This is old, but I love this moment. Lady Gaga meets the Queen:
It's interesting to me because what we have here is two people with very different, very weird jobs. Both of their jobs involve very deliberately attracting certain types of publicity and drawing crowds wherever they go. Both of their jobs dictate how they dress whenever they go out in public. The Queen has to fulfill ceremonial roles; Lady Gaga has to write and perform catchy pop songs. The Queen wears that particular hairstyle to accommodate hats and crowns, and wears colourful clothes to people can see her. Apparently her hemlines were once decided by committee, and they sew weights into the hems of her skirts so she doesn't have a Marilyn Monroe moment. Lady Gaga has to wear things that are more outrageous than whatever she wore last, and no doubt her diet, exercise regimen, and beauty routine are dictated by costuming requirements. Both of them also have to make their audience feel good. The Queen is known for making people feel like she's genuinely interested in them, and a key part of Lady Gaga's public persona is that she loves every one of her little monsters, no matter how much of a freak or geek the rest of the world thinks they are. I find all of this fascinating, and am intrigued by any glimpse into the everyday life of the individuals behind these public personas.
And this is why it surprises me that so much media coverage of the upcoming royal wedding has been spinning it as a fairytale romance. Because it's so much more interesting if we think about it as a pragmatic arrangement! Prince William has a weird job, part of which requires that he marry a non-Catholic woman and have at least one biological child with her. He knows this is a job requirement, and so does everyone he comes in contact with, including any prospective bride. By the conventions that currently govern British royalty, their relationship, their careers, their religion, their fashion choices, and their family planning are considered in the public interest. What's that like? What's it like to embark upon a marriage knowing that it means you'll have to be publicly charming for the rest of your life? What's it like to know your firstborn child's will never be their own? Isn't this all interesting? Isn't it far more interesting than a simple love story?
The whole fairytale romance thing was debunked with the previous generation of royals, and it does everyone a disservice to maintain that mythology. The idea of a couple of modern, educated twenty-somethings whose lives are dictated by this bizarre job they have to do with antiquated conditions is far more interesting. Why not focus on that?
3 comments:
It is a really interesting lens. Weird jobs, and unique jobs, too. There is generally only one person occupying the Lady Gaga spot on the celebrity parade at any given time (and sometimes none).
The Queen wears that particular hairstyle to accommodate hats and crowns, and wears colourful clothes to people can see her.
I didn't know that! Makes total sense. Do you know why she carries a purse/handbag?
There's a rumour that she uses the handbag to give secret codes to her entourage. Apparently she holds it one way if she wants to talk to the person she's talking to for longer, and another way if she wants to be rescued, and another way if she wants to wrap up the event or whatever.
I'm also thinking its purpose might be just to give her something to do with her hands when standing in public and being photographed. You have a handbag, you probably have flowers, then both your hands are occupied and you don't have to worry about being photographed fiddling with your clothes or scratching your nose or something. The men in the royal family tend to clasp their hands behind their back, but that would look silly on the Queen.
Oh, and another example I should have put in the original post is she wears gloves year round because of all the hands she has to shake, and carries those clear umbrellas also so people can see her.
I'm also thinking its purpose might be just to give her something to do with her hands when standing in public and being photographed.
That seems likely to me, and then she could use it as a communication device (as per the rumour) as well.
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