If you’re looking for a quick study break and would enjoying watching Stefani Germanotta dump Honey Nut Cheerios all over herself, then you should absolutely give up 14 minutes of your life to watch her new video. For 13 minutes and 51 seconds she takes the viewer on a journey through an insane asylum, blows up a few cars, performs in the streets, and shows off some excellent dance moves. Now if I told you Stefani Germanotta also goes by the name Mother Monster would this start to make more sense?
Lady Gaga’s newest video “Marry the Night” has been long awaited by her adoring fans. The video was directed by Gaga herself and is allegedly an autobiography. After translating the French subtitles, pausing at various times throughout the video placing which stage of her life she was in, and staring at the writing on her hand in the final scene, I believe I finally grasped the general concept. It is not likely anyone will understand what Gaga alone knows about the video, but interpretation will run wild. That however is what adds appeal to these unique videos, Gaga brilliantly takes a simple music video and turns it into a magical production that everyone wants to comprehend.
What the Haus of Gaga has confirmed is that the video reflects the worst day of Gaga’s life when Def Jam dropped her. A devastated Gaga shows her transformation, dying her hair to blonde and starting all over again in a humble dance studio. Through confusing back flashes and lots of dancing the music ends with Gaga showing she has a meeting with Interscope, her current label. The part people will most likely find the most confusing is what Lady Gaga was trying to convey in the first 8 minutes of the video, before any music started playing (yes the music does not start until 8 minutes into the video). Gaga is clearly in an insane asylum after some type of surgery and claims she is going to be a star because she has nothing left to lose. What type of surgery she had or why she was in the asylum is a mystery. The closing of the video itself can also be open to interpretation. It is Gaga dressed as herself as we know her now, surrounded by fire. I believe this is symbolizing the end of her transformation and her making it as a star, but chances are that interpretation is wrong, or at least not as complex as Gaga intended.
Although people will tear down the video for being 14 minutes long, and interpretation will be loose until Gaga herself explains the true meanings, it is undeniable she is brilliant. The fan base she has created and the hype around anything she does has created the mega-star she is today. And although clearly devastated by the denial of Def Jam, if anything this video shows us that everything happens for a reason. So little monsters put your paws up, put down the books, and devote 15 minutes of your life to this video and see what interpretations you can come up with. Then inevitably Google “meaning of Marry the Night” and see what Stefani has to say about it.