Lady Gaga Essay

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


Apply comparative stereotypes and theory in the development of your arguments

Word count minimum 700

Q) The Million Reasons Video represented a change of direction for Lady Gaga, as she then began to target a wider audience, which is partially symbolised in this music video, as it could be interpreted that she took over a new leaf, after she broke up with her fiance.

She starts off saying"You're giving me a million reasons to let you go; You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show." Immediately she references her relationship with her fiance, and her relationship with her career. This could be a double meaning. As we know her ex-fiance was an actor, who felt jealous after she appeared in the movie A Star Is Born, this link to "You're giving me a million reasons to quit the show", as she thought about quitting her career for him.

This links to how she repeats "You're givin' me a million reasons." This emphasises the insecurity Gaga feels about this relationship. She’s constantly questioning the state of their romance and whether it’s worth pursuing. Time after time, he forces herself to reconsider their future together. At the same time, this could link to how she feels about her career. On one hand she wants to quit for herself, but on the other hand she cannot quit, as her team relies on her, as they make a living through her career. The latter links to the "If I had a highway, I would run for the hills; If you could find a dry way, I'd forever be still" she plays with words here, using “highway” and “dry way” to create a parallel to the phrase “high and dry.” Leaving someone “high and dry” means you’ve put them in a difficult position by failing to support them.

In the video, she is laying on a dry patch of land, clearly looking distraught and tired. A close-up shot is used. Immediately after, a wideshot is used, when multiple cars appear, pick her up, and take her to her show. Whilst she is in the car, another close-up shot is used, where she wears glasses to cover her emotions. All 3 of these shots link to how she is mentally in a bad place, but no matter what the show goes on, and she is not allowed to show her emotions.

Also, she continued her tour, despite having a hip injury. This contradicts the original stereotype of women being weak and feeble. This links to the full-body shot, where she wears a suit and a cowboy hat, but in pink and with high heels. Both a suit and a cowboy hat are typically masculine outfit, but they have been given a feminine twist. This links to the fact that she followed a male stereotype of being strong, despite being a female. This brings awareness to how women are depicted, and implies that stereotypes are not always correct. This links to bell hooks' theory that you arent a feminist if you arent an activist.

When she is picked up by the cars, this links to how women can be exploited and discriminated against. This links to bell hooks' theory that women are discriminated against.