Task 2 - Lady Gaga - Paparazzi - Analysis

Lady Gaga Paparazzi video deconstruction

In the very first second of the music video. The opening transition looks like you are looking through a camera lens. This automatically makes you think that you are the paparazzi, this is coupled with the cinematic shots of the flowers that follow makes you think that you are looking through a camera. The feel of the music video right at the start isn't like a music video it’s more like a film. Then it cuts to pictures of an Italian Rivera style house that it massive and it makes you thing that the person that owns the house has a lot of money and that it is there private house. On one of the cinematic shots of the house some titles come up. These titles look more like a Pulp Fiction style titles. This adds to the movie feel of the video. Then it cuts to shots of in the house and there is money and diamond jewellery everywhere. On the money there is a picture of Lady Gaga herself, this shows that she is the one with the money because she has her own currency.

When you finally see the people in the video they are on the bed about to have sex. They are surrounded in empty bottles and money. This shows that they might have had a party beforehand and this is the aftermath of it. This is confirmed from the shot of the balcony where you see a table full of alcohol and food. This shows that they had a party before the video. When the 2 people are lying on the bed they speak to each other in Swedish. This shows the regional identity of the 2 main people in the video. This links to the wider world and will draw more people
from different countries into watching the video.

There are statues around the house and this represents art which is something that Lady Gaga is big on. She is a big fan of art and she is art herself with some of the dresses she wears. At this point the 2 characters are on the balcony and then you see the guy look off into the camera and there is some snapping noises like a camera and the effect looks like this is pictures being taken. They are being watch by the paparazzi. This is used to show the struggle that all celebrities have because they can’t do anything in there private life because the paparazzi will catch them because they are always being watched. Then in the video the guy pushes Lady Gaga off the balcony but this is caught by the paparazzi but it looks like Lady Gaga falls off. This is done to show that if celebrities are caught doing something in their private life they will be "slaughtered" by the public because it will get out. But on the flip side of this there is the Guy who is with the celebrity and this give him exposure and makes him famous.

After she hits the floor the paparazzi just crowd around her taking photos of her but no one helps her. This shows that the paparazzi don't care about the celebrities that they are exposing. There are newspaper articles that pop up on screen then and these all say about Lady Gaga not being about to sing again. Then the video cuts to her being in a wheelchair and 3 girls helping her. This can be takes 1 of 2 ways, she is either making fun out of people in wheelchairs, or she is supporting awareness for people with disabilities. Either way it makes you feel sorry for her. After a while she stands up on crutches and this is her way of saying that nothing is impossible and even if you get knocked down from the top you can always get back there again.

Throughout the video there are different flashbacks of dead bodies that look like the people have committed suicide and this could be linked to the paparazzi and that they have drove the people to do this by exposing their private life and making them have a down fall. This could be one of the reasons for the images that flash up. It could also be linked to the fact that if someone is famous then they can get away with murder and Lady Gaga could be connoting that this is wrong and it shouldn't have to be this way. Furthermore it could connote the pressures of women in the entertainment business because all of the images of the people are of women and this could be another meaning of the graphic images.

Intertwined with the flash backs of dead bodies. There is Lady Gaga sexually moving around on a sofa. This could be done for multiply reasons. One of which is for the Male Gaze aspect of it. This would draw men into watching to watch the music video. The other reason could be to show what people expect from women in the entertainment business and this could be something that Lady Gaga is trying to promote that this shouldn't happen.

Towards the end of the video she has a split in her hair colour. Part of it is white and part of it is black. This makes her look like Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. This could be done to show that she is going to do something bad at the end of the video. The hair colours could also connote that she is have good with a dark streak with in her. The dark streak could mean that is going to do something bad. Her back is mostly against the wall and this shows that she has been a victim of the Paparazzi. At the very end of the video she poisons the guy from the beginning and kills him. She gets arrested but then there is flashes of newspaper headlines that say she is innocent. This shows that if you are famous you can get away with murder and it also shows double standards because when she was nearly killed it was her fault for falling off but when she kills someone it’s not her fault.

All in all the music video is more like a film in the way it is set out and the way it tells a story but it all links in to the music. Celebrities these days don't get a break because they are constantly in the eye of the public and the paparazzi will be there if they make a mistake. But this video also shows that if you are famous that you can get away with murder and this shouldn't be the case. It is an issue raised in this video and it is something than needs addressing.