Lady Gaga and I have three things in common. We are just over 5 feet tall, have Italian heritage and we are no strangers Dark clouds that are depression. In recent years, Gaga has continuously shifted her musical projects to deeper reflection and integrity, maintaining her fingers at the bold, dance-inducing beats she is known for. Her latest studio album, mayhem, It feels gritty enough to hear. It honestly reflects the personal confusion she endures (e.g., the darkness of depression spells, the battle with body image, etc.), and invites her to face the confusion that exists around us and within us.
I had Cancer In a fierce rotation after the release in March, not only for catchy melodies and witty rhymes, but also for the quiet hopes I collect from multiple tracks and scattered over 53 minutes.
Our inner turmoil
Lady Gaga invites us to face the chaos that exists around us and within us. Not fear, but tenacity.
CancerThe images and moods evoke a strong sense of darkness and sadness, a dash of Gothic literature, pure mayhem (NPI). enter CancerThe world is depicted with the strength and despicability of “disease” All-talented battle Gaga fights a part of herself, and she is most afraid of lightly splashing. These implicit parts seem horrified as if she had no hope.
When you sleep, you are so tortured
I was troubled by all your memories
You reach out and no one is there
Like a god without prayer
“Illness” almost functions as a dark diary entry about the darkness that can penetrate the soul and mind at the darkest nights. It is a hopeless prayer familiar to anyone who is struggling with their own mental anguish. Despite being a headbopping electro-pop song, “Illness” cannot hide the discouraged themes contained within the lyrics.
As we follow the mayhem with Gaga, she invites us to the dance floor. She quickly recognizes danger, so that only anxiety and depression can make us:
Please be careful of the distance
When the devil turns around
Please embrace me in your heart tonight
In the magic of the dark moonlight
Save me from this battle of the sky
In the game of life
The hiding evil can be interpreted as an unexpected episode of depression or fear of anxious attacks. Please note that Gaga has this beast in mind and must be on guard as he can attack at any time. But she screams at another person for protection. Perhaps a small hope that something beyond this mayhem can save her.
As this chaos remains in the distance, she begs us in the most gaga-ish way to dance for our lives. The underlying idea of ”Abracadabra” is to plague our souls like a disturbance in mental health and to face what bothers our souls by dancing with them. In the fight against depression and unrest mayhem, Gaga’s weapon of choice is dancing.
After some tracks, “Perfect Celebrity” brings us deeply to Gaga’s remorse on the chaos and paradoxes that fame and infamy have brought to her life. One of the more memorable songs on the album, she wrestles with the charm and pain associated with the pressure of being a modern idol. She sings candidly:
I look hungry, but it looks very good…
I suffocate fame and hope it will make you high
Sit in the front row
Watch the princess dieI’ve become a notorious person
Find my clone, she is sleeping on the ceiling now
Don’t let me fall
You love to hate me
I’m the perfect celebrityPlease catch me when you rebound
No sound
I’ll save me underground
I can’t find
Hollywood is a ghost town
Lady Gaga is in the spotlight long enough to recognize the negative impact that fame can have on her soul, and she dares our listeners to acknowledge our role (“You love to hate me”). From an outside perspective, fame is appealing to its charm, awards and press junkets. But Gaga can be frank about the fantasies of fame and the confusion it can add to her life. Gaga reminds me that there is no such thing as a perfect celebrity, only flaws with his own struggles, demons, mayhem.
Hope comes from the mayhem
largely CancerEven if the lyrics provide depth and deserve a moment of contemplation (“the shadow of a man”), dance guiding (“Zombie Boy”) is dancing guiding. And certainly, dance is Gaga’s go-to hope when faced with chaos and fear. She announces “Dance or Die” Abracadabra music video And literally dances for her life against her inner demon in the most phorical way she can.
Now, dancing doesn’t have to literally mean “dance” despite the confusion. It simply floats between the darkest nights of depression episodes and disturbing thoughts. For some, it could be a community, hobby, family, or friend. I too had a good portion of night panic attacks, disturbing thoughts that I had been home for days, and depression episodes where I felt I couldn’t see the light, but in the end I had more tighter hope than a sacred community, a hobby or a comfortable TV show.
I was assuring that God somehow saw me through mayhem. As people who know God, we can do more than “dance” through the confusion of our souls. We can live with a positive hope that God writes stories for our lives and makes everything work forever, even when pain is tangible and unbearable.
The late Presbyterian Minister Frederick Bokner had a unique perspective on how hope shaped from mayhem, especially when he shifted his gaze to the quiet light on the horizon. Bookner spoke The darkness of depression Here it is:
That’s what it is like to be in a state of depression [Psalm 131]. It’s not possible to take up much of your own self except in depression. Even the most amazing is like music for the deaf. Even the biggest ones are like a star shower to the blind. You don’t raise your mind either. To do so, it’s just a reminder that you are yourself. Even if you tend to cry out “Lord,” like a psalmist, it’s a Jonah-like cry from the whale’s belly.
Depression in all forms feels like a complete chaos of mind and soul. Meanwhile, the only prayer to be called is the quiet and weak “Lord, help me.” Despite this encouragement, Bookner concludes his reflection on depression and the possibility of hope.
A clock full of hope
Inner confusion and spiritual confusion find a way to flow in decline, and Lady Gaga Cancer There’s no stranger to this rhythm. Cancer Not only dance, but sing as a challenge to face a dark night of souls with boldness and courage, hoping that God will pass us through. He is to quiet our souls and lead us into the quiet sea (poem sal23). God is making ways to pass through the chaos in mystical ways and in time. And with him, darkness never has an advantage. We just wait for him and the light will come again. To quote Norwich’s Julian, “Everything is going well, everything’s going well, all sorts of things going well.”
Cancer This year is likely to be my top play album on Spotify, not only its catchy and unique feel, but also serve as a powerful reminder that dances through my own mess of mental anxiety, dancing until dawn breaks with hopeful surveillance for the future.
Source: Christ and Pop Culture – christandpopculture.com
