Gaga and 'Judas'

With the recent release of Lady Gaga’s new album there was much anticipation about what controversy would be sparked. Just yesterday the new video for her single “Judas” was released, and as expected a firestorm of criticism was sparked. In the video Lady Gaga plays Mary Magdalene who is apart of an apostle motorcycle gang led by Jesus. With their names on the back of their leather jackets they ride to a party at the Electric Chapel. Just like many of her other videos “Judas” has sexual scenes, one of the most radical being flailing around in a bathtub with both Judas and Jesus as she washes her feet. 

Catholic League spokesman Bill Donohue was one of the first ones to heavily criticize Gaga’s morals and actions saying “this is a stunt…Lady Gaga tried to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun…she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself” (FOX 411). The video undoubtedly has imagery and references referring to Catholic iconography. It is an eye-catching video with amazing technology, lavish costumes, and talented dancers that will appeal to her target audience. The song has a catchy beat and rhythm and will be at the top of the music industry’s chart if it continues on the same path as her other hits. Gaga’s indifference to the judgment and criticism she has received has only fueled her extremist visions.

            Gaga’s creative director Laurieann Gibson said that her team went through a lot of trouble to make sure they never crossed the line but otherwise the video does not emulate or offend any religion specifically but rather “its about the inspiration and to never give up. We’ve created a new Jerusalem” (FOX 411).  

After watching the video there are obvious religious reference but I never felt offended or felt like she took it too far, if anything I was very impressed with the costume and set design. The Catholic League did not feel as strongly as Donohue saying “she typically dances on the line without going over the line” (FOX 411). This behavior is very typical of Lady Gaga and she loves to push the envelope. Although there are some people she offends it has not had any drastic affect on her popularity or career. This is video would have been immediately be banned from television years ago but the fact that it has not shows the direction our society has gone in and how our definition of civility has changed. 

The Inconspicuous Corpse

The recent death of Osama Bin Laden was a historic moment in our country’s history and the War on Terror. The question has been stirring whether Obama will release photos of Osama’s corpse to the general American public. President Obama announced on May 4^th to CBS’s Steve Kroft that “he decided against releasing any of the pictures showing the al Qaeda leader’s corpse” (Stone). Many people still believe that no matter how gory the pictures are the photos should be released to the public because it is a critical moment in our country’s history and his death needs to be documented. Obama took his time to make his decision in order to get all the opinions and thoughts he could. Sarah Palin was vocal in her opposition of Obama’s decision and in a “widely circulated tweet, Sarah Palin accused Obama of ‘pussy-footing’ and said releasing the photos were ‘part of the mission’ (Stone).  Obama knew that people would be against his and think he was doing an injustice to the country not releasing the photos, but Obama set up a hypothetical situation asking “how Americans would react is al Qaeda members killed a U.S. soldier and published photos of his or her body” (Stone).  Obama said releasing the photos is not who we are and “we don’t trot out this stuff as trophies” (Stone). Although, images of past dictors and terroists like Hitler and Saddam Hussain, Obama’s decsion is something that he believes is ethical for our country in the place that we are in now.

  White House spokesman Jay Carney stated his argument in what I thought was one of the best responses to this controversy.  He simply stated through a moral argument that “the United States would not stoop to the same level as bin Laden and his terrorist network” (Stone). This is something that people should take into account, no matter how bad people want the photos to be released it is not a necessity and it is not civil. Carney said “the respect that was shown to his body was far greater than the respect he showed to Americans on 9/11…Because that’s who we are” (Carney).  Many innocent people lost their lives in the attacks but the fact of the matter is we killed Osama and we do not need pictures to further establish that justice that was done. 

"Brideorexia"

The Royal Wedding has been the topic of conversion for everyone, especially the media’ in the past months. Everyone questioned the location, decorations, dress, and hair for months. However, the media focused on one particular topic in detail throughout their wedding coverage, Kate Middleton’s weight and her alleged pre-wedding slim down. According to Margaret Hartmann of Jezebel, a popular blog, “Kate is getting a double dose of scrutiny, because she recently became a public figure and a bride-to-be: two roles that apparently make your weight everyone else’s business” (Hartmann).

            After the wedding pictures were published of the royal couple, the British edition of Grazia, a popular weekly magazine, published a shockingly thin picture of Kate Middleton on their cover. Irin Carmon, of Jezebel, believed Grazia was not content or satisfied with Middleton’s supposed “brideorexia.” Her image and her weight did not represent their image and, “ It seems while the graphic designers were designing the cover, they went ahead and took the liberty of slicing at the princess’s already narrow waist"(Irin Carmon). Grazia denied that it enhanced images to make Kate look slimmer; however, with new trends in brideorexia and the importance of women’s looks it is not hard to believe that this “magical slim down” was done by Grazia for the soul purpose of enhancing Kate’s image to represent their perception of how a duchess like Kate should look.  

            This scrutiny of personal image by the media has increases with the huge surge in Internet, blogging, advertisements, and gossip magazines. The media fuels perceptions of how women ought to look, and the media created a perception of how brides should look in their recent coverage of the royal wedding.
         While there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight before your wedding day, Dr. Jeffery Sobal, author of the Cornell study, says future-brides “accepting weight loss as an inevitable part of the wedding process is a problem” (Hartmann). Dr. Sobal has discovered that 2000 was the year when the pre-wedding weight loss industry started to boom. There are now reality shows where future-brides compete for plastic surgery and bridal boot camps. These shows give into media and the false importance of image they are trying to instill in future brides and the public.  The media encourages the idea of being the spitting image of what THEY consider the perfect bride.

            Whether Kate Middleton was content with her weight before her wedding day or not, the influence of media’s perception on image has caused brides, like Kate Middleton, to “feel like trying to slim down is just part of the wedding checklist” (Hartmann). The media influence on people’s lives and perceptions is overwhelming and the constant focus on the importance of image is a disgrace to the values and honors that were instilled in our society.