The Mistress was always there

[Petie Estie 5,646]

y'all she has been doing various metaphors for the same ideas her entire career that's all that is lol 

[Ladle Ghoulash 46,556]

1 hour ago, Petie Estie said:

y'all she has been doing various metaphors for the same ideas her entire career that's all that is lol 

And people can enjoy stitching them together given that she’s now established or revealed a narrative framework for them 👍

[Ultimecia 6,613]

1 hour ago, Petie Estie said:

y'all she has been doing various metaphors for the same ideas her entire career that's all that is lol 

[bxr 1,809]

3 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

“Find my clone, she’s asleep on the ceiling…”

 

Obviously a tangential association, but interesting to think about how the Paper Magazine shoot explored the dualism of Gaga both as cyborg and fully human, especially in the context of Maria’s character in Metropolis: a warm hearted innocent with a deep sense of compassion and revolutionary potential cloned by the ruling class to stoke a rebellion to justify increased consolidation of power. Obviously not all of that maps onto Gaga’s persona on a meta level, but I think it does tie into something Gaga has discussed and explored frequently: self-objectification. In what way does the exploitative system of commercial capitalism encourage us to objectify ourselves in pursuit of success and self-actualization (a narrative which I think also maps pretty cleanly on the dynamic between EtherealGa and the Mistress as innocent Maria and ***** of Babylon Maria).

Clean (obviously, in the key of “even if that‘s not how it was written, thus is how it could potentially read“) … and, obviously, neither here nor there, just salt grain musings into the airwaves, but the MariAlice hybrid (“You are not,” “and neither is my name,” etc.) surfaced with a fervor on the blink …

Spoiler

but I think it does tie into something Gaga has discussed and explored frequently: self-objectification. In what way does the exploitative system of commercial capitalism encourage us to objectify ourselves in pursuit of success and self-actualization (a narrative which I think also maps pretty cleanly on the dynamic between EtherealGa and the Mistress as innocent Maria and ***** of Babylon Maria)

 

Also, there is something that feels necessarily subtle but significant all the same in Gaga‘s middle class nativity … the definitive american bourgeoisie … and to straddle that through capitalist stardom … not rags to riches, not born with an intergenerational silver spoon, but upper middle with precarious privilege … whatever class identity means within context … that hybrid identity within the class hierarchy feels proximal to the working class association, maybe

And the Paper Magazine scene … to bridge cerebral cybernetics and mistresses of the mind … by way of those gotham niche iconographic breakers of the internet 

Edited 17 hours ago by bxr

[BeyonkaAte 809]

10 hours ago, warhol killah said:

All this discourse about that reminds me of this video!

 

Came here to post this! so glad you did

[Julien Lockhart 832]

Mistress of mayhem wasn't even a thing right after disease lmao that idea came later for abracadabra mv 

[27monster27 15,596]

I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet:

[Ladle Ghoulash 46,556]

32 minutes ago, Julien Lockhart said:

Mistress of mayhem wasn't even a thing right after disease lmao that idea came later for abracadabra mv 

…the Mistress of MAYHEM is literally in the Disease video lmao

[Ultimecia 6,613]

There she is, the Mistress in red! 

[27monster27 15,596]

Okay now THIS might be a reach, but a lot of this discussion made me think of the original concept for Applause at the 2013 VMAs:

"CASE STUDY: BLACK AND RED INTO BLINDING WHITE LG begins on the center stage B below LED scoreboard, in a draped black gown (see reference image). The KAWS head turns to reveal a black backdrop (ex.: silk) stretched across the truss of the head. A red torture performance possibly involving artist Ron Athey (TO BE CONFIRMED) is displayed on an incline, with mirrored, bloody glass (see reference image). LG very slowly walks the catwalk to the main stage over a period of one minute and forty seconds. At 1:40 / as LG arrives at the black silk drop, it drops kabuki style and is immediately pulled offstage to reveal a blinding white paradise garden (see reference images), filled with LG performers, possibly floating or displayed on tall pedestals (see attached looks). At the same time as the black screen drops, LG’s black dress drops to reveal the same elegant gown in white. LG begins to walk stage left across the stage in profile over the course of two minutes. As she crosses the torture figure, the dress turns red. At 3:13, LG begins to fly diagonally up stage right in front of the white garden. The song ends as she is still ascending diagonally above the garden. At 3:36 or the end of the song, there is a black out; she is lowered and the head turns back to original position for next act. The exact timing of the walk, if her song is to be preceded by other noise/white noise etc./prior to it starting, etc. is ytd."

