News in Review – January 2014 – Teacher Resource Guide LADY : Icon of Our Era

MINDS ON

If you came home from school one day and told your parent’s that you had become a “little monster” — a follower of Mother Monster — and that you love the fact that your pop music idol has the guts to actually wear a dress made of meat to an awards ceremony, you’d likely be greeted with some confused (and perhaps grave) parental expressions. For fans — the little monsters of the world — their Mother Monster is a living celebration of our individual uniqueness. And the confusion expressed by parents over their son or daughter’s choice of music idol is no different from the confusion expressed by previous generations of parents who watched their kids New York University (NYU), she abandoned fall for Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Madonna or her studies to pursue a career in music. Soon the Tupac Shakur. Lady Gaga persona was born and, with a lot of Why do you think parents (and even teachers) hard work and a little luck, she earned a record tend to struggle to understand the music stars deal. Her debut sold 15 that teenagers idolize? Is it the message in the million copies and saw four singles hit number music or something in the performers persona one on the charts — a music industry first for a that they object to? debut record. She was just 22 when this happened. Since then, Lady Gaga has released SETTING THE STAGE three more , earned five Grammy Awards, generated over a half billion dollars in She’s the poster child for unpredictability and concert ticket sales, and positioned herself as shock. She is an ever-changing entity that one of pop music’s top performers. morphs from one seemingly bizarre image and ideal to the next. She is the self-proclaimed A perpetually transforming image Mother Monster — and the little monsters who But it isn’t the music that separates Lady Gaga follow her are legion. She is Lady Gaga. from other performers; it’s her perpetually transforming public image. First of all, her Pop Superstardom To see the huge range in her provocative Born Stefani Germanotta in Yonkers, New York, she has always possessed a flare for the clothing choices, see Billboard’s Lady Gaga’s dramatic and a love of music. Growing up in 100 Most Outrageous Outfits: New York City, Germanotta spent her www.billboard.com/photos/1504992/lady‐ adolescence dreaming of fame and working gagas‐100‐most‐outrageous‐outfits tirelessly on her music. After a brief stint at

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 25

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA outfits are both outrageous and bizarre, ranging Advocate and activist from pseudo pre-French revolution garb to Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga attracts abstract, futuristic costumes. At the 2010 MTV people’s attention. And the people who love her Awards, Lady Gaga showed up in can’t say enough good about her. Her ever- a dress made of raw meat. The next year she changing persona is evidence of her dedication showed up at the same awards ceremony to her art. She is an outspoken advocate for the dressed as a man and insisting she be called by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) the name Jo Calderone. One can never predict community. She has been vocal in her support what Lady Gaga will wear from one public of gay marriage and in her opposition to the appearance to the next. Secondly, her behaviour U.S. government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is often provocative. In 2011, she was carried for homosexuals serving in the military. Gaga into the Grammy Awards in an giant egg and was part of a movement that contributed to the stayed there until her performance of Born This removal of the policy banning openly gay Way later that evening. On the Monster’s Ball people from serving in the military. More tour she performed part of her concert each recently she has dedicated her efforts to anti- night with blood smeared on her face and torso. bullying initiatives. She has worn several famous bras including one adorned with replica machine guns and one that Pop icon, artist, musician, activist and shot fireworks out of it. Beyond the theatrics, philanthropist are all terms used to describe some of her song lyrics are so overtly sexual, Lady Gaga. Whether she is an “icon of our era” and her concerts and costumes so racy, that she or not remains to be seen. What is abundantly once had a sold-out show in Jakarta, Indonesia, clear is that Lady Gaga is not likely to leave cancelled because authorities feared that people’s collective radar anytime soon. religious extremists — who referred to her as “a kind of devil” — would bring her harm.

Lady Gaga Fast Facts

• Total album sales worldwide – 23 million; • Net worth – $80 million singles sales – 64 million • 38 million followers • Five Grammy Awards, three Much Music • 58 million Facebook fans Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards

• Concert ticket sales from her first three tours – $612 million * all stats accurate up to June 2013

To consider

1. How does Lady Gaga separate herself from other pop stars?

2. Why is it fair to say that Lady Gaga is more than just a musician? What else does she do to contribute to society?

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 26

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA

VIDEO REVIEW

Pre‐viewing

1. Are you a Lady Gaga fan? If you are a fan, explain why you like her. If you are not a fan, explain why you don’t like her.

2. Try to find someone in your class that holds a position that is opposite to yours when it comes to Lady Gaga. For example, if you aren’t fond of Lady Gaga, find someone who likes her and try to understand why they are a fan. Summarize what you find out.

While viewing

1. How many Grammy Awards had Lady Gaga won before the release of artRave: The ARTPOP Ball?

2. What is Lady Gaga’s actual name? Where did she grow up?

3. According to Time magazine, a reader’s poll listed Lady Gaga above U.S. President Barack Obama as one of the most influential people of the past decade. † True † False

4. What is the nickname that Lady Gaga uses to describe her fans?

5. What role does shock play in Lady Gaga’s presentation of her image to the world?

6. According to Lady Gaga, what is the best way to earn applause? What efforts does she make to make sure she does not receive cheap applause and false praise?

7. a) Lady Gaga’s single off ARTPOP is called Do What They Want. † True † False

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 27

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA

b) According to Lady Gaga, what is the song about?

