American pop artist Andy Warhol had a fascination with the telephone. Lady Gaga, coincidentally, has a recently released single based on that very form of communication.

Lady Gaga’s newest music video, “Telephone,” is a unique fusion of the artistic styles of Quentin Tarantino, David LaChapelle, Michael Jackson and Madonna in addition to several others. Thematically, however, I believe “Telephone” is most influenced by the philosophy of Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol’s art is difficult to understand because so much of it is about imitation and repetition - often of the mundane. In many ways, “Telephone” is also about the mundane. Warhol and Gaga both aim to bring beauty back into moments where it has been lost or forgotten. With mass produced products, for example, we forget the artistry of Brillo pad packaging and the precise balance of Diet Coke cans. This is also Lady Gaga’s commentary on fame. Fame kills. The modern day celebrity is loved until that second they become overexposed. They are not intriguing anymore, and we become bored, and we forget the beauty of their presence. As seen by her cigarette sunglasses, we are literally blinded by habit. We do not notice that we kill the beauty through our addiction for more details, more pictures, more interviews, etc. Our aesthetics are essentially deteriorating with overuse. We no longer see what is beautiful. We only see what is “normal” or “abnormal.”

This obsession with defining what “normal” implies is the principle theme of “Telephone.” The “Prison for Bitches,” for example, is not simply a “women’s prison” - nor is it a “lesbian prison,” as so many people have referred to it as. It is the place in which we often imprison ourselves when we forget our self worth because we are not seen as “normal.” The inmates, although they seem confident and tough, are all incredibly self-conscious in actuality. They are constantly seeking for someone else (a man or significant other) to tell them of their own self worth (note the prison guard on the dating website). This high dependency on others to accept and define your beauty is ubiquitous in American culture. The constant fear of rejection has been accepted as an everyday experience. The inmates do not even seem eager to escape from the prison, as they have forgotten what freedom really is. Lady Gaga chooses to depict people who generally identify themselves as women, because women are so often, but certainly not always, guilty of letting themselves become second-rate to society’s opinion. If we are told that we are ugly and worthless enough times, we start to believe it. Through habitual action, we adapt and start to forget that we are beautiful and free. We condemn ourselves in fear of being abnormal.

It is important to note that within the prison, no one supports each other. “You’ll be back, honey,” says the prison guard to the recently freed Gaga. We struggle together and yet we do not believe in one another - we are in constant competition instead, wishing failure upon each other. By casting Beyoncé as her partner-in-crime, Lady Gaga is emphasizing the importance of supporting each other, not simply in the Thelma and Louise sense, but in the sense of defending individuality and self-worth for all.

In the diner scene, Gaga illustrates that we are all affected by over-exposure, even in our treatment of food. We eat so often in excess that we constantly require more – more honey, more sauce, more food.  Although Gaga and Beyoncé are the ones to physically poison the food, they are not the ones responsible for the deaths. In a broader sense, we live in excess in all aspects of life. It is normal to us that we live with too much money, too many commodities, and too much sex. This competition to always have more in quantity rather than quality has become habitual. We, in our inability to recognize the beauty of what we already have and our constant demand for more, are the causes of our own deaths.

As Gaga and Beyoncé make a run for it, Beyoncé asks, “You promise we’ll never come back?” to which Gaga answers, “I promise.” Gaga and Beyoncé represent those who have discovered their own beauty and have freed themselves from the judgment of others – they are the property of no one but themselves. “Telephone” is a reminder to viewers that they have the power to emancipate themselves from being victims of “normalcy.” Gaga and Beyoncé are the enlightened ones in this situation, but this exchange is also a reminder that they too are fallible. “Telephone” is a warning because it is easy to fall back into a place of low self-esteem where you allow yourself to be a puppet of opinions. Lady Gaga is admitted to the prison on the date February 11^th, 2010. I do not think it is coincidence that Gaga is imprisoned on the same date that one of the greatest artists of our time, Alexander McQueen, passed away. Days like those, when we lose an inspiration to redefine the beautiful, make us fall back to our old habits. Like Warhol, McQueen’s designs constantly challenged the viewer to question what they have been told is unsightly or inappropriate through media and censorship. McQueen’s designs were monstrous and otherworldly. It takes courage and humility to say, “I may not understand this, but this is art. This is weird, this is normal, this is beautiful.”

It’s easy to stay in the prison. It is, after all, glamorous and comfortable in prison.

Like Andy Warhol, Lady Gaga wants the viewer to remember that he or she has the power to break through the cigarette sunglasses. With determination and an open mind towards beauty, we must promise ourselves that we too will never come back.