YouTube’s “Bad Romance”: Exploring the Vernacular Rhetoric of Lady Gaga Parody Videos
Keywords:
YouTube, Lady Gaga, vernacular rhetoric, feminism, mediaAbstract
While the political aspects of parody have been widely researched, this work has generally focused on institutionally circulated parodies on shows like Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report. Fewer projects have explored the political potential of fan-created parody videos on social media outlets. In order to gain a fuller understanding of parody’s political potential within the YouTube community, this case study puts Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video in conversation with fan-created parodies. The author argues that the feminist rhetoric in Lady Gaga’s video is disciplined by fan parodies’ repressive vernacular, demonstrating the transformative power of user-generated videos. Social media publication is a powerful force to both progress social change and to recoup transformative messages in the mainstream media.References
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Burgess, J. & Green, J. (2009). YouTube: Online video and participatory culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Burwell, C. & Boler, M. (2008). Calling on the Colbert Nation: Fandom, politics and parody in an age of media convergence. The Electronic Journal of Communication 18. Retrieved from http://www.cios.org
Christian, A. J. (2010-06-22). Music Video Remakes: History, Practice, and Meaning of User Production. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Suntec City, Singapore Online <PDF>. 2012-06-19 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p404812_index.html
Colletta, L. (2009). Political satire and postmodern irony in the age of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. The Journal of Popular Culture 42(5). 856-874. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2009.00711.x
Day, A. & Thompson, E. (2012). Live from New York, it's the fake news! Saturday Night Live and the (non)politics of parody. Popular Communication 10(2). 170-182. doi: 10.1080/15405702.2012.638582
Esralew, S. & Young, D. G. (2012). The influence of parodies on mental models: Exploring the Tina Fey–Sarah Palin phenomenon. Communication Quarterly 60(3). 338-352. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2012.688791
Gray, J. (2006). Watching with “The Simpsons”: Television, parody, and intertextuality. London: Routledge.
Gray, J. (2007). Ingraining America: The Simpsons go global. Popular Communication 5(2). 129-148. doi: 10.1080/15405700701294111
Hall, S. (1973). Encoding and decoding in the television discourse. Birmingham: Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies.
Hauser, G. A. (1999) Vernacular voices: The rhetoric of publics and public spheres. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Hess, A. (2009). Resistance up in smoke: Analyzing the limitations of deliberation on YouTube. Critical Studies in Media Communication 26(5). 411-34. doi: 10.1080/15295030903325347
Hess, A. (2010). Democracy through the lens of the camcorder: Argumentation and vernacular spectacle on YouTube in the 2008 election. Argumentation and Advocacy 47(2). 106-122.
Howard, R. G. (2010). The vernacular mode: Locating the non-institutional in the practice of citizenship. In D. C. Brouwer & R. Asen (Eds.), Public modalities: Rhetoric, culture, media, and the shape of public life (pp. 240-61). Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.
Hutcheon, L. (1989). The politics of postmodernism. London: Routledge.
Hutcheon, L. (2000) A theory of parody: The teachings of twentieth-century art forms. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Johnson, R. (1986). What is cultural studies anyway? Social Text 16. 38-80.
Kaplan, E. A. (1987). Rocking around the clock: Music television, postmodernism, and consumer culture. New York: Methuen.
Kim, J. (2012). The institutionalization of YouTube: From user-generated content to professionally generated content. Media, Culture and Society 34(1). 53-67. doi: 10.1177/0163443711427199
Lewis, L. A. (1993). Being discovered: The emergence of female address on MTV. In Frith, S., Goodwin, A., & Grossberg, L. (Eds.), Sound and vision: The music video reader (pp. 129-152). London: Routledge.
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen 154(3). doi: 10.2307/40041279
Ono, K. A. and Sloop, J. M. (1995). The critique of vernacular discourse. Communication Monographs 62(1). 19-46.
Patch, N. (2009, May 26). Lady Gaga announced as performer at MuchMusic Video Awards in June, CTVGlobeMedia. Retrieved from http://www.cp24.com
Railton, D. & Watson, P. (2011). Naughty girls and red blooded women: Representations of female heterosexuality in music video. Feminist Media Studies 5(1). 51-63. doi: 10.1080/14680770500058207
Salvato, N. (2009) Out of hand: YouTube amateurs and professionals. The Drama Review 53(3). doi: 10.1162/dram.2009.53.3.67
Sandoval, G. (2010, February 24). Lady Gaga generates 25 percent of VEVO’s traffic. CNetNews. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com
Shanahan, M. & Goldstein, M. (2010, January 20). R.I. students go Gaga. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com
Tryon, C. (2008). Pop politics: Online parody videos, intertextuality, and political participation. Popular Communication 6(4). 209-213. doi: 10.1080/15405700802418537
Universal Music Group. (2009, April 9). Universal Music Group and YouTube to Launch Revolutionary Premium Music and Video Service. Vevo. Retrieved from http://www.vevo.com
Vena, J. (2009, November 9). Lady Gaga says ‘Bad Romance’ video is about ‘tough female spirit. MTVNews. Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com
Vidyarthi, N. (2010, September 23). A brief history of MTV, Vevo, YouTube, and the online music video. SocialTimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.socialtimes.com
Wald, G. (1998). Just a girl? Rock music, feminism, and the cultural construction of female youth. Signs 23(3). 585-610.