8. How does Lady Gaga demonstrate that she is an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights?

10. Why might some people consider Born this Way to be Lady Gaga’s anthem or theme song?

Lady Gaga got her stage name when producer Rob Fusari compared her vocal style to Freddy Mercury of Queen. A fan of Queen, she assumed the name Lady Gaga based on the song Radio Ga Ga.

Post‐viewing

Check out Lady Gaga’s music. Listen to three of her songs (i.e. , Applause, Born this Way, etc.) and answer the following questions:

- What do you think of the rhythm and melody of each song? Do you enjoy Lady Gaga’s style of music?

- Review the lyrics of each song. What are the songs about? What is the central message of each song? Would you describe each song’s message as positive or negative?

- Based on your song analysis, are your surprised that Lady Gaga is a superstar or are the songs powerful enough to warrant her pop icon status?

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 28

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA

FRIEND OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY

Minds On

Before Lady Gaga became a pop sensation, she was Stefanie Germanotta, a tremendously gifted musician and songwriter who was able to leave her studies at university to pursue a career in music. Germanotta learned to play piano at a young age and began writing songs and performing at “open mic nights” in her teens. Her musical gifts allowed her to earn early admission to an exclusive art school that was part of New York University (NYU). By the time she left NYU, Germanotta was transitioning from standard rock performances to more eccentric shows in New York’s Lower East Side. Meanwhile she was writing songs for a record label whose high profile acts included the Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Eventually, hip-hop recording artist Akon signed Lady Gaga to his label after hearing her sing and recognizing her vocal range. Shortly after that The Fame was released and Lady Gaga was on the road to becoming a superstar. Keep this in mind as your read the following article.

The creation of Lady Gaga While Stefani Germanotta was experimenting with the Lady Gaga persona in burlesque clubs in New York’s Lower East Side, she received a lot of support from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In fact, many people believe that, had it not been for the openness of the LGBT community to her artistic expression, Germanotta would never have been able to evolve into the Lady Gaga phenomena.

Born this Way The support of the LGBT community has been something that Lady Gaga has never forgotten. When she received the Much Music Award for her Born this Way video in Toronto in 2009 she thanked “God and the gays” — an international shout out to her LGBT friends and fans. She has used her celebrity to draw attention to the U.S. government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding homosexuals serving in the military. The policy maintained that gay service personnel should not be asked about or reveal their sexual orientation. Any personnel who revealed they were gay would be kicked out of the military. Lady Gaga and the LGBT community fought the policy through protests and legal challenges, with the policy eventually coming to an end in 2011.

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 29

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA

Fighting the Bully More recently Lady Gaga has focused her attention on the issue of bullying. She was shocked to hear that 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer of Buffalo, New York, committed suicide after a period of prolonged bullying. Classmates repeatedly hurled insults at Rodemeyer, including accusations that he was gay. In one of his final online posts, Rodemeyer quoted lyrics from the song The Queen by Lady Gaga and paid tribute to the pop star before taking his own life.

Since Rodemeyer’s death Lady Gaga has been a vocal opponent of bullying. When she had occasion to speak with U.S. President Barack Obama, she shared her concerns about the prevalence of bullying in society and called for laws making bullying illegal. She also came to the aid of a Toronto-area student who was fighting bullying at his own school. Jacques St. Pierre, a grade 12 student, took the experience of being bullied in elementary school and transformed it into a bullying awareness campaign at the Etobicoke School of the Arts. Taking full advantage of his position as student council president, St. Pierre organized a school assembly addressing the damage done by bullying. He went even further, reaching out to the greater community for support, sending dozens of e-mails to a variety of high profile personalities including Lady Gaga. To his surprise, Lady Gaga responded with a video message encouraging him to keep up the fight against bullying.

To consider

1. Why does Lady Gaga give credit to the to the LGBT community for her rise to stardom?

2. What is the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy? How did Lady Gaga and the LGBT community contribute to the policy’s downfall?

3. What cause is Lady Gaga’s currently fighting for? What is she doing to try to eradicate this social problem?

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 30

JANUARY 2014 — LADY GAGA: ICON OF OUR ERA

WHO’S YOUR ICON?

Minds On

An icon is a person or thing that becomes a symbol of something people greatly value or truly respect. If Lady Gaga is to be viewed as an “icon of our era,” she must symbolize or represent some attitude or disposition that people hold in some great esteem. With this in mind try to determine why Lady Gaga has achieved iconic status. What does she symbolize? What is it about her persona that makes people practically worship her?

Your icon While Lady Gaga may be an icon for an army of “little monsters,” she is not everybody’s icon. Think of the people you hold in such high regard that you are influenced by the things they do and say. In this case, we are not talking about people you know and love, like your family and friends. Instead we are talking about people you admire and respect from afar for the great things they’ve accomplished. These people are like magnets to your attention and contribute greatly to your beliefs and values. This person’s thoughts and deeds touch something deep inside you.

With this in mind, identify one person who holds icon status in your eyes.

Activity

Prepare a one‐page report on the person to whom you grant icon status. Please include:

• The person’s name

• A picture or photograph

• A brief description of the person’s accomplishments

• A brief explanation of why this person is your icon

Follow up

Share your icon profile with your classmates in a class discussion.

News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 31