Lady Gaga’s music video includes many of the post-modern characteristics. The video is presented in an old film noir way, with the opening shots setting the scene in a very expensive and lavish looking mansion. The typeface used is a fashionable retro style and this takes us back to the old fashioned era. The music video appears to resemble/pay homage to the film ‘Sunset Boulevard’ as a narrative follows the troubled life of a doomed starlet and follows a murderous plot line. Lady Gaga also appears to pay homage to Madonna, as one of her earlier dresses are styled in the same way, with pointy... you know what I mean! Also, when Gaga is falling into the vertigo, this is a nod in Austin Powers’ direction, as the same happens with the 90’s to the 60’s portal. There is a sense of voyeurism as we watch the couple on the balcony through the eyes of a person who is obviously watching them. This gives the video a James Bond feel to it and again pays homage to the films. The video itself is presented as a high and low culture video. The mise-en-scene of the house and the well kept gardens gives the idea of a high culture video, with the video turning low culture as the video turns to sleazy footage, and while Gaga is ‘dead’ the paparazzi seem to swarm around her, rather than just taking pictures.
The music video is a hodge-podge of different genres: Film Noir, Thriller, Detective/Crime, Romance/Comic/Murder/Spoof/. The video has some random moments when Gaga is dressed in a silly mickey mouse onesie. There is also evidence of hyper-reality in the opening credits of the video, this being perfectly looked after roses, with ‘rain drops’ emphasising the freshness of the flowers.
There is an eclectic taste in the video, as it covers many themes, because it goes from obsession with stardom, fashion, money, and extravagant lifestyle, and also other quite taboo subjects that make us feel uncomfortable, such as murder, disability, physical closeness between two people and other disturbing subjects. The music video emphasises the blurred boundary between fantasy and fiction, much of it is exaggerated and a touch camp. The actual video has been created to shock the audience. This is a good example of post-modernism as Lady Gaga is taking risks by producing this video and she has done this by merging the quirky fun elements with the more serious elements. In a very typical post modern way, Gaga is exhausting ideas from the past and putting her own twist on them.
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