Lady Gaga Essay

Analyse how the Million Reasons music video by Lady Gaga uses stereotypes to represent a variety of images of feminine identity.

These two eye level wide shots have been used to counter the stereotype of women being elegant and it humanises Lady Gaga in the respect that as Van Zoonen state, women are seen as objects, not people, and this relates to these shots in how it shows her as being informal and 'unlady-like' in her posture and indirect mode of address. It removes the standard of women looking or acting in a certain way.



In this close up shot of Lady Gaga's face, she has an indirect mode of address, as she is turning her face away, and her hat is concealing her. This shot is used all throughout the music video and is a direct counter stereotype to Van Zoonen's theory that women's faces are not shown, as they are only seen as objects, such as in other videos where you only see their mid section, or perfume adverts, seeing the women's legs on a man's shoulders. This counter's that theory and stereotype as it shows women's faces, it humanises them, and it makes them people, rather than allowing people to view them as objects. The whole object of the use of these shots is to break form tradition and set a precedent of a new way of portraying women in the media industry. This directly links to another theorist, bell hook, who states women need to be activists to call themselves feminists, and this video makes a direct stand against the traditions of how especially female artists are portrayed in the music industry
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Close ups are used to show the emotion of the person in front of the screen. However, in this shot, she shows no emotion, which is a break from the conventions of the use of this shot, as well as a break from gender stereotypes, as women are portrayed as emotional characters, whereas she shows no emotion in this shot. We do hover see the heavy makeup, which is a stereotypical expectation of women in society to wear. This may add to the theory of Van Zoonen that women wear what is expected of them to wear as seen in the media, as we live in a time where the historical and cultural context (as highlighted by Van Zoonen) expects women to wear heavy makeup to look beautiful. This in deeper meaning could be symbolic of how looking how society tells you to look makes you become abnormal and not human, which is what Lady Gaga is highlighting. That women do not look like the real them until you strip all of the facade bear and see the real them, and the shot below is the real them.


This close up shot in black and white is a stripped bear, honest, and raw portrayal of Lady Gaga. This has been deliberately edited to look black and white to show the simplicity of it, as black and white is plain and easy to understand. With colourful layers on top it is easy to see the facade, whereas black and white is plain and stripped down so you see the pure person underneath. It shows how she may be as stereotypically portrayed, emotional, but it is being honest and making an angry statement that this is who she is. She is not a robot, she is a human, she has a voice and she is not going down without a fight. This is a direct stand against as an activist and feminist, as stated that women need to be to call themselves a feminist by bell hooks.  This links as Lady Gaga is a feminist figure, and the media acts as a platform for people to stand up against certain injustices, and this is what she is doing. She is breaking the tradition and standards expected of women. In the chorus, she sings about trying to make sense of this relationship. She says that she bows "down to pray" to ask God to "show me the way" as she tries "to make the worst seem better." She's stayed with this relationship as best she can, but it's getting too difficult to "cut through all this worn out leather," which seems to be a reference to toughened emotional walls that keep her or him from being honest.

This mid shot of these women is a direct link to the stereotype portrayed of women of being caring and almost like a reliable figure to cry on in times of need, as well as being emotional. Stereotypes are normally portrayed as a bad thing, however what they aim to achieve in this video is making clear that to be vulnerable is not a bad thing, and to be emotional is good too. It highlights that to be human, you must be broken sometimes, and feel like you are beyond repair, but you pick yourself up and keep pushing on. This is telling a story of a journey that all people go on in their live son several occasions. This does however counter the stereotype in how it is the women that come and save her, it is not men. This breaks from the patriarchal society of men ruling over women, as highlighted by hooks, and breaks from the women being saved and being portrayed as damsels in distressed to be saved by men, as described by Van Zoonen. This may link tot he lyrics of "Baby, I'm bleedin' / Can't you give me what I'm needin'?", and the man is not the one there to help her heal, it is the women, and that is a positive aspect of the stereotype, as they help each other emotionally, which men are stereotyped to not be able to do.


In this shot we see the selection of hats, which may be a symbol of all the facades women undertake in the media industry, as they have to look and dress a certain way. It is also a link to the stereotype of women being obsessed with women and outfits and their appearances. This stereotype was theorised by Van Zoonen, as she states that women see how the media portrays women, and therefore they follow the tradition of what they see in the media, and undertake that type of look set for them. She states how the media dictates how women should look. However, we only see Lady Gaga in two looks in this music video, therefore she breaks from the tradition and has her two looks.

In these two shots, the one on the left being a mid-shot, and the one on the right being a wide shot, these appear in sequence, and show Lady Gaga being guarded by her 'army' of women, who act almost as a security force. Men are the people associated with holding security jobs, therefore it is a break from the stereotype of men being protective, and women needing to be protected. Security guards are often associated with just being the muscle to protect, whereas in this form of protection they give her a loving form of protection that is caring and is more of an emotional shield, rather than a physical shield.


In this close up mid shot, it is a very symbolic image. it is symbolic in that it shows an actual peace symbol on her arm, but the way she is looking at it is a metaphor for the peace she is now feeling. It is a symbol of her finally finding some peace. Her having the tattoo of this on her arm may also be symbolic of her needing a constant reminder to be at peace with herself, and that she needs to be reminded of it. The "one good reason" is ever present in this shot, as we can see her pointing with one finger. Maybe peace is the one good reason to stay, as she no longer wants to be at war with him, or herself, so uses peace as her one good reason to stay.

This extreme wide shot shows Lady Gaga rolling on the floor in the desert. The desert alone is a wide, vast area where little grows, and represents brutal honesty, personal struggles and also the harsh realities of survival. This applies to this scene in how she is in a personal conflict with herself as to whether she should stay or leave this person. She needs one goo reason to stay but all her partner is giving her is "...a million reasons to let you go / . . . to quit the show." This is what we see her doing here. She has left the show and has left her life behind. In the line "If I had a highway, I would run for the hills," she's saying that if she saw a way out, she would leave quickly, and again, this is what she has done here.