People who seek out fame broadly split up into two categories – celebrities and people in showbiz. Celebrities tend to simply be media fodder, buffeted around between media trends and what their agent tells them. They usually neither have a skill nor have they grafted in a media job to launch them, any work they get usually coming after the fact of their fame and trading on their celebrity status (often before this is even properly established). There is a never ending stream of early twenty-somethings ready to follow this path to their 15 minutes (a phrase becoming more literal each day). Big Brother contestants seem the most obvious example, but in the music world there are hundreds of people ready to go down the churn and burn route each day.
People in showbiz though act differently, as the name suggests treating it as a business. Their agents are advisors who work for them, the media is a tool to be used with caution, not something to throw everything at in the hope of attention. Though in pop this has become an almost extinct breed, Lady Gaga would, for me, be in this category. She is not just shouting “Look at me!”, but controlling the media with heavily calculated stunts – and we love her for it.
The problem with her Meat Bikini stunt calculation though, is that it was all too obviously a calculation. Nobody is left in any doubt that it was worn to cause maximum controversy…but with no real purpose. When asked directly by Ellen what the meaning was she replied:
“[I]t has many interpretations but for me this evening if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on own bones. And, I am not a piece of meat.”
So…there was no clearly articulated message, no political stance, just a some vague message that is barely a fig leaf for the fact it was all just for column inches.
The lack of a cause behind this, makes this just another “outrageous” dress Lady Gaga is wearing….and that’s old news. For the past year people have been talking about this, and it’s now become the norm. While seeing what she’s wearing as you flick through the celebrity pages of a paper might be interesting, having it thrust upon you as a main news story leaves Gaga feeling heavily over exposed.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing is that this is so close to a political cause. At first sight most people thought this was a political message…only to find out it was not. To be so close to a political image, and then to not make any comment will leave a lot of people thinking Lady Gaga is almost dedicated to being vacuous.
This would be a misunderstanding. Her latest stunt was always sure to get a media outcry and a huge platform…where it went wrong is that it’s being met with a response of “meh” from the public – it makes them feel like she is a celebrity.
Kaushik
September 19, 2010
Good post. I love how you differenciated between showbiz and celeb-life. I agree 100% with what you posted there. But i’m not too sure if GaGa actually falls under showbiz. To me, everything she has done so far, right from stepping out of a pool in one of her early videos to the recent meat bikini seems like well calculated stunts. I have to say though, that the way she goes about it is good. She keeps herself in the media, and that is important for a popstar, especially these days when retention in pop has become the competition. Popstars like Rihanna should just take a long break and come back. It feels like they are milking their success, and that leaves people like me with no respect for them. I’m glad GaGa decided to take a little time off music and come back with a proper album next year. Until then, she’ll find a safe place for herself on tabloids everywhere.
Cheers