1. Are we becoming desensitized towards death, sexuality, etc.?
2. Should what Lady Gaga represents and her “creativity” be
considered talent or art?
3. How can someone like Lady Gaga be an icon?
It seems that as kids grow up in a world where they are in
contact with some sort of media every day, they are becoming desensitized to
things that older generations would have found appalling. Many stars and
celebrities are capitalizing on this fact and marketing themselves to accommodate
this change. Camille Paglia, author of Lady Gaga and the Death of Sex, analyzes
the fame of Lady Gaga, a “depthless” “manufactured personality” as she
describes her. Lady Gaga is one example of a person that takes advantage of
people’s interest in violence and strange behavior. Paglia shares an anecdote
of how Lady Gaga, in one of her performances, displayed some questioning
behavior. Apparently, Lady Gaga “staged a barbaric spectacle” where blood and
violence were the main attraction. Death by chandelier is sure to get more fans
must have been the thought going through producers and her mind. Much of Lady
Gaga’s appeal centers around violence, danger, and the unknown. Her videos have
characteristics of criminal activity. All this in perspective, she still has
billions of fans. Paglia also states that there is a blurred line between the
sexes. Rumor after rumor has spread
about Lady Gaga being a transvestite or being bisexual or even gay. More people
are starting to accept these circumstances and it is becoming more accepted.
Other media sources are taking notice too. The news itself tries to keep its
viewers by showing the most gruesome stories and focusing on appearance. When
watching, I take notice of how done up the anchors are and how almost every single
one is young and wears make-up. Of course this is more common with women.
This question is an important one because when does will it
end? How far will our generation go and will everything be accepted? Is there a
line that won’t be crossed? These new children won’t have any values or morals
because their “role models” aren’t behaving in a way that’s honorable or in any
way inspirational.
I think you're right that we're becoming desensitized to things like death and sex, and I don't think that could ever be a good thing. When you mentioned the news showing gruesome violence I thought about how I react to seeing those things. It's surprising to admit that it doesn't really affect me at all when there's a news headline "38 people dead" from whatever terrible event that took place. I think the media has definitely desensitized us and distanced our emotions from reality. I think your last paragraph is right on point. Younger children are maturing far faster than I did at their age. I see kids in middle school doing drugs, drinking, and wearing overly revealing clothing, when I was outside playing tag or building forts.
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