Can Someone Explain Enigma To Me?

[OMonster 14,720]

The whole concept... Enigma herself, the healing place, the simulation... everything. 

What's going on? Am I being super-dumb or is it a kinda confusing concept? 

Spoiler

I understand, in short, that Enigma is a representation of her inner-self? It's about finding her inner-self... no? I mean, it's so vague and the songs, dialogue and character of Enigma does not make any sense to me unfortunately.

 

[gypsy101 5,453]

it’s bad 

[2008Ga 580]

[Infinity Wave 7,635]

I interpreted it to be some sort of representation of her life.

Like, at first she's all Fame-Ga. She lives for fame, she wanna conquer it, and that's why she sings her first hits (and, ofc, because the GP payed for them ).

But than, her inner self, her mind, her consciousness, whatever, Engima, tells her (so she kinda tells herself, it's like she's speaking to herself) if she continues this way, something bad will happen, and that is shown in the simulation: in the future, she only lives for fame - BDT, TF, Applause, all represents how she just wanna get money, attention, fame overall (Idk how to fit in Telephone, but oh well) - and in fact she soon discovers the drawbacks of fame. She once again has to face the pressure of constantly being on everybody's eyes, and ofc of being exploited for money, and that's when the ARTPOP message comes into full form: in Aura, she is being torured, a metaphor of her previous management milking her to death just for the sake of the money; Aura in fact represent the whole meaning behind the ARTPOP we got, it's there to represent the whole message of the album itself, the message Gaga gave to it after experiencing what she experienced during that hard period of her life. 

Than, she finally frees herself, singing Scheibe and GH, female empowering songs. And do I have to mention the GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT SHE CAME ON STAGE WITH?

Now, she's out of the simulation (or is still in, idk); anyway, she must heal from all the wounds that are still open. And she heals through songs with a deeper meaning and message, amessage of love, truth, empowerment and freedom TO HERSELF in the first place. EOG, Alejandro, MR, Y&I, all represent her willing of being free, of being strong, of being happy. 

Than, she comes back on Earth (the simulation is now obv over). It's time for her to make a statement, now that she found her true self, now that she has full control over her life, her mind, her actions: she sings her biggest hit, Bad Romance (give it the meaning you like) and than, obviously, she sings her magnum opus, BORN THIS WAY. This is the deepest moment of the show.

Born This Way represents Gaga fighting for the world to be a happy and a a free place for every single human being. This is her real self, this is her mission on Earth, it's not abaout Fame or Money or anything, she's here to make the world a better place. She needs to tell this to herself. She is at first pretty puzzled, after living through all of this, Enigma understood how Gaga is now a better person, it (?) now sees her as the amazing human being she is. So Gaga sings Born This Way to herself, and to the world, to make the whole world heal togheter.

Oh, and Shallow is just her giving the good sis ASIB the recognition it deserves tbh.

[Infinity Wave 7,635]

What's more, the whole concept if that's what you were asking, is actually her "meeting" her inner true self, and joining this kind of simulation as an anime/manga style character (that's what the first interludes are about, that's why she says "what happened to my hair, my dresses", that's why she's dressed and styled just as the character in the interludes)

And this is FREAKIN' AWESOM I mean it's revolutionary, those 4K videos really hit me I'm so obsessed with Enigma rn

[LUCARTPOP 5,924]

I thought it was about trusting and finding your inner voice.

[uvglo 966]

I saw it as, Gaga lost herself so her Enigma had to come to her to lead her back to her true self, by bringing her to the simulation of what her life looked like if she continued on the wrong path. the rebirth of GaGa 

[OMonster 14,720]

4 minutes ago, uvglo said:

I saw it as, Gaga lost herself so her Enigma had to come to her to lead her back to her true self, by bringing her to the simulation of what her life looked like if she continued on the wrong path. the rebirth of GaGa 

So the show is a depiction of the 'wrong path' Gaga could've taken?  

Man, I did not get that at all from the show... like, is it just me, or does this whole concept not make any sense at all? It's intention is not in it's execution. 

[uvglo 966]

1 minute ago, OMonster said:

So the show is a depiction of the 'wrong path' Gaga could've taken?  

Man, I did not get that at all from the show... like, is it just me, or does this whole concept not make any sense at all? It's intention is not in it's execution. 

