Madonna and Lady Gaga-pop icons that always keep us guessing.

During my Comm 463 course we watched a short youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3CBUm7GrNI) that had a female scholar named Bell Hooks talked about Madonna.  She discusses the hypocrisy that is Madonna's image in our media.  Madonna was always an artist that used her sexuality and feminist values to promote her videos, songs, albums, and so on.  With her career lasting as long as it has, she is always changing her image and doing something different in order to stay successful in the music industry.  Bell Hooks found it fascinating that Madonna has gone away from her original beliefs and also exploited her sexuality to the further limits.  Madonna has made these choices in her career so she can continue to be essential in the capitalist society we live in.  The more money she makes the more power she has in the media industry.  Madonna is her own brand and if her going against her original ideals is what it takes to keep that power then she will.

With the new popularity that surrounds another pop icon of our generation, Lady Gaga I feel with follow in the footsteps of Madonna.  Both started off with great singles and huge success with their first albums.  Madonna would push the limits of sexuality, and religion; which is also what Lady Gaga does.  Lady Gaga always discusses her political agenda when it comes to equal rights for homosexuals.  At the MTV Music Awards this year Lady Gaga dressed up and acted like her ex boyfriend.  She did this to promote transgender people and prove that women can be as masculine as men.  Lady Gaga will continue to have amazing hits that will earn her a lot of money, but I believe she will in her later career be similar to Madonna, and give into the patriarchal world that we live in.

Though I do love these artists for being strong women in the media industry, sooner or later they give into the Uncle Sam become driven by sales and fame. They will always be pro feminism and explore with the different facets of the women psyche, but to keep their status afloat they will play along with the patriarchal and capitalist system that encompasses our society.