Ga Ga

This week the singer formerly known as Cheryl Cole has offered her view on the dangers of overly sexualised representations of women in music videos.  

She points out;

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• male dominated industry dictating what women wear
• women shouldn't have to sexualise themselves to sell music
• explicit lyrics

 We are going to analyse the music video for the song 'Bad Romance' to see the messages in the video about the way the industry operates. Has Lady Ga Ga got something to say or is she re-inforcing and exploiting the status quo?

Lady Ga GA has a platform to make comment and this makes her a star of the internet age. We are goning to use her as the text in exploring the music industry and the wider media in the online age.

Through music videos she is directly addressing any criticisms she may face and interacting and communicating with fans in a way that is opening a dialogue for the internet to continue the debate...

Firstly we will look at how Lady GA Ga crosses traditional boundaries between mediums and platforms. Term such as convergence and synergy can be used. Find examples for each.

Start with the video for Applause looking at all the influences from differing art forms and mediums and listen to the lyrics

• Fashion
• Film
• Music
• Art
• Dance
• Experimental Media
• Live Performance
• Theatre
• Digital Art
• Performance Art

 Lady Ga Ga is a skilful manipulator of the media in the online age.  One could argue that there are purely commercial reasons for this. Begin with the Video for 'Paparazzi' which opens a narrative that is continued in 'Telephone'



Identify income streams;

• Music video advertising
• Concerts 
• Recordings
• Merchandise
• Magazine and press features
• Image rights
• Appearances
• Product placement

No publicity is bad publicity in the age of the internet and we could say that Lady Ga Ga is exploiting the appetite for celebrity gossip and using shock tactics to draw audiences in.

Research ways in which Lady Ga GA has exploited the media in the online age by pushing boundaries and challenging convention. Find examples of the following;

• Overt sexuality
• Androgyny
• Outlandish dress
• Bad language
• Nudity
• Sexualisation
• Intertextuality

Can you identify these in the video for 'Telephone'




 How has Lady Ga Ga appealed to audiences in the online age?
How have audience responses and consumer behaviour  been transformed by online media?

Fan sites
Little monsters
Role model

What comment does Lady Ga Ga make about the music industry?

How do audiences engage with her material?

How does Lady Ga Ga use the internet to promote her work effectively?

What messages can you read in her music videos about;

• Sexuality
• Feminism
• Postmodernism
• Power
• Fame obsessed celebrity culture
• Celebrity behavior
• Representation of men and women
• Androgyny

Apply media theory to her work such as We Media and the Longtail theory.