That's how I saw the simulation but i could be totally wrong. I think the set list is what makes it confusing, the interludes of Enigma make sense on their own, but the setlist could be fixed a little to coincide more

[YCHofficial 5,293]

On G.O.A.T.
A Government Owned Alien Territory in space
A birth of magnificent and magical proportions took place
But the birth was not finite
It was infinite
As the wombs numbered
And the mitosis of the future began
It was perceived that this infamous moment in life is not temporal
It is eternal
And thus began the beginning of the new race
A race within the race of humanity
A race which bears no prejudice
No judgment
But boundless freedom
But on that same day
As the eternal mother hovered in the multiverse
Another more terrifying birth took place
The birth of evil
And as she herself split into two
Rotating in agony between two ultimate forces
The pendulum of choice began its dance
It seems easy, you imagine
To gravitate instantly and unwaveringly towards good
But she wondered
"How can I protect something so perfect without evil?"

 

[OMonster 14,720]

17 minutes ago, Infinity Wave said:

I interpreted it to be some sort of representation of her life.

Like, at first she's all Fame-Ga. She lives for fame, she wanna conquer it, and that's why she sings her first hits (and, ofc, because the GP payed for them ).

But than, her inner self, her mind, her consciousness, whatever, Engima, tells her (so she kinda tells herself, it's like she's speaking to herself) if she continues this way, something bad will happen, and that is shown in the simulation: in the future, she only lives for fame - BDT, TF, Applause, all represents how she just wanna get money, attention, fame overall (Idk how to fit in Telephone, but oh well) - and in fact she soon discovers the drawbacks of fame. She once again has to face the pressure of constantly being on everybody's eyes, and ofc of being exploited for money, and that's when the ARTPOP message comes into full form: in Aura, she is being torured, a metaphor of her previous management milking her to death just for the sake of the money; Aura in fact represent the whole meaning behind the ARTPOP we got, it's there to represent the whole message of the album itself, the message Gaga gave to it after experiencing what she experienced during that hard period of her life. 

Than, she finally frees herself, singing Scheibe and GH, female empowering songs. And do I have to mention the GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT SHE CAME ON STAGE WITH?

Now, she's out of the simulation (or is still in, idk); anyway, she must heal from all the wounds that are still open. And she heals through songs with a deeper meaning and message, amessage of love, truth, empowerment and freedom TO HERSELF in the first place. EOG, Alejandro, MR, Y&I, all represent her willing of being free, of being strong, of being happy. 

Than, she comes back on Earth (the simulation is now obv over). It's time for her to make a statement, now that she found her true self, now that she has full control over her life, her mind, her actions: she sings her biggest hit, Bad Romance (give it the meaning you like) and than, obviously, she sings her magnum opus, BORN THIS WAY. This is the deepest moment of the show.

Born This Way represents Gaga fighting for the world to be a happy and a a free place for every single human being. This is her real self, this is her mission on Earth, it's not abaout Fame or Money or anything, she's here to make the world a better place. She needs to tell this to herself. She is at first pretty puzzled, after living through all of this, Enigma understood how Gaga is now a better person, it (?) now sees her as the amazing human being she is. So Gaga sings Born This Way to herself, and to the world, to make the whole world heal togheter.

Oh, and Shallow is just her giving the good sis ASIB the recognition it deserves tbh.

I mean, this is a really lovely and interesting interpretation, but I don't think this concept has been well-executed in the show. It's unfortunate that the meaning of the show can only be deciphered by close analysis... I wanted something intricate and interesting, but not something that makes no sense. 

The set-list just does not communicate the intention in my opinion. 

Does Gaga not work with people who can help mould and improve her ideas? I can't believe that this whole concept would've likely been seen by over a hundred people, and not one of them raised some objective issues with it all. 

[Didymus 34,380]

The show is basically Gaga coming to terms with the realization that identity is fluid and expansive, that she can, in a way, choose who she becomes while at the same time never settling for a fixed ending. It's the openess, the possibility of change that is at the core of her never fixed identity: that is the enigma, in contrast to an aura, the aura being a (temporarily) fixed identity, a veil of sorts, but a veil that can be beautiful, transporting and actually revealing as well if, and only if it is a reflection of what's behind it: infinite space.

