Hey guys,
My practicum assignment is focused around media fandom, so I decided to join a message board about Lady Gaga. I thought she would be a good celebrity to follow and blog about because she is controversial and always in the news about something. Last week was a particularly interesting time to be following her because in Maine on Monday Sept 20th she made a public speech against the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. Not surprisingly, many people took to this message board to discuss their reactions to the speech, and there were very mixed responses. For instance, a blogger under the name ladygagaisalameass wrote "America can ill afford to have fools like you influence its destiny. Do us all a favor, Ms. Germanotta, and STFU until you get your priorities straight.", which upset and offended many of Gaga's fans on the website, and led to an ongoing back-and-forth debate between fans and this specific blogger. I found it interesting that even on a fan website there are still many people who join only to bash the person the website is about. Furthermore, I was surprised by how many people spoke out about this speech and how it garnered so many different reactions. Did any of you happen to see a clip of the speech online, and if so, what are some of your reactions? Do you think Lady Gaga is in a position to be speaking out about this topic, or does it seem inappropriate?
It's kind of funny how easily people will get into arguments simply because they're in an online forum hiding behind screen names. I've seen the same thing in some of the forums I've been reading for my project, too. As far as celebs speaking out on "hot topics", I haven't seen the clip but in general I feel like they should be very careful about what they do say because people, obviously, notice and for some reason, tend to care. It's not whether she should be speaking out, it's how well she was informed before speaking and in what manner she conveyed her opinion that counts with me. Sounds like it'll be an interesting semester, anyway! Have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Angela that the person speaking out should be informed about what they are saying and not just speak for the attention. I do not think Lady Gaga is doing that in this case. She obviously has a lot of messages she wants to spread and be a part of, such as her clothing, especially her meat dress. She brought with her to the VMAs soldiers who had been discharged because of their sexuality, so I feel like she has a valid interest in the topic. Also, I think that by rallying like this she is trying to get her fans on her side and get equality achieved in the country. I do not think it is inappropriate in this situation.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed opinions on this. I've actually always been a huge fan of Lady Gaga and have followed her activity on various websites. I agree with a lot of the messages she is spreading. However, it's getting to a point where I've heard enough from her. I usually don't like when celebrities use their star status to encourage their fans to blindly support them. However, I agree with what Angela and Allison said regarding the person speaking out being informed on the topic. Lady Gaga HAS actively been speaking out against Don't Ask, Don't Tell for a long time now, and I think she knows what she's talking about. I just hope she encourages her fans to make sure they are informed on everything instead of just asking them to do what she says. One last thing- I did watch a little bit of the clip of Gaga's speech- and I really couldn't watch the entire thing because she just seemed nutty.
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