Jack Bauer and Lady Gaga: When Culture Parodies Itself
I like Lady Gaga. Unlike the grating, repetitive, and self-important music of many pop artists today, Gaga has the good sense to laugh at herself while allowing us to laugh along with her. Her videos are stunning compilations of images, although a little gimmicky at times, and of course, titanically oversexualized. Her latest production — a “min-epic” at more than nine minutes — is called “Telephone” and features some smart and sassy lyrics to a very average tune.
But it is the outrageous video that has raised a ruckus. Conor Friedersdorf points out that, unlike older artists who created videos with images that related to the music, the Gaga “Telephone” video seems to be deliberately disconnected from the art:
As it happens, “Poker Face” makes me want to pour concrete into my ear holes whenever it is forced upon me in a bar or even via the ambient ring tones of strangers. “Telephone” is definitely less annoying. But “unremarkable” is the best thing you can say for it. Why would anyone buy it disaggregated from the visuals? And even with images intact, the video suffers due to the sub-par lyrics: they don’t seem to have anything to do with what’s happening onscreen, whether you’re casually watching or a hard core fan versed in all the background.
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Gaga disassociates her music from the images because she is using the video as a vehicle to send up iconic pop culture images and hence, pop culture itself. It is one gigantic inside joke that almost everyone is in on.
Her send-ups are not performed with any reverence or sense of homage, but with a desire to impose an ironic juxtaposition between the pop culture images she mocks and her own over-the-top personae. And in so doing, she consciously brings herself full circle from pop icon to a self-mocking caricature of a pop artist — a cardboard cutout so depthless and shallow, so deliberately provocative and outrageous, that the creative product — her music — actually aids in the parody by standing at arms length from the “art” of the delivery system. The art ignores the reality Gaga has created onscreen, imposing its own pleasant association with another world.
In the “Telephone” video, for instance, she is bailed out of the “Prison for Bitches” (following some rank lesbian and fetish images both designed to shock and evoke amusement) by formerly squeaky clean Beyonce. The two then take off in a Thelma and Louise adventure, parodying Quentin Tarantino’s epic Kill Bill films as well as Pulp Fiction by driving in a vehicle named “The Pussywagon” (Kill Bill) and stopping at a diner (Pulp Fiction) just long enough to poison the patrons by slipping a toxin into their food. They then drive off, the sound of police cars pursuing in the distance, and the imitation of the iconic raised handclasp of Thelma and Louise right before they drove over the cliff is used as a parody of solidarity between the two mega-stars.
What exactly are we amused at?
Lady Gaga may be a talented singer and pianist, but when she makes the jump from wild theatrics and sexually-charged lyrics to releasing a video soaked in sexploitation — the complete reification of women as sexual objects in accordance with pornographic stereotypes that the women’s movement thought it had put to rest 30 years ago — doesn’t someone have to stand up to the Gaga juggernaut and ask if this is really art or rather vulgar media manipulation in the service of selling her product?
Art, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. From my perspective, Gaga’s shtick is neither art nor the “reification of women as sexual objects.” It is what it is — just another product line in the boredom killing business. We are a society where many of us need the shock of a Gaga or a prurient peek into the multi-mistress world of a Tiger Woods in order to shake us out of our stuporous languorousness for a few minutes every day just to assure ourselves that we can still feel something, that we’re still emotionally alive.
The challenge Gaga now faces is that every day brings danger to her position atop the pop ziggurat. She must outdo her own record-shattering, barrier-breaking, taboo-smashing, performances or risk a fall from grace. From edgy, to ordinary, to boring is not a long journey from where Gaga is starting.
How can she top “over the top”? That question will define the remainder of her career.
Well, that’s an angle to Lady Gaga I’d never considered.
I still can’t get behind her, though. These are, of course, my own preferences speaking, but she does not entertain me. In my point of view, she does not do a “send up” of pop culture, she just processes it and regurgitates it onto her audience.
I cannot find her entertaining. For all her eccentricities, she seems unoriginal, not a person but a pastiche, hollow. My frustration is augmented by the knowledge that she DOES have genuine talent, but does not seek to refine it.
Then again, neither did I find 24 particularly entertaining. To each his own, and let’s kill our boredoms as best we can.
You’ve got to view Christopher Walken doing Poker Face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy5JwYOlgvY
I guess I’m old school, but anyone with true and unique talent–and the willingless to work hard–should be able to find success without becoming a walking freak show. For the moment Gaga may be great at marketing herself, but soon enough she will reach a tipping point. The stunts and outrageous outfits will lose their shock value, just as Madonna’s antics now leave people cold. At one point Madge even had to resort to writing children’s books to get back into the spotlight.
It occurs to me that all the fantastic musical groups of the ’60′s would never stand a chance in today’s culture. All they did was sing and play instruments. Bor-ing.
