RLG233H1, Artifact Analysis: Lady Gaga’s music video, “Judas”
By Catherine A.G.S
One of the most popular American singers of all time is Stefani Germanotta, most commonly known as Lady Gaga, the renowned Queen of Pop. Her music and art has dominated the music industry for over a decade, whereby she has sold over 27 million albums worldwide, as well as amassed a huge fan base across the globe (often referred to, by Lady Gaga herself, as her “little monsters”). On social media alone, she has 2.8 million twitter followers and 5.2 million fans on facebook (Hamp 2010, 1; People Magazine, 2011, n.p). Indeed, there is no doubt that Lady Gaga has been one of the most influential icons in the pop music industry, not only with respect to her gimmicky fashion sense, but for her sociopolitical influence in mass media and popular culture (James 2013).
Interestingly, one of Lady Gaga’s most controversial songs of all time was her 4th track from the album “Born this Way” called “Judas.” It was released by Interscope Records on April 15 2011, and soon after reached the Billboard Hot 100 top charts (at number 30) as well as received 156,000 downloads in the first two days (People Magazine, 2011, n.p). In addition, the song can be described as a dance and electro-house song, consisting of a fusion of dubset, rap, pop and even Jamaican Patois. In many ways, especially in terms of its melody and content, the song Judas is reminiscent of pop music in the 80’s, such as songs like “Sacred” from Depeche mode, or “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, which also consisted of the controversial appropriation of religious themes (People Magazine, 2011, n.p; James 2013; Perpetua 2011).
On the left, Lady Gaga riding with Jesus in the music video “Judas.” On the right, Madonna kissing Jesus in her music video, “Like a Prayer.”
That being said, besides its catchy lyrics, theatrical music video and funky beat, the song Judas has received both very positive and negative reviews by the media. That is to say, it has been critiqued as blasphemous, sacrilegious and outright offensive on one hand, and a compelling piece of art and masterpiece, on the other. With respect to the controversy it has caused, the President of the Catholic League news media, Bill Donahue, called the song and music video a “[disgraceful] rip off [of] Christian idolatry to shore up a talent-less performance” (People Magazine, 2011, n.p; Perpetua 2011).In his view, he sees Lady Gaga’s music video as a mere appropriation of Christian themes to produce “lousy” entertainment and to achieve commercial success (Perpetua 2011).
On a more positive note, the song and video of Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” generally acquired good reviews by critics. It received critical acclaim and also was a great commercial success. For instance, it was nominated for 2 awards at the 2011 MTV Music Awards show, was featured in Vogue Magazine as well as performed on many popular TV shows including the Ellen Show, X-Factor, SNL and so on (People Magazine, 2011. n.p).
That being said, the purpose of this article is to conduct a deeper analysis of the music video “Judas,” besides seeing it as merely a blasphemous and bold appropriation of religious themes. Although it can be argued that Lady Gaga intentionally used the controversial nature of the song Judas to bolster its popularity, a closer analysis of this video reveals that she has encoded a deeper message regarding feminism, religious patriarchy and most significantly, religious cultural hegemony (Perpetua 2011;Gray, 2012, 32; Fiske, 2010, 17; Kennedy, 2012, 124; Abu-Lughod 1990, 45; Jo Reter, 2015, 87). In this way, we can see the video as deliberately appropriating Christian story-lines and imagery, as a form of social resistance to dominant religious power structures, namely the social influence of Christianity in the modern Western world (Gray, 2012, 32; Fiske, 2010, 17; Kennedy, 2012, 124; Abu-Lughod 1990, 45; Jo Reter, 2015, 87).
Taking this further, the reception and popularity of this song also gives us insight into the beliefs and values of modern Western society, whereby it can be argued that its popularity is reflective of growing societal trends of secularism and consumerism (Klassen 2014, 5). Looking at her music video from this point of view demonstrates two main points. Firstly, it reflects the power of popular culture to shape our views about religion. Indeed, from this perspective, we can see Lady Gaga as a producer of mass culture who uses popular culture (i.e. her songs and music videos) as a form of power to encode and create meaning, to transform religious myths and ultimately question western culture as a whole (Fiske 2010, 19; Klassen 2014, 5).
