Telephone

India Arie (singer/songwriter most well know from her hits "Video" and "Hair") doesn't like Lady Gaga's and Beyonce's video for Gaga's latest single "Telephone." On March 18th Arie tweeted, "Don't be offended this is all MY opinion... Am I the only one who thinks the "telephone" video is going a bit too far?"

She then goes on to tweet the next seven tweets on the subject:

"I'm not referring to the abstract nature of the video ... I'm talking about the IMAGERY - the unspoken back story, the language the message. I agree gaga is being her image .. I dig her creative mind But still ... Thers a such thing as socially irresponsible... I'm just sayin. Its not long before somebody does a straight NAKED video. Not like Alanis morrisette "thank you india" like NAKED dancing around. LOLhahaha. Let's be CLEAR! I know it gaga M.O. - I don't live under a rock. And I get that a lot of work put into it. I'm talking social responsability. There's an artist ever 10 years who pushes the envelope ... but its bout to fall off the Table. When is it too far? I respect the creative mind but disagree with the "choices" as a dish meant to be served for mass consumption... Crazy to me that the Dark, underbelly, s shock at all cost thing is a TREND like asymetrical hair and big shoulder jackets. Slippery slope!"

I see what Arie is trying to say but, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with her. In the "Telephone" video, Beyonce and an incarcerated Lady GaGa play lovers on the lam who have plans to take revenge on a cheating boyfriend by killing him with poison; along with all the other diners at a truck stop type diner. The video ends with the two holding hands in the Pussywagon while driving off into the sunset and avoiding capture.

It's very clear based on the "Thelma & Louise" inspired exit, the couture in the video, the fashionably vulgar name of their getaway vehicle, the honey poisoning, and just the overall gaudy nature of the video, that the whole thing is meant to be taken very tongue and cheek. It's just pure playful. Nothing more. The way the video is presented it makes it pretty hard to take it seriously. So, with that being said, I don't know how you can consider it to be violent or dark.

As for Arie pointing to the partial nakedness (which was mainly only during the opening of the video when Gaga's still in the prison), is was just women in very skimpy bikinis. You could see the same thing or worse in any rap video, beach travel channel, or on any fashion runway show. There was no extreme nakedness in the entire 9 minute video.

You can't respect an artist's thinking or mind then attack their creations because the two are inseparable. It's very true that trends come and go, but Gaga isn't following a trend, she is the trend. To say that she made a video with the purpose of shocking at all cost to be part of this trend is incorrect in my opinion. That's just who she is.

She's a shocking artist. She thinks so far out of the box that it seems extremely shocking and maybe even appalling ordinary people. An artist doesn't produce art with responsibility to society in mind. They follow the responsibility they feel to themselves to express themselves. As an artist herself, I expected Arie to understand that.

However, while Arie obviously loses points in my book for her interpretation of Telephone, she gains some for understanding that John Mayer is not a racist. He's just a guy who tries to appear clever with words who put his foot in his mouth.

And on a sidenote, was that thing about big shoulder military jackets in her tweet a jab at Michael Jackson?? Idk.

















Ciao,
Gabby