Postmodernism In Music Videos

Lady Gaga – Telephone

Homage

• There is much homage throughout the music video. For example, the words thatcome up on the screen such as “SMACK” and “WROOM” could be considered to bean homage to different super hero movies and TV shows such as Batman, as it usesthe same type of writing and style they would use during fight scenes. Also there isa part in which Lady Gaga is shown from the music video Paparazzi, making anhomage to her own music video. The ending of the music video is an homage tothe film “Thelma and Louise” in which they hold hands much like the two girls inthe movie do.

Narcissism

• There is much narcissism included within the music video. Lady Gaga portraysherself as a lustful, sexy woman, mainly in scenes where she isn’t wearing muchclothing and is using different body language to show herself in a lustful way. She isconfident in doing this as for example in the scene in which she is in prison, she iswearing barely any clothing and no clothing at one point. She is also shown kissingsome other people and allowing people to touch her, again showing narcissism.

• In this scene, Lady Gaga is beingportrayed as admirable anddesirable with people aroundher kissing her, and feeling her.She is confident and narcissisticas she shows this, and hercharacter agrees to being thisway.

• In this scene she is wearingalmost no clothes, and dancinglustfully and sexually with otherwomen, showing her to beproud and confident of herimage and even narcissistic withhow she presents it, having noclothes on at one point.

• In this scene, the music videoagain shows narcissism as LadyGaga is shown taking pictures ofBeyonce, showing narcissismand vanity between the two ofthem.

Is the music video a postmodern text?

• This music video is an example of apostmodern text as it includes things thatdefine something as a postmodern text, suchas the over emphasis on style rather thancontent, and what is real and what is fiction.Lady Gaga does this a lot in the music video.For example with the outfits that she wears inthe music video and the narrative of the musicvideo, these are conventions of a postmoderntext.