But I’d be willing to wager the music of many of those artists will still be winning new fans long after Gaga’s circus act has folded up the tents and left town.
After I was done reading, I had completely forgotten the piece started out being about Jack Bauer. Anyway Lady Gaga is so much more fun to write about and requires much less thinking. So here goes
Lady Gaga in a nutshell:
Cheasy dance music
Avangarde fashion statements
Ambigious sexuality
Shock value
Nothing to see here, move along
Ed, You give lady gaga too much credit, she’s not thinking that deep.
Video-phone = A smoking hot Beyonce. She is fine as hell. She should keep making music videos with lady gaga as long as she keeps dressing so provocative. I could care less about ugly lady gaga, but dam that Beyonce is naughty girl.
An for the uptight religious-right conservatives on here. The less you get upset at gaga the quicker she’ll be gone. No controversy, no career. You people make these peoples careers by getting all bent out of shape over them.
Jack Who? Lady What?? Get a friggin’ life!!!
This is the year that “24″ jumped the shark. Nothing about this year’s plot or characters is believable, from the stupid bureaucrat they put in charge of CTU to Chloe’s sudden incompetence to the hiring of what’s-her-name with a criminal record as an analyst, to Renee showering in the bad guy’s hideout.
I stopped watching about halfway through episode four and am glad to have the extra time.
A smart TV exec would engage Surnow to develop a new series, and leave him free to do it his way this time.
I didn’t watch any more after one of the first episodes when Jack was all weepy about not being able to go to California with his daughter. It has committed the unforgivable sin of lapsing into silliness. Frankly, I have to smile when I think about that scene.
I gave up watching ”24” long ago, I think after an episode where blond, blue-eyed Swedish environmentalists were portrayed as terrorists. I still watch ”Law & Order” which admitedly is just crap & I frequently doze off in the middle, usually waking up again in time for Neil Cavuto on Fox. I like a show called ”The Mentalist” because it’s basically apolitical, just entertainment with no BS lefty message.
As for Lady GaGa, forget it, I only listen to golden oldies on YouTube. Or classical music, mostly opera. I have no understanding intellectually as to why anyone would listen to this garbage.
I agree with every aspect of “Contrarian View’s” opinion of this season’s “24″ offering.
Also of note is Kiefer Sutherland’s (who plays Jack Bauer) medical situation, which I understand has caused delay in filming late-season episodes. The Bauer character appears noticeably thinner and more fragile this season. I also noted this, and the fact Sutherland looked ghostly pale during a talk-show interview several months ago. Sutherland, as Bauer in past years, was a noticeably more physically imposing character than this season. Vot gifs?
I think 24 jumped the shark last year. When the writers had Jack confessing his sins to the imam in the last episode last year, I knew I wouldn’t be watching this year. It was fun while it lasted…just fun to see actors using straight line action and doing to bad guys what I’d do if I could, but once the PC crowd had Jack seeking absolution from a Muslim….well, you see how the appeal faded. Of course, those fool writers in Hollyweird haven’t yet figured out that when Sharia becomes law, they will be the first ones the Islamic enforcers come for.
There’s a simple enough explanation in-universe: Jack Bauer is tired. He’s been at this for what, twenty years? In that time, he’s endured drug addiction, had a near death experience, been tortured by the Chinese, witnessed a nuclear explosion, killed a bunch of people, and watched friends and family die on several occasions. He didn’t even want to take this mission; he wanted to be on a flight out to San Fransisco with his daughter several hours ago. He’s ready to retire and put the whole matter behind him, like many old warriors.
Lady Gaga is doing nothing new. When MTV first aired videos, most of the images have nothing to do with the song; Gaga is a throwback to such videos. However, she is exploiting sex & shocking videos–like Madonna before her–for her fortune. Lady Gaga will not let the song stand on its own merits, but it must be consumed by controversy to sell more records or MP3′s. If Lady Gaga continues her route, she will be left out when the music changes direction. She will keep shocking, but we won’t care anymore. Madonna reached this point with 1992′s Erotica & had to quickly find her feet again.
Thanks for the link Joe . . . too funny.
Reminded me of my dad making fun of the Beatles and their ya, ya, ya, back in the day. (Not to compare Lady Gaga to the Fab Four!)
Lady GaGa is actually a lot more thoughtful than most of these commenters give her credit for. Watch interview videos and you’ll be surprised how much she isn’t the person you thought she was.
As far as talent goes, hidden deep underneath all the glam and costumes lurks a jazz goddess. Again, watching vintage youtube videos of her, as well as acoustic performances might be helpful if you really want to get a bead on what she really is.
Is there a “Lord Gaga” out there? Does Ms. Gaga hail from the Newport Gagas? Are there plans to market a tile grout under her name called “Gaga-Goo?” Just wondering.
