Intertextuality, an analysis of 'Bad Romance'

Pop music is derived from the term ‘popular music’. It is commercially played and listened to by many and dominates radio and music channels however it is unclear what ‘pop music’ can be defined by as there are many sub genres that use influences from other music such as rock and dance.

There is:

·         An emphasis on recording, production, and technology, over live performance

·         A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments

The main story takes place in a fluorescent white bathhouse with Lady Gaga being kidnapped by a group of supermodels who drug her, and then sell her off to the Russian Mafia for 1 000 000 Russian rubles but then she gets her revenge by killing the man she is sold to. This storyline is clear in my screen shots. You can see the many different product placements of things such as ‘Heartbeat’ headphones and laptops, ‘Carrera’ sunglasses and bottles of vodka advertised, there is also subtle placements of fashion designers clothes for example Alexander McQueen’s distinct glitter green outfit and large hoof like shoes.

The video contains some intertextual references, for example, in screen shot two the white latex outfits are a direct reference to the characters Max’s outfit in the film ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. The dancing has also drawn similarities to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and it is clear that she is influenced by both him and Madonna. In a review the Wall Street Journal noted Gaga as ‘one of the few pop stars of present time, who really understood spectacle, fashion, shock, choreography—all the things Madonna and Michael Jackson were masters of in the 1980s.’

It has been suggested by many that she has really brought back the music video and made other artists consider them more seriously particularly in the mainstream, as they are important in selling music.

The video received ten nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Choreography, Best Direction, Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video, and Video of the Year. It won seven of the categories.

The video has also been viewed over 300,000,000 times on YouTube becoming the most viewed video of all time.