Secondly, her video demonstrates how popular culture in many ways is a site of resistance between producers and consumers, to produce dominant cultural meanings. In my opinion, the music video of “Judas” itself represents a commentary by Lady Gaga on the moral confusion and contradictory values in secularized western society, where Christian values still holds dominance (Klassen 2014, 5; Fiske 2010, 19–22).
In the following artifact analysis on Lady Gaga’s music video, “Judas”, two main themes will be discussed. Firstly, I will discuss how Lady Gaga uses the portrayal of Mary Magdalene, to resist gendered representations and subordination of women, upheld by dominant Christian discourses. Furthermore, I will be analyzing this notion through the scope of feminist thought as well as through the lens of Gramsci’s conception of cultural hegemony.
Secondly, I will be examining how Lady Gaga draws on religious imagery in her music video as a visual and symbolic commentary, to discuss the declining popularity and significance of Christian values in a secularized, consumer world.
LADY GAGA AND FEMINISM: DEFYING RELIGIOUS SUBORDINATION
In many ways, Lady’s representation of Mary Magdalene in her music video, “Judas” embodies a feminist critique of gendered depictions of women in Christianity. Understanding this perspective would require one to recognize that where there is resistance, there is also power, or said differently, “resistance is diagnostic to power” (Lughod 1990, 45; Kennedy, 2012, 123).
Drawing on this notion then, and applying it to Lady Gaga’s role as Mary Magdalene in the video “Judas” we see that Gaga’s intentionally embodies a figure of rejection to resist patriarchal gendered ideologies that have historically subordinated women. Indeed, Mary Magdalene, historically a stigmatized and very enigmatic figure in Christianity (recall that she is only mentioned in the New Testament about thirteen times) is the main protagonist of Gaga’s video.
That is, Lady Gaga embodies Mary Magdalene to symbolically resist the hegemony of Western Christian values. Said differently, , Gaga’s uses the religious archetype of Magdalene but flips it on its head: She is the renowned “Whore superstar”, a prostitute that can’t be reformed, and does not want to be reformed (Lughod 1990, 46; Kennedy 2012, 134). By occupying this position of deviance, Lady Gaga not only uses the image of Magdalene to assert her agency as a woman, but also taunts her audience in a way that transforms women’s historical position of inferiority in patriarchal Christianity (Lughod 1990, 48).
This notion is most evident in the lyrics of Judas. For instance, Lady Gaga says in one of her main versus,
“In the most Biblical sense, I am beyond repentance, Fame Hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind” (Lady Gaga, “Judas” 2011, Verse 3).
In this verse, we see that Lady Gaga reclaims the word “wench” or “fame hooker” as a source of power. Said differently, she is symbolically reconstructing a position of shame and powerlessness to one of confrontation. In a way, she also uses the term “wench” to represent a sense of liberation from traditional religious constructs of femininity, by asserting her identity as a “rebel” or a woman “beyond redemption” (Lughod 1990, 48; Reter 2015, 84).
Moreover, taking the perspective of how Gaga’s resistance points to historical patriarchal power structures in Christianity , we see that Gaga is defying the patriarchal rules imposed on women’s bodies, behaviour and sexuality. By revitalizing herself as a bold sex symbol, or “proud whore,” she is promoting her liberation from such constructs. In fact, Gaga purposely uses the blasphemous nature of her video to prove her point: she is rejecting the religious ideals set out by patriarchal Christianity on how women should act and perceive themselves (Lughod 1990, 46; Reter 2015, 87).
However, let it be noted that her resistance to these gendered constructs of femininity in Christianity is not without a sense of struggle. For example, Lady Gaga recreates a scene from the bible, particularly in Luke 7:38, when Mary Magdalene washes the feet of Jesus to symbolically represent her devotion to him. In the video of “Judas,” Gaga washes the feet of Jesus while Judas pours cans of booze on her buttocks. Taking a closer analysis of this scene reveals that Lady Gaga faces a tension between rebellion and conformity: She washes Jesus’ feet but in a sacrilegious manner that signifies both her devotion and denial of male worship (Lughod 1990, 48).
Similarly, the lyrics of the song “Judas” also reveals Lady Gaga’s internal conflict to confront her power struggle. She constantly swings back and forth from a spirit of serving to a spirit of defying. In one of the verses of her song, she states,
“I wash his feet with my hair he needs” [but] “I’ll bring him down, down, down.” (Lady Gaga, “Judas” Verse 1).