It is in that endless space that she can be free, and we all can be free.

It's a theme that she's been very open about since 2011, and it's been recurring over and over ever since, it was very much present during ARTPOP. I guess now it's just re-emerged as more urgent and relevant than ever after her breakdown/almost quit experience because she felt trapped and actually defeated by the industry, by the machine, by the robot. This show is a vicious reminder that now, she's in control, and she won't ever be limited by anyone ever again.

Just my take on it.

[andy232000 12,167]

25 minutes ago, Infinity Wave said:

I interpreted it to be some sort of representation of her life.

Like, at first she's all Fame-Ga. She lives for fame, she wanna conquer it, and that's why she sings her first hits (and, ofc, because the GP payed for them ).

But than, her inner self, her mind, her consciousness, whatever, Engima, tells her (so she kinda tells herself, it's like she's speaking to herself) if she continues this way, something bad will happen, and that is shown in the simulation: in the future, she only lives for fame - BDT, TF, Applause, all represents how she just wanna get money, attention, fame overall (Idk how to fit in Telephone, but oh well) - and in fact she soon discovers the drawbacks of fame. She once again has to face the pressure of constantly being on everybody's eyes, and ofc of being exploited for money, and that's when the ARTPOP message comes into full form: in Aura, she is being torured, a metaphor of her previous management milking her to death just for the sake of the money; Aura in fact represent the whole meaning behind the ARTPOP we got, it's there to represent the whole message of the album itself, the message Gaga gave to it after experiencing what she experienced during that hard period of her life. 

Than, she finally frees herself, singing Scheibe and GH, female empowering songs. And do I have to mention the GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT SHE CAME ON STAGE WITH?

Now, she's out of the simulation (or is still in, idk); anyway, she must heal from all the wounds that are still open. And she heals through songs with a deeper meaning and message, amessage of love, truth, empowerment and freedom TO HERSELF in the first place. EOG, Alejandro, MR, Y&I, all represent her willing of being free, of being strong, of being happy. 

Than, she comes back on Earth (the simulation is now obv over). It's time for her to make a statement, now that she found her true self, now that she has full control over her life, her mind, her actions: she sings her biggest hit, Bad Romance (give it the meaning you like) and than, obviously, she sings her magnum opus, BORN THIS WAY. This is the deepest moment of the show.

Born This Way represents Gaga fighting for the world to be a happy and a a free place for every single human being. This is her real self, this is her mission on Earth, it's not abaout Fame or Money or anything, she's here to make the world a better place. She needs to tell this to herself. She is at first pretty puzzled, after living through all of this, Enigma understood how Gaga is now a better person, it (?) now sees her as the amazing human being she is. So Gaga sings Born This Way to herself, and to the world, to make the whole world heal togheter.

Oh, and Shallow is just her giving the good sis ASIB the recognition it deserves tbh.

see, when you explain it like that its cohesive and watch worthy, but the show on its own fails to do  what you just did. Yes, theres critical thinking that the audience should use to infer the plot, but the show gives SO little to work with that it doesnt make sense at all. But thank you for the explanation, it adds value to the performances in my eyes

[andy232000 12,167]

7 minutes ago, OMonster said:

I mean, this is a really lovely and interesting interpretation, but I don't think this concept has been well-executed in the show. It's unfortunate that the meaning of the show can only be deciphered by close analysis... I wanted something intricate and interesting, but not something that makes no sense. 

The set-list just does not communicate the intention in my opinion. 

Does Gaga not work with people who can help mould and improve her ideas? I can't believe that this whole concept would've likely been seen by over a hundred people, and not one of them raised some objective issues with it all. 

This! a good, effective story will never make its audience do research to understand its basic meaning. If the audience has to work hard af to figure it out, then its not a well-written story

[Suspiria 10,683]

5 minutes ago, OMonster said:

 

Does Gaga not work with people who can help mould and improve her ideas? I can't believe that this whole concept would've likely been seen by over a hundred people, and not one of them raised some objective issues with it all. 

As much as I enjoyed the show, I have to agree with this. Millions of dollars went into this, hundreds of people worked on it... how did not one person say "the plot really doesn't make sense"? Clearly a lot of time was spent making the interludes and everything, how could they not make an understandable plot? It's really not hard.