Gagafesto, "the evil", gagablog 11

I mentioned in gagablog 10 that Gaga is willing ot embrace evil to protect the new race of tolerant people and what I think is our promise (potential and duty) to save the world. And I am sure that the use of machine guns is symbolic, because Gaga is totally against violence - it is a representation of evil.
I also mentioned that some people live lives ruled by fear and can be motivated by fear. To make a very general statement and not dwell on it too much, these people aren't always the smartest. I really don't think many little monsters will see the Manifesto of Mother Monster and want to go out and get guns - in general I don't think that is our style. But people who do have guns, who "live by the gun" or have that mentality somewhat because they think they will have to - again, fear ruling them - might see Gaga will all her big badass guns and think it is a little bit scary - because of course she can afford more and bigger guns than they.
But enough considerantion for the small minded and the funny idea that Gaga with her guns is scaring them. I do think it is good to scare people sometimes, because we are all bound by some sort of fear, and when we address or even redirect that fear it gives us a chance to re-examine it and possibly move on from it. So many have fear of what is different, when all it takes is getting to know people. I certainly am guilty of having an appearance that can be off-putting to certain people, and wanted to seek interaction with people who could see through that or appreciate it. I have always been a freak, of course, but not a fabulously stylish one, more subdued. One thing I love about Gaga is she encourages me to show off more in my fashion - it has been gradual so far but I can imagine coming up with some awesome things to wear myself in honor of Gaga and inspired by her. I feel like dressing flamboyantly has some of the same principle my old drab slacker look had, of a sort of shock value, but is so much better because of the beauty possible when one actually cares what one is wearing. I had a "philisophical" excuse for wearing the clothes I did, too, in that they were always second-hand and I wore the same things forever. But Gaga has shown me something about that, from her beginnings (to today!) with her glue-gun embellished fashions, she has shown me that just because something is recycled, free, or cheap does not mean it can't be made fabulous. And the truth is, even without buying clothes for years and when I did, only spending a few pennies or a few dollars on anything, I still accumulated many many garments. I want to get into making my own things, now, and making things more special. Why is this the focus of my "evil" gagablog entry? Is "dressing crazy" the extent of the "evil" I expect to particpate in or will be needed to change the world? In a way, yes: not just dressing crazy, the reason I bring it up is because I think it is a wonderful way to both "scare" people out of their "normal" sensibilities, some of which can hold them back, and a way to do it that is nice and beautiful and attractive and intriguing and can teach people something - all in the way you dress.
We know Gaga is saying something with everything she wears - she is very intentional about everything, and of course very insistent on having the most outlandish outfits all the time. She tells us this directly in her awe-inspiring interviews. I am not nearly fashion-conciouss enough to guess at the meanings of any of it, other than how it affects me - which, admittedly, since she is super hot and I am in love with her, is always wonderfully. But I can appreciate that it does effect me, that is does effect everyone, and I am so proud of her for putting all that effort and those resources into making her statements all the time. It makes me want to make at least some statements, though I have always worn T shirts for the Grateful Dead, the Simpsons, and Obama, and now Gaga, it makes me want to go ahead and make artistic statements with my own fashion and really make some art that effects people on a daily basis, just out and about. Even giving a few dozen people something different to think about would be worth the effort.
I do not think this is "evil" at all, but it falls into the category of "scaring" people which outlandish dress does. I personally resent some of our society's taboos about the body and about sexuality in general and the result of shaming people who want to dress hot. Personally I really appreciate people dressing sexily, whatever that means for them. I'm glad when more people do it because I think it is positive, people feeling good about their bodies, and I think the people who it "scares" just kind of have a problem and can ignore it, or face it and think about why it bothers them and maybe overcome that and have a more enjoyable life. This is a common example of what I am talking about, and I can say that Gaga encourages this is a better way than all the past entertainment industry did, because she is so sexy and on her own terms. To me, she has the sexiest body and face of any celebrity I have ever seen, but is even sexier in her mentality and spirit. I can, and will, go on at length about this - I have a lot to say about how she makes good on the promise of divinity in beauty. But my point here is that she encourages people who want to dress provocatively to do so, and sets a nice standard for it herself. I know many of her earlier performances were in bikini / underwear garments and I appreciate her using this again for her dance in the Born This Way video - and I'll go ahead and say the nice shots of her beautiful ass in this video are some of my favorite things in the world. But she has often dressed sexily done so in a way that weilds her own personal power and I think it is great for her to set this example. Even more than that, though, dressing provacatively in the artistic sense, with or without a focus on sexuality, is a pwerful way to shake the world up, to promote new ideas and change.
