Inter-Textual Analysis

Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé - Telephone

Gathering over 30 million views on Youtube, the nine and a half minute long music video directed by Jonas Akerland, was positively received by critics. The video opens with Lady Gaga entering the “Prison for Bitches”, accompanied by two tough female security guards, ready to serve her time for the crimes she committed in her last video, "Paparazzi” also directed by Akerland. The camera uses a dolly track to display her point of view as she is walked to her cell, and showing the audience the tough female inmates, who are heard making vicious threats such as “we’re gonna make you swim outta here in your own blood”. Throwing her into the cell, the guards strip her of her clothing and of her persona, leaving her bare and helpless behind bars. As they leave, we hear them discuss a rumour of her gender, referring to the media that reported she was a hermaphrodite. She is then lead to the prison exercise yard, covered in chains and glasses made of cigarettes, which may suggest she is hiding something, keeping a secret locked away. Women are working out and lifting weights while extracts of her song “Paper Gangsta” is playing on the stereo and the song selection is deliberate as it is about female supremacy, and a rant against men. She then kisses a manly looking woman, and is interrupted by a phone call. She uses Coca-Cola drink cans as hair rollers, and this may be related to Andy Warhol, as he used Coca-Cola as a subject matter for some of his paintings.

A girl on girl fight starts and Lady Gaga looks dismayed, possibly because she believes that women should join together, embracing girl power instead of turning on each other. The phone then rings and Beyoncé is on the line, as she picks up, she starts singing lyrics that are closely linked to the visuals “Hello? Hello?” as if she was really answering the phone. She drops the phone and starts a performance, dancing and singing looking at the camera. The first choreographed dance scene cuts in, with Gaga and her scantily-clad inmates, who all have tattoos, heels and studs on their underwear, implying that they are tough and independent. Again, references to voyeurism are seen such as the CCTV cameras, making it seem like they do not knowing we are watching, and the revealing clothing are displayed for the audience to view. There are cuts of Lady Gaga is her cell, wearing nothing but yellow crime scene tape, which may be foreshadowing the events coming up, and again revealing a lot of her body to the audience. The song’s instrumental plays in the background while it is announced she can be released on bail, and Lady Gaga

pays tribute to the late great, King of Pop, by breaking into an MJ-esque shuffle after being bailed out of jail. The guard is browsing online dating website “Plenty Of Fish”, which is an advertisement but it may refer to the main concept of the lyrics, saying “there are plenty of more fish in the sea”, so she doesn’t need her ex-boyfriend.

She exits to find Beyoncé waiting for her in the iconic “Pussy Wagon” from Kill Bill (2003), relating to Lady Gaga’s appreciation for renegade female empowerment, just as the movie expresses. Beyoncé is nicknamed “Honey B” and is eating a “Honey Bun” a reference to another Quentin Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction (1994). It may be common for vixens to eat food seductively, but Lady Gaga’s plays on this typical trope and purposely makes objectification not sexy. As they drive, the radio turns on and references to the song saying “Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce” referring the video itself, Lady Gaga takes Polaroid photos of Beyoncé while she sings. They pull up to the diner, where actor Tyrese Gibson, who is acting as Beyoncé’s boyfriend, and the first thing he does is look at her breasts, and this is a typical example of the male gaze, where women are passive and objects for display. References to Japanese and comic book style subtitles are used, Beyoncé adds poison to her boyfriend’s drink and the plans that the two women were discussing in the vehicle are revealed. The video then shifts to the kitchen, where Lady Gaga is “making a sandwich”, which is challenging the stereotype that women are perfect obedient “housewives”, as all the cast in this kitchen scene are men who are dancing quite femininely. She pours poison into the honey that she delivers to Tyrese, further emphasising the point that she and Beyoncé are not conforming to the all sweet and syrupy behaviour expected of them by society. Beyoncé is in a bedroom, which seems to be inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings, and she dances in such a way to display her as a sculpture rather than a real live person.

Post-murder, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé are in the center of the dance sequence dressed in stars and stripes; Captain America and Wonder Woman inspired outfits, relating themselves to characters from DC Comics and Marvel. This suggests they see each other as heroes of the female gender, as Wonder Woman was known to be a feminist icon. We also see the words “Wonder” on the brand of bread that Lady Gaga used, which highlights this point further. Lady Gaga performs in front of the “Pussy Wagon” in a leopard suit which looks like it has been inspired by Canadian country star, Shania Twain’s music video It Don’t Impress Me Much (1998). She is also wearing a chauffeur’s hat implying she is in the driver’s seat, in charge. As they’re on the highway, driving away from the crime scene, a news bulletin pops up on the screen, reporting the murders. There is also a short scene with the two stars standing in front of the vehicle in the desert, wearing Burqa inspired outfits with cowboy style hats underneath, and police sirens wailing in the background; this relates to the movie Thelma and Louise (1991) where two women shoot a rapist and take off in a vehicle. This intertextual reference shows their power and feminist approach.

This video is performance, narrative and concept based; there are performance scenes such as the dance sequences, and Lady Gaga in the kitchen, which are both related to the narrative. The main concept of this video is female empowerment, as throughout the video Lady Gaga uses many different references to show this, and at the end of the video, there is a female symbol to conclude the idea. The video cuts are often through circles and stars, representing unity and success, and also the American flag on Wonder Woman’s costume.