Not only is Lady Gaga a pop star, but the 23-year-old woman born Stefani Germanotta has an affinity for a whole lot of pop culture — and she crams as much of it as possible into her new video for “Telephone,” her nine-minute collabo with Beyonce off The Fame Monster.
The clip — which dropped late Thursday night — is a Whitman’s sampler of pop nuggets, including nods to movies like Kill Bill, Thelma & Louise, and Sin City, plus the boom-pow effect of brightly-colored Japanese television. Then comes a barrage of product placement: cans of Diet Coke as curlers in Gaga’s hair, a Virgin Mobile cellphone in her pants, Chanel sunglasses, Monster Heartbeats headphones, and much more.
The sponsorship was probably necessary — this video must have cost a fortune. Like a movie with beginning and end credits, the clip opens with Gaga being escorted to a prison cell, where she is stripped of her clothes. “I told you she didn’t have a dick,” one of the scantily-clad guards quips, a reference to rumors about Gaga’s sexuality. Soon after a makeout session with an androgynous inmate in the prison yard, the music finally kicks in and Gaga leads a choreographed dance through the prison halls.
Soon Gaga is bailed out by Beyonce — driving the Pussy Wagon from Kill Bill — and the two high-tail to a nearby diner, where they poison Beyonce’s pal, played by Tyrese Gibson. The scene unfolds into another dance routine, complete with cooks prancing about the diner, then the duo speed away into the sunset. “We did it, Honey Bee, now let’s go far, far away from here,” Gaga says to Beyonce.
The “Telephone” clip is a big-budget, pop masterwork from an artist clearly familiar with the discipline — remember the “Bad Romance” video? And every aspect of the “Telephone” clip was meticulously planned by the pop icon herself.
“What I like about it is, it’s a real true pop event,” Gaga recently told Ryan Seacrest of the “Telephone” video [via E!]. “When I was younger I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that’s what I wanted this to be.” Mission accomplished.
Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” Video:
