Dark Side of Fame (5F2)

[Reality 65,696]

So I realize that a lot of people have probably made threads and stuff discussing the intricacies of Gaga's new documentary: Five Foot Two, but I just want to take a moment to discuss the dark side of fame, and how that really shapes Gaga as a person and as an artist, and how little we actually get to see of Gaga. I believe that Gaga is as open as she can be. She's true and overall genuine and authentic with what she does and says; however, this documentary unveils so much that we, as a fan base, haven't necessarily seen from Gaga, from the way she acts, to what she thinks about certain issues, how she really interacts with people, etc., and this can, in some form or fashion, all be attributed to her fame and how dark and dampening it can really be. 

Firstly, I want to discuss the way she acts within the documentary, because I find it really interesting. I find her, and I don't mean this in a negative way, so please, do not put words in my mouth or act like what I'm saying is criticizing Gaga, but I feel like she's much more forceful and stern than I had envisioned her. I, personally, envisioned Gaga as someone much more laid back and relaxed about certain issues; however, as we've seen throughout the documentary, Gaga can be tough and she can be aggressive when she wants to be. From her little meltdown on the set of AHS, to the her first Super Bowl meeting (when she says, "They expect me to have like 90 shirtless guys and unicorns all around me, right? Right?"), to the end, where she is really fired up about her performance of the Super Bowl. Of course, these things are all understandable, especially with the Super Bowl, and I know that Gaga's a perfectionist in everything she does, but I don't know, I found it sort of interesting (and a bit shocking) with how forceful she can be. It shows how dedicated she is to her craft, but sometimes that dedication can hurt someone, especially when they're already dealing with a lot of other stuff, physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Second, I want to specifically mention the scene where she's at the doctor's and she found out that Joanne got leaked. This scene, especially, hit me hard, for two reasons. The first reason being that she's in such immense pain, and this pain is a reoccurring theme that comes and goes throughout the documentary. Throughout the documentary, you can just see her struggle so much, and I'm no doctor, I'm no expert, but I can't help but wonder what role her fame played in all of this. Gaga's is 100% a fighter. She will fight for us, for her friends, for her family, anyone she loves; however, sometimes she needs time to fight for herself. The physical pain, coupled with the mental and emotional baggage that she's carrying around breaks my heart because every day she's in the public eye, she needs to repress them as much as possible so she can go out there and be "Lady Gaga". The second reason why I found this scene particularly impactful was her reaction to when her album got leaked. I'll be honest, I'll admit, I listened to it when it got leaked, and I know that a majority of us here on this site did the same. When she was just like "I don't ****ing care anymore," that broke my heart because here I am, listening to someone's album when it wasn't even officially released yet, and little do I know the amount of blood, sweat, and tears she took to make this album. Now, some might be saying "Oh, it only leaked a week early, it's not a big deal. Gaga even said she doesn't care," but you can tell she does. It pains her because she just wants things to run as smoothly as possible, and in the way they were intended, and for me, for anyone, to just listen to her album before she wanted us to, in hindsight, is so disrespectful to the artist.

Lastly, I want to mention another scene in the documentary. Well, it's not really a "scene," but it was Gaga's own commentary. During the montage of her shooting her Vanity Fair photoshoot, her monologue and commentary was really interesting to me. Here she talks about how she wants to elevate things, and how she's trying to elevate things, but in the end, she cannot elevate them enough to the point at which she can become "Lady Gaga". This is my own interpretation, but I think here she's talking about the "Lady Gaga" that took the world by storm, the 'Gaga' everyone knows and the one that everyone expects her to be. She talks about how she can send a deep and meaningful message without having all the wigs and costumes and stuff, and she even questions, if that's not the case, then why make Joanne in the first place? This scene was interesting to me because I feel like it may foreshadow Gaga's career path going forward. Now, am I saying that she's going to end all the costumes and wigs and stuff? Of course not, I mean, have you seen the JWT costumes? They're beautiful and over-the-top and outlandish and amazing. She even mentions later on how she loves and adores glam and fashion, and that part of her isn't going away, not now, not ever. However, I feel like from this moment on, she's not just going to wear something for the sake of wearing it and shocking people. She doesn't need or necessarily want to be spontaneous anymore for the sake of being spontaneous. This isn't to say she'll strip back, but in a way, it is a way for her to "strip back". For her, it's about the music and the love she has for art, and while that can be expressed in fashion, I don't feel like she'll put as huge of an emphasis as she has done in the past. 

Now, realizing that this thread has gone on way too long. I thank you if you've managed to read this whole thing. This documentary was just so powerful and moving, and I'm so glad she did it. It provides us with a way to see who she really is, how she really acts, what she really thinks, and it's beautiful. I can only hope this will help heal her in the future and that she'll be happy and healthy.

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

TFM 2.0 is upon us after this documentary...she went full circle back to experiencing the dark side of fame after TFM gave her a huge boost and then BTW took to her to Venus! After ARTPOP, she once again experienced the realities of the cruel and selfish industry she works in. The fans are her only reason for pushing through and no matter what she goes through with her relationships, health, time, energy, etc...she always keeps fighting.

[Reid LePage 4,773]

I have nowords.mp3

this is ****ing fantastic! 

This is exactly how I saw it as well. It was so interesting to see how different she really is from like the outside look of her, but it also made me think about what she was like during the previous eras. She was so different, but I am assuming it was all coming from her now, in the same way it was in the previous eras. I like how Gaga has that sort of way with the audience, you just never know with her.

This is why I ****ing love her, because she's not afraid to show people how she really feels. This documentary is exactly what we needed, it totally reprogrammed by brain too, she's may be Lady Gaga, she's a god damn human!

I can't wait for her to go on that break, because I want to see her take that break, refresh, reflect, relax, and reinvent herself when she comes back. 

LEGENDARY

[Sailor 3,321]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I want a The Residents-esque avant-garde album by her soon.

[Killa 14,404]

It's so ironic and sad how her of all people become a martir of the fame she kinda of wanted and surely knew she needed to be the artist she wanted to be.

It makes it even more cruel.

Agression, that was a particular spot on point. There's something very very dark in GAga

For me the whole grandmother part was even sadder than what was supposed to be. Cause i think her gradmother noticed something wicked about Stefani. The old lady has dealt with the loss of her daughter, meanwhile Gaga is digging all this to her, and to have something to hold on.

There's something very sad, and twisted about all this.

IT's also very perceptivel when she truly is being loose and herself and when she is concerned about others, cameras etc.

Gaga is so special, i can't wait for her having THAT album, i've been knowing since day one for her to completely bloom, i just can't wait for it to happen. What's what always put me at the edgeof  my seat.

On another point she is so, so similar to me, i kinda need to know what she will do next to solve my own issues

[Reality 65,696]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

It's so ironic and sad how her of all people become a martir of the fame she kinda of wanted and surely knew she needed to be the artist she wanted to be.

It makes it even more cruel.

Agression, that was a particular spot on point. There's something very very dark in GAga

For me the whole grandmother part was even sadder than what was supposed to be. Cause i think her gradmother noticed something wicked about Stefani. The old lady has dealt with the loss of her daughter, meanwhile Gaga is digging all this to her, and to have something to hold on.

There's something very sad, and twisted about all this.

IT's also very perceptivel when she truly is being loose and herself and when she is concerned about others, cameras etc.

Gaga is so special, i can't wait for her having THAT album, i've been knowing since day one for her to completely bloom, i just can't wait for it to happen. What's what always put me at the edgeof  my seat.

On another point she is so, so similar to me, i kinda need to know what she will do next to solve my own issues

Well, it is ironic, but at the same time, going into it, I'm sure she didn't know any better. She was young and naive and she just wanted to become famous. Now that she's grown and matured, she's able to look back and reflect on what's happened to her, and how fame has really changed her.

I agree about the thing with her grandmother, though. Her grandma even said, "It's been 40 years," right before Gaga was going to show her the song. There's a sadness inside of her, and I think it stems from her father and the fact that earlier on, they didn't have a good relationship whatsoever. I feel like she constantly just wants to be validated by him and I believe that this is another avenue for her to do so. 

I'm not saying this to say that she's selfish for wanting some sort of validation, but it shows that there may be something deeper than she's letting on. 

[SilkSpectre 114]

 

5 hours ago, M Monstre said:

I agree about the thing with her grandmother, though. Her grandma even said, "It's been 40 years," right before Gaga was going to show her the song. There's a sadness inside of her, and I think it stems from her father and the fact that earlier on, they didn't have a good relationship whatsoever. I feel like she constantly just wants to be validated by him and I believe that this is another avenue for her to do so. 

I'm not saying this to say that she's selfish for wanting some sort of validation, but it shows that there may be something deeper than she's letting on. 

This scene was so different to how I was expecting it from the reviews. The reviews made it sound like her grandma not really understanding why Gaga was getting so emotional but when i watched the scene you could see how touched and emotional the song made her grandma.

I wonder if with the healing path she is on she thinks about the pain her family went through losing Joanne and how she feels losing a friend ( I know Sonja was still alive at this point but when Gaga took the call from her she said "I feel like I'm losing everybody") that she wants to preserve herself for her family in particular. She talked already in the documentary about how fame kills and she doesn't want her family to lose her the way they lost Joanne. I know it may sound dramatic but already in her early twenties she was breaking so I'm sure her family got very worried about her being part of the 27 club. She also spoke at one point about how she was numbing and cutting off her emotions without realising so she could deal with the pain so I'm sure her family did lose "her" for a period and now she's back and she probably feels like she wants to strengthen her closeness with her family. Sorry I'm rambling but I'm just so glad this film showed how she is now surrounded by people who want to take the best care of her. 

[Killa 14,404]

5 hours ago, M Monstre said:

Well, it is ironic, but at the same time, going into it, I'm sure she didn't know any better. She was young and naive and she just wanted to become famous. Now that she's grown and matured, she's able to look back and reflect on what's happened to her, and how fame has really changed her.

I agree about the thing with her grandmother, though. Her grandma even said, "It's been 40 years," right before Gaga was going to show her the song. There's a sadness inside of her, and I think it stems from her father and the fact that earlier on, they didn't have a good relationship whatsoever. I feel like she constantly just wants to be validated by him and I believe that this is another avenue for her to do so. 

I'm not saying this to say that she's selfish for wanting some sort of validation, but it shows that there may be something deeper than she's letting on. 

yes, she has profound daddy issues, and she even said that loud and clear.

He's the typical dad that doesn't really say much and probably explodes sometimes.

Her father is no doubt her biggest issue and influence. Gaga acts up like men in many situations. There's this very deep rooted problem that many catholic girls share.

On the other hand Joe seemed disturbed by it, he couldn't stay still, and he's usually very really calm.

I think it's amazing the documentary dwelved into all this, there's many layers they exposed, that's what makes a good documentary. She clearly wants to set an example and show why people are hurting, and let all of this. Gaga is very brave