Lady Gaga: Born What Way http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-famous-door/83260/lady-gaga-born-this-way - Essay Example

In his piece Hajdu attempts to take on this approach through a deconstruction of Gaga’s newest single, but his intellectualizing ultimately falls short of the transcendence of the Lady’s message. Hadju’s Take In ‘Lady Gaga: Born What Way?’ David Hajdu questions the lyrical message in Lady Gaga’s latest single ‘Born this Way’. Hajdu begins by acknowledging the tremendous hype surrounding the song. Indeed, for the past few months tidbits of the track have been discussed by those privy to hearing the early recordings, with Elton John even stating that it’s “the anthem that’s going to obliterate ‘I Will Survive.

’ I can’t think of how huge it’s going to be” (Hajdu). Hajdu goes onto argue that the track fails to live up to its lofty hype, as it lacks the musical catchiness that is inherent in great songs. An even deeper criticism Hajdu levies against the Gaga single is that it its identity claims and underlining philosophy are erroneous. In these regards, Hajdu believes that the complex nature of Gaga’s outward appearance runs in direct contrast to the philosophical approach the song takes to identity, namely that it is an innate element of human existence.

Hajdu writes, “Until this song, everything Lady Gaga has done has been a challenge to the proposition that identity is God-given and fixed at birth” (Hajdu, 2011). This sentiment is echoed by other critics that note Gaga’s fluid approach to sexual identity (Bauer, 2010); and Gaga herself, who has openly explored her own identity in songs such as Pokerface (Szymanksi, 2009). Hajdu concludes by stating that a conception of identity as linked to genetic inheritance is a risky approach, and makes a veiled comparison to Nazi approaches in the Holocaust.

Refutation There are a number of elements of Hajdu argument that can be refuted. The first refutation concerns the song’s quality. While Hajdu rejects the song’s merits, it’s clear that this is at best at a personal interpretation as the track as received considerable attention and airplay, both indicative of strong public support. In terms of the larger question of the identity criticism, it’s clear that Hajdu examines Gaga’s artistic intentions with an overly intellectual and analytical approach.

Furthermore, his subtle conflation of Gaga’s philosophical approach within this song to Nazi conceptions of genetic inheritance borders on absurd. Counterargument As David Hajdu’s arguments are demonstrated to be erroneous it follows that a counterargument should be put forth to establish the reality of the issue at hand. Hajdu has argued that the nature of Lady Gaga’s song ‘Born this Way’ embraces the concept of identity as linked strictly to genetics and this runs counter to the message Gaga has previously advanced; namely, that identity is a fluid element of one’s life.

This is the crucial error of Hajdu’s argument. Rather than advancing the notion that identity is a fluid construct of one’s life, it seems more accurate that Lady Gaga’s message is that one should accept themselves even if the nature of their being seems at odds with current social norms. In these regards, the outlandish nature of Gaga’s costumes and attire is not to be read as the invention of a faux-self, as Hajdu contends, but the artistic expression of the outside and marginal impulses of individuals throughout the world. ‘