LADY GAGA: AN AMERICAN PARADOX By Itsna Syahadatud Dinurriyah ( Amstud UGM 2008, a lecturer in IAIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya)

Lady Gaga is a trending topic for Asian countries nowadays, especially in Indonesia and Philippines. Her tour concerts, Born This Way, in these countries attract people to express their opinion about her. In Indonesia, her controversy is about her stage performance. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) stated that their refusal on Lady Gaga because of her provocative costume. They think it would have a negative influence on the youthful audience. She will bring Satanic beliefs to Indonesia, the head of FPIs Jakarta branch, Salim Alatas said. Lady Gaga confessed that she adored Lucifier. While in Philippines, the youngsters protested her because of the song Judas. They said that it insulted their religion. They were so offended by the lyrics and the music video. But in the interview with MSN Canada Gaga defended that Judas was a metaphor and an analogy about fogiveness and betrayal and things that haunt someone in their life. How I believe that it is the darkness in your life that ultimately shines and illuminates the grater light that you have upon you. Someone once said to me,if you have no shadows then you are not standing in the light. So the song is about washing the feet of both good and evil and understanding and forgiving the demons from you past in order to move into the greatness of your future. I just like really aggresive

metaphors-harder,thicker,darker-and my fans do as well. So it is a very challenging and aggressive metaphor, but it is a metaphor. The name of Lady Gaga is not so new for American music industry. Even though she is not a legend, but her coming to the world music industry is really meaningful. Her performance is so extraordinary. She always has theme every time she performs, even just for leaving her house to other places. She closed her eyes once and painted the open eyes in her eyelids. So then her guards had to guide her to any places she went. It was really annoying. She also asked once her guards to carry her in a big artificial egg to attend a music festival. What an idea....! Yet, it is not Lady Gaga if she cannot attract people. She often appears in sensational formula. Her dress, hair style, even her shoes. They are really something, in which people never imagine about. Her songs and music are also attractive. Even though in the early career she was critized by her friend, Perez Hilton, you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts. This critic impressed her so much then she tried to change the way she wrote song and music. And there it is now... Lady Gaga: a Biography Lady Gaga was born in New York, March 28, 1986 as the first child of Cynthia Bissett and Joseph Germanotta. Her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Her father was an internet enterpreneur. She said that both her parents came from lower class families so they had to work for getting something. My mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father. She was raised as Roman Catholic who attended in the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school in Manhattan. She was not fit with the

school. She said,I felt like a freak. But in this school she learned about discipline and dedication which were very important in her career later on. She loves music since she was child. She started playing piano since 4 and wrote the piano ballad at 13. She said, I love boys but music is number one. Finally, by her mothers suggestion, she continued her study in New York University in Tisch School of Art. Besides writing songs, she was also capable in composing some essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics. She was very good on it and felt more creative than some of ther friends. She really enjoyed with her study then she said,Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself. Influenced by David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Gaga started her career in 2005 but began her debut in 2008 with her album The Fame. She does a lot of experiment with her musical ideas and images. She also does some effort on her performance style. She professed that she was liberating herself by constanly reinventing her sound and image, and insisting into practice since her childhood. This experiment makes her music, her performance, and her idea get a lot of fans. She calls herself Mother Monster and calls her fans by Little Monsters. Lady Gaga has got her fame, but she never denies the existence of Christina Aquilera and Britney Spears in her career. They inspired her so that she said, Britney Spears doesnt have to worry with my presence. She has her own fame, she is still the queen of pop. Meanwhile Christina Aquilera firstly was never aware of Gaga, especially the physical appearance. Gaga confessed that she loved androgyny, so being androgynous is her choice in her visual performance. In spite of her performance, the lyrics of her songs are also so controversial. The last album, Born This Way, has been sung in English, French, German and Spanish in

the themes of love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality, freedom and individualism. Her brilliant idea and liberty have freed her to compose new model of music and song around the world. American Paradox As American musician, Lady Gaga is a good comodity for America. The money she got is also for America. Her presence influences many fans around the world. American export of movies, television shows, music and fast-food chains makes theUnited States the dominant cultural force on the globe. Therefore, what Lady Gaga does is really meaningful for American progress in money and culture. One thing that people have to realize is America is a paradox country. Like Janus, the Roman god, America has two faces. Ted Halstead in his writing The American Paradox said that this country is either the very best or the very worst performer on a wide range of social and economic criteria. It is almost never in the middle. Therefore, he said, the United States have exchanged social cohesion and a broad-based middle class for economic dynamism and personal freedom. Then they have to be dynamic and free to pursuit thier happiness even mostly they do it not in appropriate way. Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated in 1932, New conditions impose new requirements upon goverment and those who conduct goverment. Faith in America, faith in our tradition of personal responsibility, faith in our institutions, faith on ourselves, demand that we recognaize the new terms of the old social contract. So far, America had three experiences of social contracts, they were found of nation, put it back together after the Civil War, and build a mass middle-calss society by relying on ambigious goverment programs and new economic regulation. Now, it must

be added by reconciling the competing demands of flexibility and fairness. The social contract must involved the goverment, business and the citizenry. The current social contract now as antiquated as it was once innovative. And Lady Gaga has done it. She was very innovative with her achievement in music. Since her first album in 2008, she has got a lot of awards such as in Billboard Music Awards and MTV Music awards. She has many Little Monsters around the world as well as haters. Lady Gaga: Her Achievement and Controversy, The American Paradox Despite her sensional performance which is very weird for the normality, people must confess her intelligence. She is famous not merely because of her provocative performance but also becuse she has brought new nuance into the world music. Music is a general language, world language. People do not need to learn the language to understand to beauty of music. So, when people listen to Lady Gagas songs, especially for those who do not speak English, her music is enough to score it, whether it is good or not. As a great mucisian, people never ask her private life untill she herself told viewers that she is bisex, the sex orientation which is prohibited for the term of normality. Whether it is true or not, but this confession has given her a lot of support from the lesbian and gays. They support her totally especially when she involved in LGBT advocacy. She has started her career which is brilliant with the controversy. She did it. She could not depend on her fans who are normal to accept her presence. She needs something to attract people. May be, she can make it in normal way, but it is her innovasion. The straight people may adore her as well as hate her, but the lesbian, gays and bisex are minority. Their solidarity is tight, that which Lady Gaga chose. That is the paradox.

Even though she involves in LGBT advocacy, she is also active in HIV/AIDS program. She wants to says that she was bisex but she also concerns about healty life. You may a gay but if you know how to play save everything will be alright. Lady Gaga tells us frankly about her perspective. It could be many other world musician who also have same idea like her but they never express it vulgarly. Lady Gaga is so brave to take it for granted! Again, it is her paradox. Then, she also a philanthropy. She had done a lot of donation including the tsunami in Japan. She is a new artist but join in that help. In spite of her weird performance that slightly non-human, in this case she is very humanist. Another part of her paradox! The last one that is her belief in Lucifier. America is a Christian country. Although it claims that there is separation between state and church but in reality Christian is really dominat including the religion of the president. For almost 300 years independency, America only has 1 president who was Catholic John F. Kennedy. When Gaga released Judas, some Christian organizations had protested her. Unfortunately the protest was not significant, and besides that Gaga knew how to explain her brilliant point of view. But it is not the point. Lady Gagas songs are the worth comodity to be banned. It produces a lot of money. Her fame is also meaningful for the existence of America as the global culturally forcing country. What a paradox...!