We all know that shocking the US television audience is the way to notoriety and fame. There was a time when pure musical talent and skill got you rich and famous but that doesn't work as well anymore. The more risqué and inappropriate according to norm the more likely it will get you the attention and boost your career needs, specially if you are lacking in real talent!
In the 1980s Madonna understood that, she broke all rules of public decency and propriety with 'Like a virgin', she pushed limits of acceptable display of sexuality and nudity to kickstart her career, everytime she felt ignored she went one step further towards obscenity and got success and fame as a result.
Her legacy has been kept alive by various desperate starlets over the years like Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Rihanna to name a few. They used the same tactics and it worked for most of them. All they needed was to put on a shocking sexually charged performance and their faces hit the front pages. Many more tried the same tricks, some were successful while others failed miserably, remember Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction for example.
Then in 2008 came Lady Gaga, she took Madonna's shock system to a whole new level! She decided to hide her face behind ghastly masks while showing pretty much every thing else at first. So it was sexuality presented with a touch of intrigue, leading to her fast climb to fame and fortune. She regularly put on extravagant and disturbingly weird performances on all award shows, keeping her audience hooked. She reinforced the drama by wearing the strangest and skimpiest outfits whenever and wherever possible. It was working superbly for her. She was probably planning to ride that wave for while. She seemed to know exactly how to gradually push the envelope on propriety and yet get away with it, she was in control.
But suddenly Miley Cyrus happened. Yes the same young country singer pushed to the forefront of teen music with a nice big nudge from dad Billy Ray Cyrus. Unfortunately it appears that nudge was way too much for her to handle, leading to the total disintegration of the teen darling and her transformation into the sex crazed industry rebel. Starting off at the MTV music awards 2013 gyrating with tacky old Robin Thicke on the stage and sticking out her disturbingly long tongue made her the 'twerking' sensation of the world! If anyone thought that was it, they were in for a huge surprise, yes I am talking about the video to her new single 'Wrecking ball'. After seeing her swinging buck naked on a wrecking ball, there is little left to imagination.
That is where I see Lady Gaga facing a huge dilemma, what to do next? Once all of the clothes have come off, what is left to show or shock the world?
No wonder actual artists like Annie Lennox have spoken up and called these acts pornographic.
Here is an excerpt of her post on her Facebook page "I have to say that I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos," she wrote. "You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment …
"It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low. Their assumption seems to be that misogyny – utilised and displayed through oneself – is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and YouTube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetised form of self harm."
So far Lady Gaga is dabbling in different cheap versions of her trashy and obscene performances to date, and it might be it unless of course the FCC decides to just drop the laws on Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts, which are pretty much ignored anyway.
P.S: I was going to post pics to go along with the post, but decided against it. Just didn't feel right.
FCC Federal Communication Commission (Laws on Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts)
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