[TheFrenchGuy 4,986]

47 minutes ago, 27monster27 said:

Okay now THIS might be a reach, but a lot of this discussion made me think of the original concept for Applause at the 2013 VMAs:

"CASE STUDY: BLACK AND RED INTO BLINDING WHITE LG begins on the center stage B below LED scoreboard, in a draped black gown (see reference image). The KAWS head turns to reveal a black backdrop (ex.: silk) stretched across the truss of the head. A red torture performance possibly involving artist Ron Athey (TO BE CONFIRMED) is displayed on an incline, with mirrored, bloody glass (see reference image). LG very slowly walks the catwalk to the main stage over a period of one minute and forty seconds. At 1:40 / as LG arrives at the black silk drop, it drops kabuki style and is immediately pulled offstage to reveal a blinding white paradise garden (see reference images), filled with LG performers, possibly floating or displayed on tall pedestals (see attached looks). At the same time as the black screen drops, LG’s black dress drops to reveal the same elegant gown in white. LG begins to walk stage left across the stage in profile over the course of two minutes. As she crosses the torture figure, the dress turns red. At 3:13, LG begins to fly diagonally up stage right in front of the white garden. The song ends as she is still ascending diagonally above the garden. At 3:36 or the end of the song, there is a black out; she is lowered and the head turns back to original position for next act. The exact timing of the walk, if her song is to be preceded by other noise/white noise etc./prior to it starting, etc. is ytd."

I will forever hate MTV for depriving us of the full Bob Wilson fantasy. How great that would have been

[warhol killah 8,959]

4 hours ago, 27monster27 said:

Okay now THIS might be a reach, but a lot of this discussion made me think of the original concept for Applause at the 2013 VMAs:

"CASE STUDY: BLACK AND RED INTO BLINDING WHITE LG begins on the center stage B below LED scoreboard, in a draped black gown (see reference image). The KAWS head turns to reveal a black backdrop (ex.: silk) stretched across the truss of the head. A red torture performance possibly involving artist Ron Athey (TO BE CONFIRMED) is displayed on an incline, with mirrored, bloody glass (see reference image). LG very slowly walks the catwalk to the main stage over a period of one minute and forty seconds. At 1:40 / as LG arrives at the black silk drop, it drops kabuki style and is immediately pulled offstage to reveal a blinding white paradise garden (see reference images), filled with LG performers, possibly floating or displayed on tall pedestals (see attached looks). At the same time as the black screen drops, LG’s black dress drops to reveal the same elegant gown in white. LG begins to walk stage left across the stage in profile over the course of two minutes. As she crosses the torture figure, the dress turns red. At 3:13, LG begins to fly diagonally up stage right in front of the white garden. The song ends as she is still ascending diagonally above the garden. At 3:36 or the end of the song, there is a black out; she is lowered and the head turns back to original position for next act. The exact timing of the walk, if her song is to be preceded by other noise/white noise etc./prior to it starting, etc. is ytd."

ugh this performance! In an alternate reality this would have happened with the various Gaga doppelgangers w iconic MV looks at the red carpet.

[PornoDanceFight 1,898]

I think, arguably, the motifs, themes, and avatars Gaga presents in her work come from the same genesis point and ethos, whether it's presented as a dueling doppelganger (Mistress Mayhem)

an antagonistic cosmic force

her personal demons

or her desire to unify opposing forces (herself/"the industry"; reality and fantasy; etc.) through synthesis

And I think this genesis point exists beyond the genesis of Lady Gaga herself, but rather, begins with Stefani Germanotta in her college essay Reckoning of Evidence.

Are all of these 1:1 and equitable to each other? Not necessarily; however, I do find it fascinating that she has always had this dichotomy within her, whether as an undergrad or in various other avatars throughout her career, and that's where I think the real interesting discussion begins: the use of avatars and fragmentation of the self to create a holistic representation of the true self, or, better visually represented:

 

[gagacabana 5,677]

11 hours ago, bxr said:

 

 

Whew, a thread … something about this reminds me a bit of the Maria Metropolis swap … but, might be more of an abstract association …

Maria’s transformation from robot to human is undoubtedly iconic. Over the years, it has become synonymous with the science fiction genre. But before we dissect the scene, let’s remind ourselves of what’s happened so far. The film takes place in the futuristic realm of Metropolis, a city in which the affluent classes reside in lofty skyscrapers high above the murky underworld below, where workers and undesirables live a life of drudgery. When the son of Metropolis’ leader, Freder, discovers the plight of the workers, he befriends the rebellious Maria, putting him at odds with his father.

  Hide contents

If it weren’t for the title cards, Metropolis would look as though it was made yesterday. The 1927 science-fiction film by German director Fritz Lang was released just over twenty years after the Lumiere Brothers presented the first moving pictures to the people of Paris. The film remains one of the most important foundational science fiction movies and is as haunting today as it was nearly a century ago. Here we’ll be looking at one of its most impressive scenes, the transformation of Maria.

