The weird and the Real

Lately I've been thinking a lot of the performances of certain cultural figures, musicians who become celebrities. The way these individuals perform, both onstage and as versions of themselves (that is, a celebrity's public image) is subject to critique and deconstruction from the media. I think this in and of itself is fairly neutral, but I think the way the general populace reacts to media portrayal of cultural figures is sometimes insidious.

We usually divide the culture we consume into two categories: we distinguish between "high" and low" culture, creating a dichotomy of easily-digested pop and "real art". Of course, there is the idea that we discussed in class regarding "hierarchies of representation", where some cultural artifacts are considered more worthy of representation or note than others (for example, movies regarded as "film" versus, say, a summer blockbuster). However, it still seems that those pop stars who create an accessible product are more celebrated - and their products more consumed - than those who create more "challenging" products.

Further, we as a populace as easily bored. We want things that are new, exciting, and controversial. But I think we want our boundaries pushed only in very specific ways, and that we are afraid of getting too stretched. I think as much as we celebrate the unusual and the New and Exciting, we are afraid of things that move beyond the palatable pop glitter and flash and into the realm of the strange: because if they move too far away from what's accessible, they trigger our awareness of the Real, and that's too scary.

For the purposes of this post, I want to use two popular musicians who I feel represent this dichotomy: Lady Gaga and Björk. While one of these women is a relative newcomer to the music scene, and the other is a veteran of some thirty years, these two pop stars represent two sides of the same coin. They're both known to be weird, boundary-pushing, avant-garde artists. But Lady Gaga, in the two or so years that she's had hits on the radio, has become a mainstream superstar, surrounded by the trappings of weirdness with which she adorns herself. Björk, while lauded by the music press, is regarded by mainstream media and the general public as bizarre and incomprehensible. In fact, Björk is "defined" on urbandictionary.com as (v) To act in an outlandish manner; create a confusing spectacle. Everyone remembers her swan dress, which caused such a furor some ten years ago.

For Lady Gaga, "weirdness" is a tool she can use to remain relevant and exciting in the public eye. Her unchallenging mainstream sex-appeal ensures that she a) attains and retains fame and b) doesn't scare anyone. Björk, however, is uncompromising in her strangeness. Her music isn't to everyone's taste, her clothing choices are sometimes bizarre, and while she never hides or shies away from acknowledging her sexuality, her image and music are stubbornly and uniquely strange. To engage with Björk's work is to confront the Real, while listening to Gaga is more of an exercise in product placement than anything else.

Please follow the below links for an illustration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRD33vGy9s&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mB0tP1I-14