Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” and Post-Modernism

a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.

Post-Modernism• Baudrilliard and Lyotard believe that the idea of truth

needs to be deconstructed so that we can challenge the dominant ideas that people claim as truth, which Lyotard describes as “grand-narratives”.

• Media texts makes visible and challenge ideas of truth and reality, removing the illusion that stories, texts or images can ever accurately or neutrally reproduce reality or truth.

• In order to show Post-Modernism bright colours, intertextuality, and comic strip references are used along with many other conventions. These try and show that though something can be replicated, it doesn’t make it realistic or the truth.

Intertextuality

The use of Tarrantino’s “Pussy Wagon” from Kill Bill in her music video is referring to another media text so is intertextuality- a convention linking to post-modernism.

Beyonce plays a character called “Honey Bun” and is shown eating and then throwing away a Honey Bun. This is a diret reference to Honey Bunny from Pulp Fiction (another Tarrantino classic)

In her previous video “Paparazzi” she kills her husband and is now entering a “Prison for B#??£$” as a result of that, this shows intertextuality as she is referencing one of her earlier videos.

Andy Warhol Type Inspiration

The whole Diet Coke Cans acting as hair rollers is very Andy Warhol-esque. Its eccentric and bold and is using an item for something it wasn’t initially meant to be used for. The rest of her outfit is then very rock chick and relatively raunchy and alludes to her being “bad”, of course matching the prison setting.

There are a lot of primary colours in this scene of the music video which pertain to Andy Warhol’s signature use of the primary colours. The way she is styled could be seen as similar to his work. (bright hair and clashing colours surrounding. Her look could be seen as a pastiche of Marilyn Monroe with Pastiches being common in post-Modernism texts.

Comic Book/Strip Influence (Warhol again?)

This scene screams Post-Modernism. Not only is the font bold and in primary colours (linking to work of Andy Warhol) and in a comic book fashioned font it is also challenging eras prior to the 60s. She is making a sandwich- the stereotypical trait of a well behaved housewife. However, she is in a relatively revealing apron and is dressed up and is almost making fun of the age old saying. This not only links to Post-Modernism but also Feminism and Post-Feminism.

This cartoon/comic book theme is then carried out into the diner scene with Beyonce and her boyfriend. The smack is not only objectification to the random woman but also shows the comic type theme in this section of the video how everything is so outrageous and overly exaggerated. POP ART!

Challenging the Truth/Reality

In “real-life” prison you would not be allowed to wear sunglasses made out of lit cigarettes. You wouldn’t be allowed sunglasses or cigarettes at all, nor would you be allowed to wear your own clothing in the way that she does.

They would also not be allowed any physical contact, especially not sexual like the kiss shown here is. Again, this is so far from the truth and shows that just because it can be portrayed, doesn’t mean its necessarily the truth.

Again, an outfit like this would not be allowed in a prison so challenges the truth. The colours are again, primary (yellow) and could perhaps link to Post-Modernism in the sense that it is bright and going against the norm- which basically sums up Lady Gaga.