Will it take more than expressing ourselves better and more, with fashion and art and music all our own, this new race of little monsters with boundless freedom? I actually don't think so - I think with Art in all its forms we can transform the world and Gaga is a prime example of this. Will it take some sort of fighting for it? Well, as I hear the report on the BBC about the fighting in Lybia it really makes that question real in a way. I said in my ealier Gagablogs about how the non-violent revolution in Egypt could be described as a huge party that resulted in liberation, transformation, and compared this to the Monster Ball where Gaga has called all the little monsters for a huge party that trasnforms the current idea of "social acceptance" and liberates us from judgement, leading to what will be a cultural revolution here. I was pleased to announce that Born This Way's release and performance at the Grammy's coincided with events in the liberation of Egypt, as I predicted. I was hoping it would be resolved quickly, of course, but I can't help but think that with my worldview and the type of magic I practice, I need to address this current crisis in Lybia as it relates the the release of the video of Born this Way. I want to do this now, because I really want this situation to end so I will not have another reason to comment on it, in this particular country anyway. I am hearing that Obama is taking stronger measures, calling on him to step down, even as I write this, so that is good. My connection to the Born this Way video is a "show of arms" - because Gaga certainly shows off some heavy artillery. I have said that she does not mean this literally but there is a literal element to it. A show of force can deter the need to use it, for instance, and the ability to intervene with justice to end oppression is required. But in a way it can be enough just to "scare" people into not doing wrong or messing with you. And we are still in a place where that type of coercion is useful, even if I beleive we can evolve out of that.
Here is my main point about the "threat of evil" that Gaga uses in the Manifesto of the Mother Monster: we can scare people into not doing evil with the threat of our greater power. But the only reason to have evil at all, to need protection at all - the only reason not to just "gravitate toward the good" - is in the face of a threat. We do feel threatened by each other in the modern world, indeed, many people are under threat of some form or another. But we can transcend this, and then we wont need the evil. Or more accurately, we can evolv out of the crudest forms of argument, such as war, so that we do not need weapons, then we can address the finer more subtle arguments with the weapons of logic and rhetoric etc and those will be the only evils we have to suffer until the next phase when we move on to finer things.
My interpretation of Gaga's use of "the evil" in Born This Way is on the one hand a crude reminder to the people of warlike mentality that she has power and will to use it to protect beauty and truth. In that way it is a kind of message to all who rule or terrorize by threat of force of arms - Gaga is more badass than you. But the true way to see that she is more badass is to consider the metaphoical meaning of Gaga's "willingness to use evil." Because she is very powerful. I know that to those who are taking me "seriously" when I say "Gaga is more badass (militarily) than you" are laughing at me because she is not that rich. But that is not really what I am talking about, as much as I am saying it carries that message for stupid people but really implies the level of power she has. She was named Forbes magazine's 7th most influential woman in the world, last year, and is widely regarded as the most influential person in entertainment, in some ways anyway. But even that is not the kind of power I am referring to, I am sincere when I refer to her as a Goddess, but more than that I am sincere when I refer to her as The Goddess.
I want to save the more mystical explanation of "evil" for a later post and bring this to a close - I mainly wanted to connect it to Lybia and say that a show of power can shake other power, and I hope in this case that Gaga's armament will coincide with a decision to disarm in Lybia, and any other country in a similar situation. I do want to say that in my view she has Infinite Power. I was so pleased in one of her videos agains Don't Ask, Don't Tell when she said, to the Senate, "I am putting you on notice." It was such a pure expression and use of power - and while I do think she has the power and influence to effect political and social change through her many little monsters that politicians should heed, I am using this example as a metaphor for what she can do on a spiritual plane, as the Goddess. And she may not think of it that way, though the Born this Way video makes me suspect she does feel this way and accepts it, but regardless my whole idea of diety is that it is in all of us, that we all have the potential to live it more fully, and that in whatever way it is "true", the more we act on what we feel is divine within us the better we will become. I love how Gaga both claims such power in Born This Way, presenting herself as the Goddess, and shares this power with the world, through the new race, the little monsters. She emphasises this in the lyrics, "we are all superstars", and the whole message of the song, and in the dancing, where she is a dancer equal to the many others - and idea she mentioned was inspiration for her decision to change the costumes for the Grammy's performance at the last minute, because she wanted to look more unified with the other dancers.
I do think the world will recognize her power, hopefully in a positive way through love as we little monsters have, but if people try to oppose her or hurt us they will have to deal with the dark side of her power. Even people with no appreciation for magic should consider this, due to her power in worldly forms as well. I am so proud of her, and Target (and glad I can feel good about shopping there again!) since she got them agree to stop funding groups that gave money to anti-gay politicians (they had given 150,000 dollars to a group that did this last year) and they also gave half a million dollars to positive organizations, in order to get the exclusive rights to distribute the Born this Way single - and they also have a special exclusive double-disc version of the album with extra songs and remixes for about the same price. So it will be a hugely successful business decision for them, both directly from the windfall from the song, but also in the advertising and returning goodwill from socially-conscious people like myself. This is the way I think the corporate world can actually be a leader in changing the world for the better instead of a obstacle - we just need bold action from people to hold them accountable for actually providing Good in the world.

To sum up, I think it is wonderful that Gaga is claiming the divinity that I have noticed in her and claimed for so long that she embodies, and the use of "evil" in the Manifesto of Mother Monster is not to be taken literally as using weaponry - unless you were about to shoot/hurt someone, in which case it is a message not to do that  - but as a message of Power, to be understood magically, is much more serious and compelling. I will explain what I can of my understanding of Gaga using "evil" magic soon, but I want to return to positive messages in Born This Way next. Let me just say that I approve of using some forms of "bad" magic to prevent bad things from happening, when it seems called for. Gaga is opposed to violence, though, and is herself a demonstration of the greatest power of all, Love. I love you Gaga, and little monsters, Thanks!