Million Reasons - Lady Gaga

Million Reasons - Lady Gaga

Women stereotypes:

Makeup

Pink

Attitude

Vain

Caring

Weak (physically and mentally)

Need to conform to society :

          Marriage

          Children

          Housewife

          cooking, cleaning

Bad driver

A million Reasons is a contrasting example of a contemporary music video from a world famous, white, female artist. This particular video (from the album Joanne) marks a change in direction for the artist as media producers make use of media language to construct representations that might attract a broader, more mainstream market whilst not alienating the artist’s core fan base. 

Representation of the music video:

Angry in the car.

A million reasons to walk away, walk away from her job and popstar life, or from her last relationship

Taken back home, not where she wants to be

Being pandered to

Being smothered

Upset

Hat, associated with cowboys

doesn't want to be found

Other people offer support

The male driver offers support

Black and white, in front of the mirror, removing her emotions, as she has to continue the show.

Friends offer support

Religious ties, "Lord show me the way"*, the rosary, the priest

*ties in with the fact that she is lost

in the beginning, she is rolling around in the dirt, like she is having a temper tantrum. 

symbolizes heartbreak and hope

She is wearing pink representing a girls colour

This song is about her being depressed with her life as a star, as shown in her reaction at the beginning of the video where she is either jumping out of a car or having a tantrum about her position. Also shown by her looking upset and angry in the car on the way back from the desert. While I'm on the subject the fact that she is out in the desert is proof that she is trying to run away from something, therefore she is in the desert. When she finally gets back to the studio? The screen goes black and white, to symbolize her emotional state, which is empty. She does not want to be where she is, but she is being ignored and has to put up with it. Hence the line "million reasons to let you go", meaning that she wants to stop her job.

Stereotypes associated with the music industry:

Only sings about love,

Classic piano and singing,

Doesn't wear many clothes,

Sexualised,

Gender is constructed through discourse, dependant on culture and historical context.

Liesbet van Zoonen: Feminist theory
Suggests gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.
For example how women are portrayed in the media and how they were thought of throughout history.
Advocates that the very presentation of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture
Ie, they are there to be looked at.
Also presents that in mainstream culture, the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body are different from those used to objectify the female body Codes- a system of words, letters, Feminist theory:
Meaning that because men make the media, this is why women are objectified. Also, men are congratulated and given credit for their bodies whereas women are not.

Propose that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the whole ideology of domination 

Suggest the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice 

Advocates that other factors, such as race and class, as well as sex, determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed

Basically, the struggle against male-dominated society.

Notes

Lady Gaga is representing the female gender in this video.
Stereotypes:

     Emotional

     cares about her appearance

    Is vulnerable

    Pink is a girls colour

    She needs support from her "Sisters"

Proof

Emotional, close shot showing that she is crying, she puts sunglasses on to try and hide this.

Cares about her appearance, This is shown when she is having her makeup done by the makeup artists. 

Is vulnerable, this is shown when she is alone in the desert and when she is being touched on the shoulder by the man behind her, possibly a priest.

Pink is a girls colour, she wears pink in the video

She needs support from her "Sisters" she receives a gift from someone who calls her "sis".

Screenshots

Essay

Lady Gaga's Million reasons is a music video that uses many stereotypes in order to represent feminine identity. One example of this is the stereotype of vulnerability. The stereotype of vulnerability is shown in the music video at the time stamp of 3:32. In this part of the music video, she is being comforted by a friend who also may be a priest. This friend is also a man which shows that feminine identity involves being comforted by a man. This could also be included in the stereotype that women are emotional. The camera shot in this example is a close face shot to show that she is happy that the man is there but is also close to tears. A close face/top body shot is needed in this situation to show that she is emotional, but in this case, it cannot be too close or else you would not be able to see the man in the background and know his significance to her.

At the beginning of the video, she is seen rolling around in the desert, like she is having a temper tantrum. This coincides with the idea that she is feeling depressed and angry about her life, and that she wants to stop being a star because it is breaking her down. This supports the stereotype that she is emotional, and can be interpreted to mean that this is what it is to be a woman. This happens right from the time stamp 0:00 to 0:03. The shot in this situation is actually a far off body shot which shows that she is distressed but that she is also alone.   

Many of the lyrics also show how she is feeling and how this represents certain stereotypes. For example, she says that she has a million reasons to leave but she only "need one good reason to stay'. This is a counter-stereotype to the main one that states women are vulnerable and need looking after because it supports the stereotype that women usually leave men and are meant the be unobtainable. This supports the idea that women are independent and can make their own opinions. Whilst she is singing this she is walking towards the camera with a full body shot this shows that she is in a position of power and authority, and she is pointing at the camera, also adding to the power in her stance. In conclusion, this puts a different spin on women's believed identity at least from the point of the media, from the weak gender to the strong gender.

One other point is that she needs support from her "sisters". This is shown in the timestamp 3:39 where she is being helped up by her friends and she is then hugging them. it is also shown at the timestamp 3:07 when she receives a gift with a note saying "love you, Sis". This gives the idea that women support each other and that they can work together to achieve greatness