Wasko, J. & Erickson, M. (2009). The political economy of YouTube. In Snickars, P. & Vondereau, P. (Eds.), The YouTube reader (pp. 372-386). Stockholm: The National Library of Sweden.
Videos Referenced
AppGameplay. (2009, December 31). Bad romance parody!! (Peed my pants). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR8gmnN0mk8
BINK Productionz. (2010, January 8). Lady Gaga - Badder romance full length. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEpj9w1yz64
Dawson, S. (2009, November 28). Bad (bro)mance! Lady Gaga spoof. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrAuEZwqR0o
Fakemen. (2009, December 9). Lady Gaga – Bad romance parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uz1m_jJhy8
Gaga, L. (2009, November 23). Lady Gaga – Bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I
Johnson, J. (2010, September 2). “Bad romance’ parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkUS-YH1b50
Key of Awesome. (2009, November 22). Lady Gaga: Bad romance parody (feat. Lord Gaga). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWxTGJ3TK1U
Lettuce, H. (2010, May 18). Hedda Lettuce - Lady Gaga ‘bad romance’ parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkepy8gDyPg
Mayaman University Studios. (2010, February 28). Lady Gagita - Bad romance parody (excellent). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i0Mgl28K2Y
Noir Vision Studios. (2010, August 25). Lady Gaga parody – Bad finance (hq) – Funny! [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDxXssOBnUI
Original Tyler, The. (2009, December 6). Bad romance – Lady Gaga parody [Bad lunch meat]. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juDHk8ymGXU
Shalzopa. (2009, November 22). Lady Gaga - Bad romance parody (I am a cannibal). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgv7prP5COE
Tohler Entertainment. (2010, January 2). Lady Gaga bad romance parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSOmAD0-uc
V., M. (2010, May 14). Bubble gang bitoy bathroom dance, bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnwNaNAwnB4
Vine, S. (2010, January 16). Lady Gaga – Bad romance parody (just shit my pants) w/lyrics. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mfPkU_UJu0
Watkins, W. (2009, November 27). Rad bromance - Lady Gaga parody of bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_P1OhKUw6I
XXBoredom. (2009, November 15). Bad romance remake parody [final]. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-GWTnyM0b4
Baym, G. & Jones, J. P. (2012). News parody in global perspective: Politics, power, and resistance. Popular Communication 10(1). 2-13. doi: 10.1080/15405702.2012.638566
Burgess, J. & Green, J. (2009). YouTube: Online video and participatory culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Burwell, C. & Boler, M. (2008). Calling on the Colbert Nation: Fandom, politics and parody in an age of media convergence. The Electronic Journal of Communication 18. Retrieved from http://www.cios.org
Christian, A. J. (2010-06-22). Music Video Remakes: History, Practice, and Meaning of User Production. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Suntec City, Singapore Online <PDF>. 2012-06-19 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p404812_index.html
Colletta, L. (2009). Political satire and postmodern irony in the age of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. The Journal of Popular Culture 42(5). 856-874. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2009.00711.x
Day, A. & Thompson, E. (2012). Live from New York, it's the fake news! Saturday Night Live and the (non)politics of parody. Popular Communication 10(2). 170-182. doi: 10.1080/15405702.2012.638582
Esralew, S. & Young, D. G. (2012). The influence of parodies on mental models: Exploring the Tina Fey–Sarah Palin phenomenon. Communication Quarterly 60(3). 338-352. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2012.688791
Gray, J. (2006). Watching with “The Simpsons”: Television, parody, and intertextuality. London: Routledge.
Gray, J. (2007). Ingraining America: The Simpsons go global. Popular Communication 5(2). 129-148. doi: 10.1080/15405700701294111
Hall, S. (1973). Encoding and decoding in the television discourse. Birmingham: Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies.
Hauser, G. A. (1999) Vernacular voices: The rhetoric of publics and public spheres. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Hess, A. (2009). Resistance up in smoke: Analyzing the limitations of deliberation on YouTube. Critical Studies in Media Communication 26(5). 411-34. doi: 10.1080/15295030903325347
Hess, A. (2010). Democracy through the lens of the camcorder: Argumentation and vernacular spectacle on YouTube in the 2008 election. Argumentation and Advocacy 47(2). 106-122.
