The MTV VMAs: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
According to reasonably reputable sources, this year’s MTV VMAs (the annual Video Music Awards, broadcast live on Sunday night) were watched by over 12 million people. I imagine the majority of viewers tuned in to see what extravagant outfit Lady Gaga would turn up in, and were instead confounded and perhaps exasperated by her lengthy opening monologue as a male greaser named “Jo Calderone.” (In fact, Gaga remained in character the entire night, a bit of mild... Read More
Lady Gaga: Monstrous Love and Cultural Baptism
Over the past few years, the enigmatic Lady Gaga has emerged as the ultimate pop icon. Her outrageous antics (such as arriving at the Grammys in an egg) and avant-garde fashion sense (a recent development seems to be prosthetic protuberances on her forehead) have made her the larger-than-life, symbolic figurehead of the modern cult of celebrity. She somehow embodies both our voracious appetite for images and our perhaps no-less-ardent... Read More
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