RE: Lady Gaga and Byonce Telephone Video
Professionally:
I'm a violence prevention educator. I think that our actors and musicians need to recognize their influential status in society and be more conscientious, more deliberate about the messages they put out there. The lyrics and images they present and promote impact and affect society, for better or for worse. In the Telephone video Lady Gaga and Beyonce are perpetuating messages that in a peaceful, civilized society would become obsolete. Yes it sells, yes it attracts attention... at others' expense. They are so far removed from the realities of the general population, they don't even see the long term consequences, the long term impact of their work. These two women could instead be deliberately setting the tone of respectful interpersonal relationships, healthy sexuality, peaceful community involvement and personal responsibility instead of what they chose to do in this video. By putting those messages out there in such a prominent way, it becomes a more prominent part of all our lives. In my opinion: at least 2 steps backward for those ladies regarding reputation, integrity and credibility and most importantly at least 2 steps backward for humanity.
Unless we use this video for the contrast it provides as it epitomizes what many of us do not want for ourselves, for our families, for our communities and then deliberately create the video's opposite--moving on or away from from this video's messages and others like it. Musicians and actors will become keenly aware of what we as a society will tolerate... as we just simply stop buying their CDs, DVDs... and we stop buying into these destructive messages.
Personally:
I looked into their eyes, while the video was going on... looking for some sense of awareness as to what they were doing... and I thought, they've got to have brains in there somewhere. They've got to have some moral compass or personal code of conduct that this is violating. They've got to have some sense of what those messages mean for women everywhere and for society in general. It's too bad they decided to use their fame and influence in that direction. Perhaps maturity and hindsight will assist them to recognize the short and long term impact of what they do. Hopefully next time, they won't "sell" themselves so "cheaply".
Jodi Harvey