Analyzing Lady Gaga´s Telephone Music Video

Every day millions of telephone calls are made all over the world. In the 1980’s, a teenager would ask their parents for a telephone in their bedroom. Today, more of the American population has telephones than do not. It is a concept that we take for granted and probably always will. In prisons, you get one telephone call. Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” music video starring herself and Beyonc֢é Knowles takes an extreme take on prison life, sexuality, and the importance of that one telephone call. It debuted in 2010 as one of the most controversial music videos of all time and is compared to movies because of the way it was directed and it’s length [9:32 minutes].

The video starts with Gaga being taken to a prison cell at the "Prison for Bitches". She is guided to her cell by two female guards who are wearing minimal clothing. Once in the cell, she is stripped of her designer clothing and thrown on the ground. A censored naked Gaga lies on the ground as the guards walk away and one makes a reference to Gaga not having a penis. This was a reference to many of her critics claiming she is a man. The next scene has Gaga walking to the prison’s yard with a pair of sunglasses that have a dozen or more lit cigarettes attached to them. She takes a seat and acts very intimately with another woman inmate. It is examples like these that express the general idea of the video, that socially unacceptable concepts and actions should be considered as normal. In some ways, this can be seen as almost mythic, because so few Americans are willing to accept social uniqueness. Being an American is about what it is to be unique and individual. When the inmates come inside for lunch, a violent fight breaks out in the cafeteria and Gaga watches until she is n...

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...a concept that we take for granted and probably always will. In prisons, you get one telephone call. Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” music video starring herself and Beyonc֢é Knowles takes an extreme take on prison life, sexuality, and the importance of that one telephone call. It debuted in 2010 as one of the most controversial music videos of all time and is compared to movies because of the way it was directed and it’s length [9:32 minutes].

The Telephone music video is one that will stand out in the American pop-culture for decades. It will be referenced as the Cadillac of music videos simply because of its popularity. It reflects the American identity as confusing and revolving, a description that I agree with completely.

Works Cited

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/03/12/2010-03-12_lady_gaga_and_beyonce_dial_up_music_video_for_telephone.html