LADY GAGA
Lady Gaga is a phenomenon in and of herself. Her manipulation of a variety of digital media and technology plays an integral role in her ability to have direct contact with her fans, transform her identity, and to control her image.
Social Media:
Music:
- itunes
- cd's
- albums
- ipod application
- video games
- range of Gaga earbuds
- interviews
- award shows
- tours
- music videos
- appearances
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| Lady Gaga and LCD glasses |
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| Gaga and her earbuds |
· "By creating a new fictional storyworld to play in, Lady Gaga has yet another tool in her media arsenal and by making sure that each platform iteration of her music is a significantly different package than any other, the audience isn’t getting bored." -The Social Robot
Powerpoint demonstration to illustrate her manipulation of various media.
This project was quite enjoyable to create, as finding "scholarly" or academic articles on Lady Gaga were far and few between and was a challenge. In fact, some of the most interesting information came from tabloid media outlets, which offered the chance to take that information and turn it into a topic of scholarly context. I found many useful websites that proposed theories on Gaga concerning a wide range of topics, from gender to sociology, to economics to technological debates, to psychology.
Whether we like it or not, or agree with her tactics, the persona that Stefani Germanotta has created to be Lady Gaga continues to escalate on a global scale. And the woman behind this rocketing pop-vehicle continues to prove to be calculating, and is very aware of her use of technology.
9 comments:
It's kind of interesting to look at Lady Gaga not just as a cultural phenomenon of sorts, but also as an artist and self-promoter. She does seem to have a wide variety of objects and technologies that she uses and manages to make her own somehow. Looking at her as in an research-oriented way is neat, because it's so different from how we generally view her in everyday life.
I know that I get caught up in the hype around Lady Gaga, and honestly it made me dislike her. I find self-promoters a little sickening, actually. I really had no idea that she was entirely self-made through the use of social media, so I guess I dislike her less. I don't like her music any more than before, but I think her success really speaks to the amount of power Web 2.0 and new media really have.
I feel that Gaga is quite a strong women to launch her self through these social mediums. I also wonder will there be a point when the media begins to decline and perhaps she will too, and will have to redefine her structure...
I agree with Kate, and find it interesting to view Lady Gaga in terms of a self-made artist. And, I agree with Hillary, that knowing now how she has radically boosted her career utilizing technology, makes her seem slightly admirable.
Also, I think that the quote you included from Social Robot, is a very important one. It seemed like overnight she became a huge pop-star, and it seemed like it was an easy transition, but it also seems as though she's gone through great care to make sure she (her persona) plays to her audience. And she uses readably available technology to do this.
It may seem absurd to even think that Lady Gaga can be considered "scholarly." However, after reading your post, I am eager to hear your thoughts about her prevalence in media. I like the way she takes advantage of social medium and technology to promote herself.
I would agree with Hillary, in terms that she does utilize and speak out to the power of Web 2.0 and the influence that media has on us. Instead of letting technology push her back, she certainly adapts to it well, and represents it through her work in a profound manner.
I personally think it's still too early to define who Lady Gaga is because even she contradicts herself sometime as you mentioned in your presentation today. I absolutely love lady gaga, but I don't know if she defines herself in a certain way. I think she is still thriving and becoming more powerful, and her artist identity is still developing.
I always looked at Lady Gaga as a women who struggled with her identity. There was even a time where I thought she was born a man, because those were the rumors circulating through the media. After your presentation today, I must say I take her artistry much more serious, and the way she uses technology and different mediums is revelating in the 21st century
The hype seems to be that she has studied art and artists, media and pop culture and was also insanely ambitious and living in New York. She worked hard. Can any human keep it up? Perhaps Madonna can mentor her!
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