Howard, R. G. (2010). The vernacular mode: Locating the non-institutional in the practice of citizenship. In D. C. Brouwer & R. Asen (Eds.), Public modalities: Rhetoric, culture, media, and the shape of public life (pp. 240-61). Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.
Hutcheon, L. (1989). The politics of postmodernism. London: Routledge.
Hutcheon, L. (2000) A theory of parody: The teachings of twentieth-century art forms. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Johnson, R. (1986). What is cultural studies anyway? Social Text 16. 38-80.
Kaplan, E. A. (1987). Rocking around the clock: Music television, postmodernism, and consumer culture. New York: Methuen.
Kim, J. (2012). The institutionalization of YouTube: From user-generated content to professionally generated content. Media, Culture and Society 34(1). 53-67. doi: 10.1177/0163443711427199
Lewis, L. A. (1993). Being discovered: The emergence of female address on MTV. In Frith, S., Goodwin, A., & Grossberg, L. (Eds.), Sound and vision: The music video reader (pp. 129-152). London: Routledge.
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen 154(3). doi: 10.2307/40041279
Ono, K. A. and Sloop, J. M. (1995). The critique of vernacular discourse. Communication Monographs 62(1). 19-46.
Patch, N. (2009, May 26). Lady Gaga announced as performer at MuchMusic Video Awards in June, CTVGlobeMedia. Retrieved from http://www.cp24.com
Railton, D. & Watson, P. (2011). Naughty girls and red blooded women: Representations of female heterosexuality in music video. Feminist Media Studies 5(1). 51-63. doi: 10.1080/14680770500058207
Salvato, N. (2009) Out of hand: YouTube amateurs and professionals. The Drama Review 53(3). doi: 10.1162/dram.2009.53.3.67
Sandoval, G. (2010, February 24). Lady Gaga generates 25 percent of VEVO’s traffic. CNetNews. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com
Shanahan, M. & Goldstein, M. (2010, January 20). R.I. students go Gaga. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com
Tryon, C. (2008). Pop politics: Online parody videos, intertextuality, and political participation. Popular Communication 6(4). 209-213. doi: 10.1080/15405700802418537
Universal Music Group. (2009, April 9). Universal Music Group and YouTube to Launch Revolutionary Premium Music and Video Service. Vevo. Retrieved from http://www.vevo.com
Vena, J. (2009, November 9). Lady Gaga says ‘Bad Romance’ video is about ‘tough female spirit. MTVNews. Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com
Vidyarthi, N. (2010, September 23). A brief history of MTV, Vevo, YouTube, and the online music video. SocialTimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.socialtimes.com
Wald, G. (1998). Just a girl? Rock music, feminism, and the cultural construction of female youth. Signs 23(3). 585-610.
Wasko, J. & Erickson, M. (2009). The political economy of YouTube. In Snickars, P. & Vondereau, P. (Eds.), The YouTube reader (pp. 372-386). Stockholm: The National Library of Sweden.
Videos Referenced
AppGameplay. (2009, December 31). Bad romance parody!! (Peed my pants). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR8gmnN0mk8
BINK Productionz. (2010, January 8). Lady Gaga - Badder romance full length. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEpj9w1yz64
Dawson, S. (2009, November 28). Bad (bro)mance! Lady Gaga spoof. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrAuEZwqR0o
Fakemen. (2009, December 9). Lady Gaga – Bad romance parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uz1m_jJhy8
Gaga, L. (2009, November 23). Lady Gaga – Bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I
Johnson, J. (2010, September 2). “Bad romance’ parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkUS-YH1b50
Key of Awesome. (2009, November 22). Lady Gaga: Bad romance parody (feat. Lord Gaga). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWxTGJ3TK1U
Lettuce, H. (2010, May 18). Hedda Lettuce - Lady Gaga ‘bad romance’ parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkepy8gDyPg
Mayaman University Studios. (2010, February 28). Lady Gagita - Bad romance parody (excellent). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i0Mgl28K2Y
Noir Vision Studios. (2010, August 25). Lady Gaga parody – Bad finance (hq) – Funny! [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDxXssOBnUI
Original Tyler, The. (2009, December 6). Bad romance – Lady Gaga parody [Bad lunch meat]. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juDHk8ymGXU
Shalzopa. (2009, November 22). Lady Gaga - Bad romance parody (I am a cannibal). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgv7prP5COE
Tohler Entertainment. (2010, January 2). Lady Gaga bad romance parody. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSOmAD0-uc
V., M. (2010, May 14). Bubble gang bitoy bathroom dance, bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnwNaNAwnB4
Vine, S. (2010, January 16). Lady Gaga – Bad romance parody (just shit my pants) w/lyrics. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mfPkU_UJu0
Watkins, W. (2009, November 27). Rad bromance - Lady Gaga parody of bad romance. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_P1OhKUw6I
XXBoredom. (2009, November 15). Bad romance remake parody [final]. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-GWTnyM0b4
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2013-05-20
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