every-comedy-thing:

By: EK Encarnacion

Lady Gaga in Manila (Credits to www.ladygaga.com for the Poster)

There is no doubt that Lady Gaga (a.k.a The Mother Monster) is one of the most celebrated artists of this generation. With her eccentric fashion and catchy danceable songs; she has taken the world of pop culture by storm. But despite her contributions to the music industry with some songs even winning awards, in spite of her charitable works for the empowerment of the youth, and despite her support for the victims of HIV; Lady Gaga’s name and fame remains questioned not only by the religiously/spiritually-inclined but also those who believe that Lady Gaga had crossed and violated the multilayered and multicultural laws of morality and ethics.

Occultism

A day or two before Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball Tour at the SM Arena, several Bible-driven groups rallied at the streets to express their disgust and voice out their complain regarding the permission of the concert saying that Lady Gaga should not be allowed to perform as she had blasphemed—offending not primarily the Christian community but Jesus Christ directly most especially through her song, Judas. In the music video of Judas, Lady Gaga was said to play the role of Mary Magdalene who seemed to show more passion and compassion to a guy whose leather jacket says, “Judas” as oppose to a guy wearing a crown of thorns and donning a leather jacket that says, “Jesus.” But it was not only the song Judas that was placed under deep scrutiny. Other songs and videos including Alejandro (where Lady Gaga played a role of a nun, carried what others said to be an imitation of the sacred heart of Jesus, and swallowed a rosary), and Bad Romance (where she wore an inverted cross and danced in a room said to display symbols related to demons and the like) were also criticized. A more detailed account on what are said to be evidences of occultism in Lady Gaga’s style and songs may be read at The Vigilant Citizen. Outraged by these things, the Catholic Church also released statements urging the people to boycott the concert. But Monday and Tuesday came and the efforts of the biblically-inclined, and “other supporters of morality and ethics” did not stop nor tremble the myriads of little monsters wanting to experience close encounter with the Mother Monster.

Artistic Expression

“Every artist has the right to express themselves” is perhaps the key point of another Filipino artist. He believes that Lady Gaga is a musician that cuts through the conventional and shows that a person should not be limited to freely express his or her thoughts in whichever media he or she chooses. A lot of other Gaga supporters said that Lady Gaga is an icon in pop culture—a part of life that is current and trending, is constantly changing, and is highly contributory to shaping the modern and future world. Pop culture, as how I see the College of Arts and Letters professors lay it down, respects freedom of expression just like Jejemonism, Planking, Transgenders in Miss Universe and all other issues today that may have been hash-tagged one way or another. Members of the LGBT community supported Lady Gaga as she was considered to be a model—someone who resists to be restricted by what is said to be morally right and wrong, someone fighting against social discrimination. Other fans also fired back at the protesters saying that the so-called symbols in her style and music videos, and the lyrics of her songs are not to be taken literally as they can be interpreted in a thousand ways just like any other form of art. And so the little monsters paraded at the Mall of Asia grounds wearing their best Lady Gaga-inspired outfits. They rejoiced that for a day or two they were given the opportunity to express the freedom they believed in, in the most fashionable and rhythmic way.

Occultism or Artistic Expression?

With Lady Gaga already flown to Bangkok, Thailand for the next part of her world concert tour; we are left in deep thoughts, is Lady Gaga a beast that has bartered with the devil garnering fame in exchange of spreading immorality OR a beauty that had stepped out of the shadows and had proven to the citizens of this world that real freedom and equality are achieved only when one is allowed to express oneself without hindrances, without any restricting rules?

Sooner or later this issue will be covered by other controversies. But as we move on in life, we ask, or at least I ask, “What is real freedom? Is it the free will to do anything that our heart desires? What is a world without rules? Is it free or is it chaotic? If everything is permissible, is everything beneficial? If everything is allowable, is everything constructive? If everything can be done by any person, what is in store for each of us?” Let us be cautious in everything that comes our way. Let us not simply judge an issue just because we feel for one side over the other. Let us begin enumerating facts. Let us start weighing the pros and cons of things.

We should ask ourselves, “Who or what should really matter in our lives?” as we continue to pick up and clean every glitter and confetti that had fallen from the ceiling of the SM Arena. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EK Encarnacion was enjoying his summer at Caramoan when all the Lady Gaga-related  hullaballoo happened. Hey, every blogger needs a rest from the commotions in the cyberworld. But he’s back with vengeance. Read new entries in his other blogs. Drool at foods all over the metro at Culinary Coliseum. Celebrate the beauty of places at Travelocities. Be grateful at every blessing at By God’s Grace. And don’t forget to throw him your support by liking his Facebook Fan Page and Triond Page. 

bipolar-alert:

as far as i know marami nah talagang ganito sa mundo lalaking malandi…