How do you really feel about idolizing a rich popstar such as Gaga?

[V e n u s 299]

7 hours ago, Modern Ecstasy2 said:

I don’t want to get this thread locked from me going too off topic 🙈 lol but - I think some of the things about Gaga that I see as naive are trauma based. Having such terrible things happen to you, and being reminded all the time how unkind the world can be, can result in people needing to tell themselves certain ‘stories’ about themselves and others, even if it’s not objectively true, in order to survive in the world. For example, seeing everyone as good and believing everyone is innocent, even when they clearly aren’t. And the whole fame thing, too. Fame is not a natural or normal human experience, and obviously she has struggled with it tremendously, especially not being seen as an average, normal ‘relatable’ person by the world. I think the way she pushes “I’m just like you” is really coming from a place of needing to just feel like a human.

Okay that was maybe a little too meta lol.

I think what you're getting at is valid. Gaga is quite metaphysical at times if you ask me  (whole ARTPOP era was meta af)

I understand why you'd think Gaga's the type of person to impose her perceptions to survive in the world. I mean take a look at The Fame era, Gaga would say she was famous already and that people just didn't know yet. The Fame talks about claiming the illusion that you are famous so that you exude the confidence associated with it. I think this is a healthy exercise of using our perceptions to better ourselves. I guess what I'd just like to see from Gaga is a balance of subjectivity and objectivity. I want her to take a look at the world and really get to know it. Not just cherry pick the causes she cares about. To get really involved. Of course, I am in no way entitled to anything. She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't wants. I haven't contributed even a quarter of change to society compared to her. But this is something I think would be nice.

[Sneaky Oliver 22,219]

She was my idol but then it kind of became a friendship. I like her, support her and root for her like I do to my own personal friends. 

I think this is a healthier relationship than idolizing her over yourself and the whole world. 
 

I remember when she said on the BTWBT, something like “I’m not your queen, I am your friend” and it resonated with me a lot 

[nathantj594 901]

If anything these leaked legal docs have taught me today, it’s that I have reason to respect and idolize her even more. They show thats she’s not only very involved in her craft, but she gives royalty credit to others who collaborate with her. And good credit too. Plus, Interscope invested a **** ton of money on ARTPOP. By industry standards, it was a bust. So for Joanne, they gave her no wiggle room in terms of budget. They had little trust in her and her product, and from a business point of view, for good reason? Instead of staying down in the dust and turning into another forgotten pop star, her and Bobby flipped the script and now she’s coming off arguably her best 3 year stretch of her career in terms of her star power. People don’t hear Lady Gaga and only think Pokerface, flaming boobies and meat dress anymore. But she never lost that part of herself, she just showed what else she was capable of. We have the Gaga who can sit at home and raise $137 million dollars for COVID-19 relief, and also the Gaga who can pocket $5.5 million dollars in one night for the pre Super Bowl performance in Miami. She wouldn’t have been able to do either of these things in 2014. But I think down deep she’s still the same type of musician she was when she was singing in dive bars in NYC playing Captivated and No Floods. She just has a name for herself now. And a record company that gave up on her, but she picked herself up and proved to them how big of star they actually have on their hands. And she has worked for every dollar for it. 

[Glamourpuss 29,062]

I probably do put her on too much of a pedestal but that's because I enjoy the fantasy that she creates. I like believing that she's different to the rest of us. I always think about when Gaga said we need fantasy to survive because reality is too difficult. I'm drawn to anything weird and whimsical and I don't like it when she's too real. I want the enigma. 

But as time goes on the more real she becomes and she shatters that illusion for me and she comes down from the pedestal. I need a good reason to put her back on it and have some whimsical fun again. 

I wouldn't say I'm delusional because I know what I'm stanning and what I'm getting myself into. It's all a part of the fun for me. 

But the meet and greet was a shock to me because you see too much of the behind the scenes and it ruins the fantasy. If you're like me and you want to believe in the fantasy, don't meet your idol because you see that she's just a normal person with anxiety and self doubt like the rest of us and you also see how it's a business and you're just a customer. It doesn't feel special. The m&g reminds you that she's a rich person playing a role and it ruins it a little bit. 

[Teal Ambition 47,805]

I feel fantastic  

[RudraCNG 15,088]

11 hours ago, Awrah999 said:

I feel fantastic 

 

 

[BUtterfield 8 41,466]

The most I ever paid for a m&g was like $200 lol

i would never pay more than that 

[Guest]

It doesn't bother me at all, because she earned it by working hard and in a honest way. When i look through the years, there has never been an artist/public figure who has helped/inspired me in the same way Gaga has. When i was in the worst stages of my life, she helped me. She has a special place in my heart, so how much money she has would never change that.

[Ziggy 11,868]

11 hours ago, rasclautmangos said:

I feel great 

She's an entertainer and she's been about her paper from day one. 

I enjoy her music and I find her to be inspirational in many ways, but she's an imperfect human being just like the rest of us. 

Plus lbr in that industry if you don’t hustle for your coin you *will* be taken advantage of. Nina Simone had to threaten someone with a gun to get what they owed her once. When big money is at stake, you either play the game to survive or go home to your local bar. Gaga would be fine with either, but I reckon would rather have safety and security and bigger budgets

[Chromatography 10,186]

lady gaga’s themes aren’t post modern lol

[V e n u s 299]

1 hour ago, Chromatography said:

lady gaga’s themes aren’t post modern lol

She's definitely not full on Post Modern. The philosophies I was referring to in my OP are her ideas of "Art could be anything". Enigma is this entity within each of us that represents everything we do not know about ourselves. Fame is an attitude/perception we can give ourselves if we feel like it. I just feel like these concepts tie into broader topics like Agnosticism, Existentialism and Skepticism which are typically the vibes that Post Modernism give off.

 

I've only started to read on philosophy so if I all of this is horribly wrong please inform me.

[McYves 1,612]

Well I don't "idolize" her. I just love 99% of her music and art and I don't give a **** about how much money she has. 

[Franch Toast 26,907]

6 hours ago, V e n u s said:

You articulated a lot of what I feel, I relate. I think Gaga is a good person, I really do. But, I think there is something internally flawed about celebrity culture. And because of this, I will always find something off-putting about Gaga. Maybe it won't always be Gaga's fault, but because that is the industry she is in there will always be something unethical about certain actions she makes.

I feel like it's a catch-22: without celebrity culture, we wouldn't have Lady Gaga the performer with the public persona she's so carefully crafted, and yet, much of that persona, especially recently, appears antithetical to celebrity culture. I don't blame her for the flaws of celebrity culture, as obviously it existed long before her and will continue long after her. And yet, she benefits from this culture that is in certain ways antithetical to many of her messages.