Why Plastic Doll is a masterpiece

[Massive Monster 4,998]

Plastic Doll is a masterpiece, thank you 

And I will show you why... 

Throughout the song it mixes 3 concepts which are intertwined:

-Gaga playing the part of a doll/Barbie/toy/robot. Something which is manufactured.

-Gaga is playing the part of a real life girlfriend  

-Gaga is talking about the music industry

And of course Gaga's way of singing, and the production of the song, mimics all of this.

I'm I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I p-plastic
P-plastic do-o-o-o-oll
P-plastic, technologic

Gaga's robotic vocals frame the song. They are reminiscent of a manufactured robot/toy/doll (duh!) but also of her repetitive ear-worm music (Poker Face notably)

Notice how the "doll" fades down to a lower pitch as if she's glitching/losing battery

"Technologic" refers to her as being manufactured but also refers to how music can be made, and could also refer to the techno genre

Open me up and cut me loose (refers to unboxing a toy,  but it's also a very feminine and perhaps violent way of phrasing this)
I come with a purse and new shoes (very Barbie)
Am I your type? Am I your type? (this question could be asked by a toy, by a girlfriend, and it can also refer to "type of music", "type of singer")
Oh-la-la, oh-la-la, oh-oh, oh-la-la (very robotic, very Gaga, remember also that toys only have a little amount of things they can say)
I've lived in a pink box so long (very Barbie, but also can refer to how a girl has been living comfortably and protected from the world before she met a boyfriend) 
I am top shelf, they built me strong (refers to a toy being manufactured but also refers to real life parents)

'Cause I'll have spent too long. Dancing all alone. Dancing to the same song. (this can refer to someone living in a boring and repetitive way, and a pop star, Gaga, having to perform the same songs over and over again)
I'm no toy for a real boy. If you're a real boy. (this is a strong clue that the song is not just about a literal Plastic Doll. Gaga is literally saying that she is not a toy, something to be played with)

Don't play with me, it just hurts me (if this lyric doesn't scream girlfriend/boyfriend relationship I don't know what does.

It also screams the place of women and Gaga herself in the music industry).
I'm bouncing off the walls No-no-no, I'm not your plastic doll (again Gaga is literally saying that she is not a play thing)

To me this is perhaps the strongest chorus of the whole album because it mixes the 3 concepts beautifully  

I've got blonde hair and cherry lips
I'm state of art, I'm microchipped

I absolutely adore this lyric. It starts off so sweet and very Barbie, and then goes dark with that word "microchipped". Referring to control, possession etc Again it can refer to an abusive relationship but also abuse of control and power in the music industry. 

Tell me, who dressed you?
Where'd you get that hat?
Why is she crying, what's the price tag?
Who's that girl, Malibu Gaga?
Looks so sad, what is this saga? Oh!

The bridge changes the perspective. Gaga is no longer playing herself, a girlfriend or a Plastic Doll. Here she is what they face: the public, the boyfriend, fans, critics etc

"Hat" and "Malibu Gaga" are not only reminiscent of Barbie items and models but also of the Joanne era.

And there you have it 

There's probably things I forgot to say but it's a start 
 

[PlastiscGuy 20,870]

Plastic Doll simply is a masterpiece, period. No further explanation needed, but you made some points

[Karen Smith 10,026]

Great job! When I heard chromatica for the first time I thought Plastic Doll is my favourite. And I still love it but there is Alice which stole my heart 

[Meta Mart 352]

I don't get why people dislike it? Just cause its kinda corny and on the nose lyrically? Like its not the only song or even the worst of that type of song by Gaga in her discography, or even on Chromatica. And the music rocks, it feels like such a revved up exhalation of a song. I think it has some of the most potential as a single actually, along with a couple others. I'll be sad if she goes through the era without drawing on the power of this masterpiece for something more!

[PlasticDollGirl 1,236]

Yes I agree 

[HoneyB 27,672]

I’m assuming this was made because of that thread that bashed it? Yes that explanation is lovely and I’m glad you love it so much but that isn't going to change the fact some people just don’t like it and don’t have to. But yes I appreciate the thought and explanation for the song

[high heeled fem 3]

Brilliant explanation thank u 

really good heartfelt song and emotional lyrics.

a masterpiece like MTN? well I wouldn’t  go that far.... cause the music production would have to be different!. However it’s really grown on me!! I enjoy it 

[Cerny 4,270]

Don't play with me
It just hurts me

I'm bouncin' off the walls
No, no, no, I'm not your plastic doll
(Your plastic doll)

Tell me, who dressed you? Where'd you get that hat?
Why is she cryin'? What's the price tag?
Who's that girl, Malibu Gaga?
Looks so sad, what is this saga? (Oh)

 

It can be described as sickly sweet. You can recognise the appeal, but still not everyone’s cup of tea.