I am not sure why Lady Gaga gets hit when Dale Bozzio and Wendy O got free passes in their day. Yes, I think LGAGA is more talented than she allows herself to be, but she is not the worst person out there.
Lady GaGa is so amazing, she looks very hot and sexy!!!
I love her voice and the way she dance on the scene. Very talented girl!
#6:RickGreenvilleSC:
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Holey moley macaroni – this is a strange article.
Lady Gaga’s music is fun to dance and workout to. She’s fun and weird and her lyrics crack me up.
Moran: The challenge Gaga now faces is that every day brings danger to her position atop the pop ziggurat. She must outdo her own record-shattering, barrier-breaking, taboo-smashing, performances or risk a fall from grace. From edgy, to ordinary, to boring is not a long journey from where Gaga is starting.
Not to mention that Miss Germanotta won’t be the first, or the last, successful musician to take such a journey. Indeed, avoiding this path to mediocrity would make her the exception that proves the rule. It wasn’t for nothing that recording artists before her came up with lyrics like “Hope I die before I get old” and “It’s better to burn out than fade away.”
The acoustic version of Poker Face reminds me of Lisa Minnelli.
I skimmed this article only to find out who Bauer and Gaga are. Enough wasted time on this.
I could never get through even five minutes of “24″, nor 15 seconds of Gaga. I simply do not get the appeal. They are both mere caricatures… cartoons for adults.
Bauer seemed like what a liberal thinks a conservative is. Gaga has a nice voice and can dance, so why the shtick?
Hollywood is worthless. Even shows with a little promise quickly become hackneyed. Very rarely does a new movie come along that is, indeed, new.
I think its amazing she looks very ordinary without makeup. She is of course still gorgeous.
Timeless beauty.
Fox News now owns the field because Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdock saw an untapped market in underserved conservatives.
It amazes me Hollywood — ever chasing the Big Hit and Big Bucks — has failed to market to this segment.
24 did it for a while and demonstrated it could work. Then the show when PC, catered to the left and failed.
I watched the first episode this season and canceled it from my DVR, never to be seen again. My wife and I — both former avid watchers — have not missed at all.
I canceled NCIS and NCIS-LA after their Christmas episodes were about honor killings by Christians.
I suspect the problem is that no one in Hollywood apparently knows how to make a show that speaks to conservatives, even as they have no clue how to speak to Christians — another massively ignored segment.
Hollywood’s pitiful attempts to speak to either group are laughable.
They certainly don’t know how to make a war movie, unless it’s against the Nazis. Even when they have a good story written in great detail by a card carrying conservative (Sum Of All Fears comes to mind) they change the bad guys from Muslim terrorists to neo-Nazis. When they have opportunity to show heroic Iraq or Afghani battle stories, they make Green Zone or a raft of other failures.
The only exception to this litany of failure was the early seasons of The Unit. I suspect the defection of creator David Mamet after he wrote Why I Am No Longer A Brain Dead Liberal in the Village Voice explains a lot.
Toward its end, even that show could not help but cast the true bad guys as some group within our own nation.
Liberal mantra: Americans are the Bad Guys, Christians are idiots. We want Big Government; Don’t Trust The Government. (Hey, I never said statists were consistent thinkers.)
Jack Bauer represents a character that is needed in today’s Pop-culture. He is torn between his yearning to be with his daughter and grandkids and his sense of duty to ‘save the US from terrorist doom’. I believe that he is representative of the modern American Soldier who is torn between leaving their families multiple times to help ‘save the US from foriegn terrorists’.
Jack shows more compassion and feelings in this new season than ever before, possible appealing to a different midset. Perhaps the writers are trying to reel in a new set of fans who can be more compassionate and less impetuous. Sort of winning the hearst and minds if you will.
Jack’s new love interest has him caught between a rock and a hard place. He still loves her and shows that he is willing to die to save her. That element of romance was lost in the last couple of seasons.
Chloe is turning out to be a closet hero for all the computer nerds of the world. Of course, in today’s terms Computer analysts aren’t nerds but highly paid executives. She gives the show an element of gumption that it would lack without her. I really do like Chloe as a character.
Which brings me to my next point. 24 gives us modern day heros that may be outrageous but they are people that we can sort of relate to as having a National Concious who will lay down their life for their fellow man. Something that I believe alot of modern day so called heros don’t have an ounce of.
For instance, Lady Gaga, who is a disgrace to modern entertainment. Where in the trash did we pull her out of? She is out there as an example for our young generation as a fashion hero? I don’t get it. I believe that our tolerance for everything indecent has reached epic proportions. Give me heros that love our country not those who seek to destroy everthing that is good and decent.
Jerry Rider
Jerry, you are right on brother man! Where in the heck is the ship heading… no oars, no rudder and no captain!?!