Lady Gaga’s “Dance in the Dark” is about low self esteem, and the way some women and men are constantly insecure. I could’ve done with a little bit more analysis, but meh. It’s not like insecurity is an innate part of being human. It’s profitable and engineered.
Toni Braxton is back, people!! OMG I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED her in high school.
The above is NOT SAFE FOR WORK and the last few seconds are really triggering. I thought it was an incredibly smart spoof, tho. Here’s the original video if you haven’t seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc030yp6-bg&feature=related
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hm, I think it’s absolutely human to compare yourself to others, and self-esteem issues go hand in hand with that – don’t they?
More importantly, is the last video really an actual song and video? Not a spoof itself? The song is shitty, the “ah ah ah ah” after the chorus is ridiculous, the video looks like it was done, well, as a parody, and the lyrics lend themselves really well to the spoof above: so drunk I don’t remember much, blacked out, must have been on drugs… yeah, that sounds like spectacular sex all right. And what’s with the handcuffs? Are they supposed to hint at the sex or are they fashion statement?
The Other Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
Hm, I think it’s absolutely human to compare yourself to others, and self-esteem issues go hand in hand with that – don’t they?
No. I have very high self-esteem even though I realize lots of women are better-looking, lots of people have better skills in this or that, lots of people have more money, etc. Those comparisons don’t bother me because I was taught to believe in myself.
Self-esteem issues come from not being taught to believe in yourself, or being taught NOT to believe in yourself.
That said, I agree that SOME insecurity is unavoidable – we’re all going to die, after all, and that doesn’t foster a sense of safety in life. But insecurity over things that don’t affect survival – or shouldn’t – is, I think, manufactured.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
And I think the kind of insecurity Gaga is specifically speaking to (women’s insecurity about the body) is particularly manufactured and enforced by dominant culture.
Re: Kiely Williams’ video… unfortunately, the last video I linked to was real. :-/
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
OMG the Toni Braxton vids disappeared!!! SAD FACE.
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
I’m posting the Braxton vids in today’s LoGI post. <3 <3 <3
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
You know, I never thought Dance in the Dark was just about low self-esteem.
I always thought it’s about a girl who’s getting messed up from a bad relationship. There’s this confident, independent girl ‘some girls won’t dance to the beat of the track’, but her self-esteem is being shattered by her boyfriend insulting her, calling her ugly and slutty. ‘she looks good but her boyfriend says she’s a mess/she’s a tramp’.
She falls apart when he watches her dancing because he’s got her so neurotic from all the insults she just can’t handle it. ‘She’s a mess, she’s a mess, now the girl is stressed’.
The whole ‘Never let you fall apart, Together we’ll dance in the dark’ is a declaration of solidarity. They dance with her so she won’t dance alone and so she won’t be completely crushed by the relationship she’s in.
Anyway, those are my two cents.
SarahSyna(Quote) (Reply)
I agree — do you know if she writes her lyrics, or co-writes them? Because I sometimes think she’s got a really talented lyricist working with her, and that the more interesting messages of the music lose something when Gaga interviews.
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
She writes all of her stuff, but a lot of those are co-written, I beleive. According to Wikipedia Dance in The Dark was done with someone called ‘Fernando Garibay’, though I don’t know if that mean he helped write it or did the music or what. He is listed as a Composer on The Fame Monster page though.
SarahSyna(Quote) (Reply)