Last summer I worked at PLU's Master in Fine Arts (MFA) residency. It was an amazing experience, and one of the highlights was listening to the professors at the residency give their morning lectures. David Huddle is one of the writers/professors for the program and he presented an essay titled, "What to Say About What She's Got" in response to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance music video. The essay was fabulous, artistic, beautiful, funny and insightful. He was kind enough to email me a copy of it. I've gone back and re-read it a few times, and read it to others, as well.
The essay made me think about what my position on the controversial, ever provocative Lady herself. I've cut out a piece of his essay for you. Huddle writes,
"Begat of Elvis and Doris Day, Madonna and Prince, God, the Devil, Michael Jackson, and Courtney Love--here’s what I admire about this lady stomping the digital do-do out of my laptop’s little motherboard--she’s got it all out there. By all, I mean the sick stuff, the sex-slave, submission-domination, addictive, objectifying inclination of love gone utterly nasty. Love gone warped and mean but wrapped up like romance. I want your horror / I want your design."
Now, you may not agree with me on this, but I like Lady Gaga for some of the reasons Huddle highlights. She so unashamedly, unapologetically "exists." I like her for being a "freak," or as Huddle said, having it all out there.
This makes me realize my own inability to "have it all out there." There are parts of my identity that I don't want to share in certain contexts, and there are parts of who I am that are obvious upon spending ten minutes with me. I've struggled with how much and which details to share with classmates and in our papers. I am and always have been a people pleaser, too. All this combines to mean that there are things I choose to share, and some parts of who I am that I just don't want to talk about, sometimes because they're connected to insecurities, or, I don't see them as fundamental to who I am.
One of the reasons I am so attracted to Lady Gaga is because she can say everything I can't or won't, and sometimes more. Even if I don't always agree with her, I respect and appreciate that she's willing to put herself out there to be both criticized and loved.
So yeah, I love Lady Gaga, I loved Bad Romance, too.
The essay made me think about what my position on the controversial, ever provocative Lady herself. I've cut out a piece of his essay for you. Huddle writes,
"Begat of Elvis and Doris Day, Madonna and Prince, God, the Devil, Michael Jackson, and Courtney Love--here’s what I admire about this lady stomping the digital do-do out of my laptop’s little motherboard--she’s got it all out there. By all, I mean the sick stuff, the sex-slave, submission-domination, addictive, objectifying inclination of love gone utterly nasty. Love gone warped and mean but wrapped up like romance. I want your horror / I want your design."
Now, you may not agree with me on this, but I like Lady Gaga for some of the reasons Huddle highlights. She so unashamedly, unapologetically "exists." I like her for being a "freak," or as Huddle said, having it all out there.
This makes me realize my own inability to "have it all out there." There are parts of my identity that I don't want to share in certain contexts, and there are parts of who I am that are obvious upon spending ten minutes with me. I've struggled with how much and which details to share with classmates and in our papers. I am and always have been a people pleaser, too. All this combines to mean that there are things I choose to share, and some parts of who I am that I just don't want to talk about, sometimes because they're connected to insecurities, or, I don't see them as fundamental to who I am.
One of the reasons I am so attracted to Lady Gaga is because she can say everything I can't or won't, and sometimes more. Even if I don't always agree with her, I respect and appreciate that she's willing to put herself out there to be both criticized and loved.
So yeah, I love Lady Gaga, I loved Bad Romance, too.
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