Wednesday 1 June 2011

A little more on Gaga

A few more thoughts on little miss Gaga (she is after all only 5 foot 1 I readJ) I heard her main stage performance live at the Radio 1 big weekend 15 May. Last night I watched the first ten minutes or so of the video… I suggested in the last post that her creativity in some measure reflects the creativity of God. Don’t mean to overstate my case - it’s obviously quite easy to end up idolising someone so ‘stand out’. Even just a little reading up on the woman reminds that, of course, in a frail human being, behind such a headlong pursuit of fame and attention is likely to lie a complex web of needs and motivations. She was bullied in school, and says that in her music she is often opening and probing that wound. Is there not often, propelling a quest for fame, a deficit in the experience of love? A misdirected search for unconditional and indeed limitless love - that can be found in God alone? A similar problem conceivably lies behind the wider public’s excessive interest in celebrities - an aspirational dream of beauty and success, which again finds its right fulfilment in the esteem of the One who holds us all in his hand.

4 comments:

Billy said...

I suggested in the last post that her creativity in some measure reflects the creativity of God. Don’t mean to overstate my case

You haven't presented a case.

Is your post not riddled with assumptions.

What has god tangibly done to demonstrate unconditional love?

I find this to be a hollow ralling cry of the faithful. Is it not also the case that people who seek this "unconditional love" often end up disappointed and scarred?

Bruce said...

hey Billy, I don't think God's love is always obvious. from my own experience, I feel as I trust in a power of love bigger than the human and temporal ie God's, I discover it expressed in many ways. but there needs to be an openness. and it can at times be confusing and painful. a learning process.

Billy said...

Bruce, how would that be different to what you would expect if there was no god?

Tolita said...

Personally I don't see anything edifying or inspiration about Lady Gaga. Quite the opposite; she's symptomatic of our era's celebration of mediocrity and fame-mongering. I think she's derivative and a hack and what talent she does have as a pianist is wasted on what she currently does. Such a shame. Nevertheless Bruce I like the way you maneouvred the piece away from her credibility as an artist to something much larger and profound. I also like the way you graciously handle Billy's objections. For someone so riled up by the Christian faith he certainly visits your blog regularly. Must be a good sign, surely ;-). Makes for interesting dialogue anyway.

Shalom, Miss T x

PS I liked your Senna piece too. You have a lovely writing style. I saw the edited version via Medianet then located it on here. I told my mum about it. She's a Senna fan and also watched the film.