The beginning of the video features a forward tracking shot of all the actors involved in the music video. It shows clear binary oppositions between the genders (females in white, males in black) according to the theory by Levi Strauss. It also portrays a very powerful image of the music industry which is the main motif of the production. It reveals the extremely sexualised images desired by the industry for both genders, but also shows how every artist is similar through the pretty much identical costumes that everyone is wearing.
There's also significant amounts of product placement during the very same scene. There is an mp3 player and three bottles of 'Lex' vodka. This is to highlight the amount of product placement within music videos due to the capitalist nature of the industry trying to milk as much money through such tactics as well as things like celebrity endorsements. One of the more profound examples being 'Beats' headphones which are endorsed by Dr. Dre.
The crucifix and 'god ray' are two of the more subtle semiotics within the video and are biblical references. The god ray is represents the idolisation and worship of today's more popular artists and celebrities with the most idolised one being Kim Kardashian. People worship celebrities like gods because of their fame. The crucifix is placed upon Lady Gaga's capsule and I perceive it to have been placed there for two reasons. Either because she is also worshipped in a godlike fashion and her coming out of the capsule is like resurrection of Christ but also because maybe only God can help restore her morality and innocence which has been stripped away by the industry in which she is a slave too.Possibly one of the more striking scenes is the revelation of Lady Gaga and her monsters as they climb out of their capsules. They come out dressed in all white and this bares significance away from the binary oppositions aforementioned. The whiteness represents how they enter the industry as blank slates that are innocent but malleable to what is demanded of them to become successful 'artists'.
To further expand on my most recent point, there's a compelling scene which features two females corrupting Lady Gaga by forcing her to drink the Lex vodka. The two women start off by ripping away her clothes leaving her exposed wearing just her undergarments, this is a metaphor for the industry taking away her innocence. After this, they are then seen towering over her, intimidating her. This is a potential reference to some of the tactics used within the industry to control artists. Then they finally complete the process of corruption by pouring the drink down her throat whilst she struggles. Following this Lady Gaga is then seen surrounded by people who we can presume are her fans/other artists 'attacking' her as they rip off her jacket revealing a much more sexualised individual. This pans out revealing her to be surrounded by men watching her and all the others. This represents the industry looking for 'talent'. Lady Gaga and the other 'artists' begin doing an identical dance routine, this looks innocent but is actually telling the viewer how the industry only wants the same type of artist over and over again but looks for someone who is especially good at it. This confirms my point I previously made about the industries capitalist ideologies wanting to use cash cows for personal gain.
Another significant point to be made out of this scene is how it is women forcing her to do these things rather than men. This is due to the fact that women in the modern era complicit more to sexualising themselves and each other more than it is forced upon them by the males they so often blame. The women 'attacking' her could also be a metaphor for the competitive nature between women in the industry constantly battling each other commonly with vicious tactics and slanderous comments that isn't as prevalent withing the male side.
There is also a distinct number of feline references within the video including a shot of her back showing a very feline-like spine, a sexually provocative crawl that is also linked to the way cats stalk their prey and the more obvious one, a cat. These metaphors represent Lady Gaga herself as big cats are renown to be ferocious and very high up in the food chain, as well as this, all types of cat are very unwilling to be domesticated. We know for a fact that Lady Gaga is also unwilling to be domesticated through her outrageous articles of clothing such as a dress made out of meat and her general image as an artist being different to everyone else's so she is perceived as 'weird'.
The music industry is dominated by male led business and this is represented through the 'auction' that is portrayed. The men watching Lady Gaga represent said industry and they begin bidding on her, only taking interest in her now she is what they want precisely. This way of looking at it reveals how bad the industry is in modern times and what corrupt practices it gets up too.Towards the end of the video we see Lady Gaga walking away from the camera wearing a cape made out of a dead polar bear with its head still attached. The message this conveys is an extremely dark view on modern society. It shows us how we deem it acceptable for people to do things like that because they're rich and famous but also how a lot of people in that position see nothing wrong with it as they also believe they are superior to normal people. Furthermore, it conveys the riches that can be achieved from conforming to the industries demands, almost justifying the industries actions due to the possible rewards.
Shortly after, we see the remainder of the scene. Except she has took the cape off and is standing in her underwear in front of the winning 'bidder', however, she sets him on fire. This is imagery for her conquering the industry and not relying upon them to be successful anymore. All while the polar bears head is in the foreground linking back to my previous comment about her being top of the food chain. The video then ends with her lying on the burnt bed with the corpse next to her whilst in underwear launching fireworks from her bra. This is Lady Gaga telling the industry that she doesn't need them anymore, that she has won and is celebrating it. It also confirms to the viewer that she can now act the way she pleases as an artist in her songs and music videos due to her now being popular.
To conclude, the video can also be seen as a giant metaphor for Lady Gaga's experience of the industry and what she's had to do to achieve fame and succeed otherwise she wouldn't be in the same position that she is in today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Romance
http://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/lady-gagas-bad-romance-the-occult-meaning/
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