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Written by Angel Sevilla
Jun 17, 2010
In the movie “Funny People,” there’s a scene where Seth Rogan’s character attempts to hit on Aubry Plaza’s character with the line, “Do you like music?” Plaza’s character, named Daisy, responds with the clever answer, “Did you just ask me if I like music? That’s like asking me if I like food.”
This movie moment is a true testament to today’s culture and our perception of the value of music. Everyone loves music, and I’ve appreciated the way many music artists have been standing up for gay people lately, especially since Christina Aguilera’s 2002 video for “Beautiful.”
But I’m more or less disgusted with Aguilera’s portrayal of homosexuality in the video for “Not Myself Tonight.” It includes a scene in which Aguilera is being very sexual with another woman, which can be interpreted as her exploring her gay side – or even just her saying it’s OK to be gay.
But in the context of the rest of the video, it really just looks nothing more than nasty. Other scenes in the “Not Myself Tonight” video include an orgy-like sex scene taking place in a church, with Aguilera wearing a leather mask over her face. There’s a lengthy one-on-one sex scene toward the end.
Sex in videos is nothing new, but my first reaction was a feeling of discomfort. I had a knot in my stomach thinking, “No Christina, you took it too far.” I’m not a religious person, but I have respect for those who are, and an orgy inside a church is obscenely disrespectful.
I have to imagine that Aguilera knew what she was doing and that the shock I felt was intended. But then that changes the meaning of the scene between Aguilera and the other woman. Is her behavior also meant to be shocking because it’s wrong? I’m offended that she made a video dedicated to exhibiting every nasty thing she could think of and included homosexual behavior – in the same category as bondage and church orgies.
Lady Gaga is another artist who has publicized her support of gays, and she’s also been freaking me out lately. Why does she keep killing people in her music videos? In “Paparazzi” she kills her boyfriend and in “Telephone” she and Beyonce take part in poisoning everyone at a small diner. Why, Lady Gaga?
In her newest video for “Alejandro” her all-male group of backup dancers partakes in some very Nazi-esque marching behind Gaga and is later seen wearing heels and tied to beds. Lady Gaga visits the dancers one at a time to mock sex with each of them.
One of her outfits displays a red upside-down cross stretched over her vagina. That wasn’t the only upside-down cross she wore in the video, and it scared the crap out of me. She goes on to swallow a rosary, and at the end of the video she appears to be dead. What does any of that have to do with Alejandro?
This kind of stuff in music videos is scary, and the fact that these are two women who have stood up for gay people makes me wonder why they did it. Do they really see us as equals, or do they only like us because they think we’re as sinful as they are? I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I don’t like it.
I think I’d rather be in a music video with Elizabeth Hasselbeck than with either of these two sadistic pop queens.
