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Video: The Award for Best Live-Action Short By a Hyper Lunatic Goes to ... Lady Gaga Giving Birth to a Machine Gun

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Videos | Comments (16)

ladygagamachinegun.jpg

One of the sad realities of the short-form medium is that so few people watch them. Even Oscar-nominated shorts are going to be seen by fewer people than a “Party Down” episode during its first run. It’s a shame, too, and you’d think that in our ADD society, the short-form medium would be a bigger draw.

How do we change that? Maybe Lady Gaga, who with her music video for “Born This Way” has created something more interesting than most of what you’ll find at your local multiplex. Putting aside the woman’s music and personae, she makes a mean music video, an art form sorely lacking since Spike Jonze and Mark Pellington moved to feature films.

The video for “Born This Way” is weird and creepy and gross and fascinating and provocative and a little bit sexy. The first three minutes may blow your mind, and then the music starts and it’s more Madonna 2.0. Still, there’s a lot of … imagery … and birthing … going on here, and maybe a little more vagina symbolism than many are comfortable with. It comes from a fashion photographer, Nick Knight, who occasionally dabbles in music video (he also directed Bjork’s Pagan Poetry video). He and Tom Ford should get together and make a very, very pretty horror movie that will make straight men roll in a fetal ball and weep.


(Hat Tip: Southworth)









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Comments

Good AND evil? Where does she come up with this stuff.

Ugh.

I'm so glad I don't listen to the radio.

Posted by: grace b at March 1, 2011 9:08 AM

I love that I'm the source for this.

Posted by: Paul Southworth at March 1, 2011 9:12 AM

It is Madonna 2.0. I don't really listen to Lady Gaga, but I digged the weird-ass opening.

Posted by: Shane at March 1, 2011 9:44 AM

Watched this last night, and realized that the imagery in the opening sequence is pretty much totally lifted from Matthew Barney's "Cremaster Cycle" films. While it's good that she's pushing some sort of envelope, it's not nearly as original as the "Telephone" or "Paparazzi" videos.

Posted by: KXJXBX at March 1, 2011 9:52 AM

Yeah, I'm trying really hard to like this as a whole, and I actually quite like her. )You can punish me later.) I've always kind of liked her.

I could really do with out the opening three minutes. I'm all for weirdness, and blah blah blah...I just didn't like it.

There's nothing wrong with it. I wasn't offended or grossed out...just didn't like it. I'm not sure as to why. The rest of the video is great, though. I love it.

It's pretty visually stunning throughout too.

Posted by: Candee at March 1, 2011 10:17 AM

She isn't really a very good dancer. She goes through the moves alright but there isn't a lot of feeling behind it.

I dug the skull makeup though. Even if she just whipped her hair back and forth the whole time.

Posted by: greenblue at March 1, 2011 10:18 AM

I think it's a good thing I can't watch this at work. I try to reserve my devolving into shrieks and being overcome by the vapours as an "at home" kind of activity.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at March 1, 2011 10:50 AM

I don't know why, but I kind of love Lady Gaga - especially when she comes out with craziness like this. Awesome.

Posted by: b at March 1, 2011 10:59 AM

I love Lady Gaga and the message of her song but...I'm not in love with the song or the video. The more I listen to the song the more I like it, but I don't LOVE it. And the video is more than a little squicky.

Posted by: stardust at March 1, 2011 11:08 AM

Attention! I can see the future and shall now reveal it to you!

*passes hands in front of cristal ball*

Person 1: I LOVE GAGA! original! weird! innovative!
Person 2: Oh I am so sick of Gaga! Madonna! lame! overrated! overplayed! Stupid!
Person 3: Oh but at least she's doing something different--
Person 2: OVERRATED! I HATE HER SO MUCH! WHY DID PAJIBA WRITE ABOUT HER! GRR! ARRGH!
Person 1: EEEeeeeeee!
Me: Ra-ra-ooh-la-la...

Posted by: figgy at March 1, 2011 11:23 AM

Very Justify My Love.

We're down to bra and panties for music video diva wear? How soon before we actually get to see Lady Gaga's vagina?

Posted by: Brenton at March 1, 2011 11:28 AM

"He and Tom Ford should get together and make a very, very pretty horror movie that will make straight men roll in a fetal ball and weep."

That sentence alone made me tingly in my loins.

That is all, carry on.

Posted by: Rest In Peace at March 1, 2011 11:35 AM

Say what you want about Lady Gaga, that her music is generic pop or that she is just a Madonna knock-off. There is better music and visuals out there for sure, but sending a song to Number 1 and then attaching it to something as fucked up and bizarre as this is and feeding it to the masses is a rare talent and for that I give her credit. Her red carpet antics grind on me, but a popular performer so willing to push weirdness into the mainstream is, at the end of the day, a good thing to me.

Personally, I loved this tongue in cheek, borderline satire, take on cheesy 70/80s science fiction. The way she pronounced "infinite" had me cracking up. Its exactly how some major pretentious nerds would say in their bad home made videos.

Posted by: elgarcon at March 1, 2011 12:17 PM

I read somewhere that she wears bras and underwear in her videos to dispel the myth that she's really a guy.

It was...interesting..but I've always been a fan of the montage and not using yourself in your own music video. Might sound cheesy but I would have loved to see a great mashup of major GLBTQ icons throughout history and old footage of the original gay pride parades in the 70's and AIDS marches and such. Lots of black and white photos and black and white clips from European icons in the early 1900's up until now. Or hell, just pack the video with actual GLBTQ adults and youth. I don't really see a "hidden meaning" in this song, so just fill the video with what you're actually talking about. Plus Gaga's fans might actually learn some history about their gay forefathers.

Posted by: scorzi at March 1, 2011 3:50 PM

scorzi, that would have been a lot better. You're right.

Posted by: Candee at March 1, 2011 4:20 PM

I love it how everyone *actually* loves Gaga and simultaneously all feel the need to apologize or at least explain themselves. Makes me giggly.

Posted by: schmerpes at March 1, 2011 5:55 PM