We have had some discussion about the ways in which celebrities rise to and maintain stardom, how media companies set agendas by framing and selecting content, censorship, etc.
I want to backtrack for a moment to the class where we watched Madonna's Like a Prayer video. We performed a content analysis and came up with a few themes the video was representing: discrimination, interracial relationships, commentary on religion, etc. The video aligned with some issues that were at the forefront when it was made.
The video reminded me of Lady Gaga's new song Born This Way. The song has powerful lyrics and a video that has sparked discussion in the media. I found a great article that performs a content analysis: Deconstructing Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Video. I suggest watching the video first, gathering your own interpretation, and then reading the article to understand some of the imagery.
The article mentions some striking imagery that contains themes like gender equality, god references, non-conformity, good vs evil, sexuality. (Also very interesting that the author makes connections between this video with Madonna's Express Yourself video).
We see some of the same themes in both videos - a reference to religion and equality. You can see how the two music videos (Like a Prayer and Born This Way) reflect the societal struggle of the time. We have progressed from racial issues (not that racial issues have been completely eliminated) to sexuality issues.
What I'm really wondering is, can songs and music videos by major pop stars influence public opinion and facilitate social change?
Morgan, I love the fact that you brought up Lady Gaga because I think the way she has achieved celebrity is just fascinating. Gaga as an individual is exhilarating, and I am obsessed with the idea that she absolutely has the ability to facilitate social change.
ReplyDeleteJust like we argued that Madonna's videos influenced public opinion on female sexuality (particularly related to religiosity) and race boundaries of social norms, Gaga's videos do so as well.
Gaga focuses on female sexuality, as well as the boundaries of social norms when it comes to homosexuality.
Gaga's videos are polysemic, or open to a range of interpretations. That said, public opinion can absolutely be persuaded. The ambiguity of the videos leave us to form our own opinions, but we do so in a way where we're a bit more open-minded than if we had not watched the video. The way in which we read media text is really dependent on our own past experiences, but I would absolutely argue that it influences public opinion, and in turn facilitates social change.