In Defense Of Telephone – OR – What Exactly Is Sandy Rios So Worked Up About?
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 27, 2010
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Gaga fan. But fan or no, I’m not actually writing this post as a person who loves the Lady. This is a response to the bashing Lady Gaga’s Telephone video has been getting in the media. Bashing which is so unwarranted that it’s caused me to go on a tirade to anyone who will listen. And yes, at this point it’s almost a “so what?” but at the same time, I’ve got this blog and rather than repeating these same points over and over I’ll take it to the web, where at least I can accentuate my points with exhibits that I can write funny captions for.
So Much Scandal, So Little Bandwidth
I would like to present the case that absolutely nothing in Telephone can’t already be found in pre-existing mainstream media – media which, I might add, is often far more exploitative of women and far more pointlessly violent, and pointlessly pornographic. I would also like to illustrate how many of the Telephone images that are being isolated and vilified have, in other contexts and for other artists, been celebrated. My question is – are we honestly going to crucify a woman who creates a video that is a veritable homage to Tarantino films just weeks after nominating him for Hollywood’s highest honor without someone crying hypocrisy? What’s REALLY going on here?