Again, these lyrics suggest that Lady Gaga in some sense has an ambivalent, contradictory and even paradoxical relationship with Jesus (and more broadly, the Christian religion), from being a holy “subservient fool” to a “rebellious lover” of Judas.
In her own words,
“I’m just a holy fool, oh baby it’s so cruel but I’m still in love with Judas baby.”(Lady Gaga, “Judas” 2011, Chorus 1).
THE COMMODIFICATION OF CHRISTIANITY
Lyrically and visually, the whole music video of “Judas” promotes a sense of rebellion and distancing from Christian values and beliefs. This notion is supported by the sacrilegious nature of the music video itself, which desecrates Christianity by associating it with the realm of deviance as well as reconstructs it as a mere product to be consumed. Indeed, the music video can be seen as a sort of parody of Christianity that deems it to the realm of theatre and entertainment (Gray 2012, 34). Taking this further, this deviant reformation of Christianity is done intentionally to indirectly promote secularism and consumerism, as well as to emphasize the extent to which Christianity has lost its sociopolitical influence in modern society (Fiske 2010, 98).
That being said, the idea that Lady Gaga desacrifies Christian themes as a way to symbolically promote secular liberation is supported by the video’s use of imagery, namely its portrayal of various settings and religious characters, as well as the general theatrical performance within the video. Furthermore, the sacrilegious nature of her video also adds shock value, which she employs strategically to draw her audience through aesthetic provocations, and which ultimately only proves her intention to commodify Christian themes (Gray 2012, 234).
For instance, the opening scene of the music video begins with a display of the 12 disciples, whom are seemingly apart of a motorcycle gang. The apostle’s sport studded leather jackets, gaudy jewelry, bandanas, and inked arms. Lady Gaga herself, whom sits on the back seat of Jesus’ motorcycle, is dressed in a revealing, “whorish” outfit, and depicts a grunge look with her messy yellow hair and exaggerated Egyptian-like makeup (Lady Gaga, 2011).
A closer analysis of this scene calls into question the way in which Lady Gaga transforms traditional Christian figures as a form of artistic flexibility as well as a means to promote secular liberation. In specific, her blatant misrepresentation of the apostles could only be widely condoned by an audience that shares the same secular values. Similarly, since the portrayal of the Apostles as bikers starkly disrupts the traditional Christian depiction of such figures, it goes to show how Christianity as a dominant religion is not exempt from the effects of commercialization in Western culture (Gray 2012, 84). That is, I am arguing that Lady Gaga’s artistic use of Christian themes represents a form of appropriation and commodification of Christianity (Gray 2012, 86).
Moreover, the heavy techno music and disorderly dance moves within the video insults the formalized and orderly performance of Christianity as a ritualistic practice. The appropriation of Christian figures in a mundane and deviant manner clashes with the traditional biblical representations of such individuals in a righteous light.
Overall, Lady Gaga is sending a clear message: Christianity, far from being a revered religion, is now just another commodity in our secular and consumer world (Gray 2012, 99).
References
Fiske, John. (2010). Understanding Popular Culture. Routledge, 1–232.
Gray, R. (2012). The Performance identities of Lady Gaga: Critical Essays. McFarland, 1–265.
Hamp, A. (2010). Gaga, Oooh La La: Why the Lady is the Ultimate Social Climber. Crain Communications, 1–4.
Iddon, M. et al. (2014). Lady Gaga and Popular Music: Performing Gender, Fashion and Culture. Routledge, 1–302.
Jo Reter (2015). The Story of a Slut Walk: Sexuality, Race, and Generational Division in Contemporary Feminist Activism,” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography (44 ): 84–112.
Klassen, C. (2014). Religion and Popular Culture: A Cultural Studies Approach. Oxford University Press, 1–240.
Kennedy, T. (2012). Mary Magdalene and the Politics of Public Memory. Feminist Formations, 22(4): 120–139.
Lady Gaga (2011). Judas. Interscope Records, retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagn8Wrmzuc
Lila Abu-Lughod, “The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power Through Bedouin Women,” American Ethnologist 17 (1990): 41–55.
People Magazine (2011). Lady Gaga Judas Video and Fashion Inspirtation. Retrieved from: http://people.com/style/lady-gagas-fashion-sense-there-are-no-rules/