Welcome Lady Gaga, the mistress of death to the Postmodern.

Unless you are totally immune to pop culture references, you must know that the music video for Lady Gaga's song "Telephone" came out this week. I ranted on a friends Facebook page that Gaga, if credited with anything in her career, should be known for the death of Postmodernism. And not necessarily because she was in enough control of her career to knowingly usher in the end, but because of through her own naivety to that which she claims to be mistress over, namely art and pop culture together, that she caused the catastrophic explosion that was Postmodernity's end - which I imagine to be like the The Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man's demise at the end of Ghostbusters, only with glitter instead of marshmallow goo. (Yes I realize I am dating myself on that and that most of Gaga's fans will have absolutely no idea who that is).

But clearly, Gaga's whole schtick is Postmodernism on steroids and her whole career is Exhibit A of why the Postmodern needs to die and why we need to move on. The "Telephone" video was an example of everything that is wrong in Postmodernity: all glam, no content - with something to say but not really articulating it well, while trying to shove in everything and anything that could be used as a reference or a shout out to things that have been done over and over and over again. Hey Gaga, Warhol was like, 40 years ago where it was new and he did it a hell of a lot better. It's time to move on. As in my previous post, I'm not sure if the Altermodern is the best way to go in a Post-Postmodern world, but at least it's moving forward.

But back to Gaga, her "Telephone" video made me think of the article in AdBusters that I referenced last time, so I thought I would include it in a post, since it seems totally appropriate:

"It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where and when it [Postmodernism] died, but I’d venture a guess that it choked on its own vomit somewhere between Kanye West’s gradual descent and Lady Gaga’s meteoric rise. Mr. West and his Murakami-grubbing, Jetson-worshipping, DaftPunking, Auto-Tuningbarf parade brought postmodernism to its absurd conclusion, and now Gaga is nailing the coffin shut with her hypnotic transmedia brand of nihilistic marketing gimmicks.

Gaga refers to her music as “soulless electronic pop” and says things like “we’ve already killed everything” and “the apocalypse has already happened.” Her sensational aesthetic has a divisive effect and tends to generate one of two reactions: She is either the most awful, most infuriating cretin ever to crawl out of corporate entertainment, or she’s an ingenious Warholian synthesis of David Bowie and Madonna with admirable Jay-Z-style business savvy.

Both positions overlook why the Gaga “fame monster” is a significant development in pop culture: Her persona is so infectious because it is the most accurate reflection we have of capitalism’s mutagenic effects on the human form and psyche. Her music is just a pretense, a rationale for her celebrity. She is the bizarro Paris Hilton. The manipulation of capital is her true art, and the “Haus of Gaga” is not a fashion/performance collective but a new breed of PR firm.

Even more crucial is the cultlike passion that she inspires in her followers. It demonstrates how, even long after its death, postmodernism’s specter will continue to beckon us toward the apocalyptic future that the “fame monster” so wantonly desires."

For the full article, go here.

Just on a side note, I will still dance my ass off to "Telephone" at the club. But I will have to train myself not to imagine Gaga looking like an American Gladiator reject while doing so.