up next, Madonna.  GaGa has frequently been defined as this generation’s Queen of Pop, Madonna, and she craftily illustrates this through parts in the video…

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And lastly, well the last influence I’ll cover here, as there are plenty more… is David Bowie.  This is probably my favorite part of the video.  GaGa stands alone on a stage, with a thin, wooden cross behind her only wearing a leather jacket, black underwear and shades.  She even moves with the Bowie style as the microphone has turned to her lover, which is evident in her caring caresses…

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Ultimately, I give this video two-thumbs up.  It may draw from other artists, which lead people to deem GaGa a “copy-cat,” but what she has done is effortlessly blended a plethora of legends and created an artistic giant of a legend.  Kudos, GaGa, Kudos.  Here are some more shots from the video…

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Alright, back to the sunshine for me.

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-xoxo-

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