I myself find it just cute, but I don’t really like it,

[FentyGa 14,340]

plastic doll is a top tier gaga song and i will not allow myself to be bullied or antagonised for loving it ANY LONGER

[Rat Q 539]

On 9/8/2020 at 1:39 AM, Meta Mart said:

I don't get why people dislike it? Just cause its kinda corny and on the nose lyrically? Like its not the only song or even the worst of that type of song by Gaga in her discography, or even on Chromatica. And the music rocks, it feels like such a revved up exhalation of a song. I think it has some of the most potential as a single actually, along with a couple others. I'll be sad if she goes through the era without drawing on the power of this masterpiece for something more!

Plastic Doll is very special to me and it feels like it is meant to be an uncomfortable experience in a way. A sort of visceral semi lucid experience of am I my own self?The I E always makes me believe she is referring to i.e. or rather, id est meaning specifically or namely. There is a large amount cognitive dissonance, distortion, and disassociation present throughout the lyrics and even pronunciation and tone. Almost as if she’s asking herself, everyone, anyone at all who she is exactly and which form of herself is she currently. I could go on forever about this song. I hear the question am I my name, my flesh, my past, my present, my lineage, my beauty, and do I decide or do others? Okay I’ll stop now. Haha

[Twitter 14]

Plastic Doll is a whole bop. I don’t know why people dislike the song. 

[OMF 3,407]

To me it feels like a blend of Manson’s Dope Show and Madonna’s Hollywood. Both of those artists also used pre-existing references. It’s one of my top 3 favourites on the album and one of my favourites of Gaga in general. 
The fact that it also reminds of Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani In equal parts (their singing voices) Is what impresses me

[HeavyMetalLover 16]

Plastic Doll is a threat to those who threaten her.

She is a goddess to be worshipped.

[Meta Mart 352]

37 minutes ago, Rat Q said:

Plastic Doll is very special to me and it feels like it is meant to be an uncomfortable experience in a way. A sort of visceral semi lucid experience of am I my own self?The I E always makes me believe she is referring to i.e. or rather, id est meaning specifically or namely. There is a large amount cognitive dissonance, distortion, and disassociation present throughout the lyrics and even pronunciation and tone. Almost as if she’s asking herself, everyone, anyone at all who she is exactly and which form of herself is she currently. I could go on forever about this song. I hear the question am I my name, my flesh, my past, my present, my lineage, my beauty, and do I decide or do others? Okay I’ll stop now. Haha

But even in how it tries to unsettle you, it doesn't stop being a killer song. For fans of distorted, industrial productions and rockga this is a treat on the album. It's one of the few songs on the album that has that "dark" gaga sound that she pioneered so well in her artistic vision early in her career. I personally loved that, I'm very into the dark and monstrous. It's kinda relieving though to get a song which isn't a bdsm type of song, or 50 shades of grey sort of thing, but an anthem for tearing down your submissive image. And for what it's worth for fans of the drama she still goes on about her feelings in a really direct way. There's the shock horror that its hurting her, and she's crying out in pain, but you also get the feeling she's in control like regaining her fightback with the bouncing off the walls. She is a threat to those who hurt her. Its so multi-layered though. I particularly see a feminist young girl narrative where she's viewed as the crazy one for getting upset even though the others are playing with her negatively/picking on her (or maybe not playing with her at all), and at the same time its also aged up into how this stereotypical programming like plastic dolls ties in with how people respect each other and informs the treatment people give each other when they're older. Or maybe it's a queer anthem and against gender stereotypes of what's considered acceptable for boys and girls to play with/identify with. I love that there's probably no one answer to the whole thing and that it's written in such a way as to encapsulate as much of that variety as possible. It's definitely about property too I feel. A plastic doll is property, a woman is not.

[MOT 2,944]

Yep. Great song. Great sound and great lyrics, as explained so well by the OP. The overly sugary candyfloss aspects are deliberately so. The idea is to be scathing/sarcastic/ironic, call it what you will.