Maria’s transformation from robot to human is undoubtedly iconic. Over the years, it has become synonymous with the science fiction genre. But before we dissect the scene, let’s remind ourselves of what’s happened so far. The film takes place in the futuristic realm of Metropolis, a city in which the affluent classes reside in lofty skyscrapers high above the murky underworld below, where workers and undesirables live a life of drudgery. When the son of Metropolis’ leader, Freder, discovers the plight of the workers, he befriends the rebellious Maria, putting him at odds with his father.

When Joh Fredersen learns of this forbidden romance, he instructs the scientist Rotwang to craft a seductive doppelganger of Maira. The gynoid (human on the outside, robot on the inside) is subsequently utilised by Rotwang to impress and seduce the aristocrats of Metropolis. Cue an extravagant cabaret dance sequence.

In the transformation scene, we see Rotwang in his laboratory. Surrounded by impressive-looking equipment, he connects Maria, who is being held in a coffin-like chamber, to her robot counterpart. Rotwang is highly evocative of Dr Frankenstein, the archetypal mad scientist from Mary Shelley’s proto-science fiction novella Frankenstein.

For this scene, Lang drew from another but equally gothic source: the 1920 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, which saw director John S. Robertson use a combination of prosthetics and slow-dissolve to depict the transformation of the respectable Mr Jekyll. Lang uses the same dissolve effect to portray Maria’s transmutation, concluding with one last reference to Frankenstein: the opening of Maria’s eyes, which conjures up that haunting line: “I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open.”

Of course, part of the reason the scene is so effective is that it subverts Shelley’s original text. Unlike Frankenstein’s creature, Maria is beautiful, angelic and highly feminised. Where the monster is outwardly horrifying but inwardly pure, Maria is outwardly pure and inwardly psychopathic, eventually causing havoc when she goes AWOL in Metropolis. Lang’s transformation scene works because it is rooted in the foundationary texts of science fiction. Of course, it would be nothing without Lang’s incredible eye for design and control of filmic techniques. It was surely these strengths that have allowed Metropolis to endure as one of the most influential films of all time.

 

  Hide contents

(Sort of random one off, but I think during the Nikki / Chromatica era Haus Labs tutorial video, maybe, there was the “can you blink with one eye?” Q&A show-and-tell moment)

10 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

“Find my clone, she’s asleep on the ceiling…”

 

Obviously a tangential association, but interesting to think about how the Paper Magazine shoot explored the dualism of Gaga both as cyborg and fully human, especially in the context of Maria’s character in Metropolis: a warm hearted innocent with a deep sense of compassion and revolutionary potential cloned by the ruling class to stoke a rebellion to justify increased consolidation of power. Obviously not all of that maps onto Gaga’s persona on a meta level, but I think it does tie into something Gaga has discussed and explored frequently: self-objectification. In what way does the exploitative system of commercial capitalism encourage us to objectify ourselves in pursuit of success and self-actualization (a narrative which I think also maps pretty cleanly on the dynamic between EtherealGa and the Mistress as innocent Maria and ***** of Babylon Maria).

6 hours ago, bxr said:

Clean (obviously, in the key of “even if that‘s not how it was written, thus is how it could potentially read“) … and, obviously, neither here nor there, just salt grain musings into the airwaves, but the MariAlice hybrid (“You are not,” “and neither is my name,” etc.) surfaced with a fervor on the blink …

  Reveal hidden contents

but I think it does tie into something Gaga has discussed and explored frequently: self-objectification. In what way does the exploitative system of commercial capitalism encourage us to objectify ourselves in pursuit of success and self-actualization (a narrative which I think also maps pretty cleanly on the dynamic between EtherealGa and the Mistress as innocent Maria and ***** of Babylon Maria)

 

Also, there is something that feels necessarily subtle but significant all the same in Gaga‘s middle class nativity … the definitive american bourgeoisie … and to straddle that through capitalist stardom … not rags to riches, not born with an intergenerational silver spoon, but upper middle with precarious privilege … whatever class identity means within context … that hybrid identity within the class hierarchy feels proximal to the working class association, maybe

And the Paper Magazine scene … to bridge cerebral cybernetics and mistresses of the mind … by way of those gotham niche iconographic breakers of the internet 

Before I start yet again my Lady Gaga & Janelle Monáe campaign, I just have to say how brilliant all of this is and that I love the two of you sisters fr fr I think we're tethered

[gagacabana 5,677]

1 minute ago, ****oDanceFight said:

 

These two paired together are like the wings of an angel