Gaga’s provocations produced no lasting cultural impact despite massive fame

Evidence

Yet, in hindsight, Gaga’s provocations feel shallow. Her 2010 MTV Video Music Awards meat dress provoked mild outrage from animal rights activists but left little cultural impact. As Simon Reynolds wrote, “Collapsing past into future, and edgy hipsterism into mainstream showbiz, Gaga voided the meaning of either.” Her defining anthem, “Born This Way,” framed as a rallying cry for individuality and queer rights, was widely derided as a blatant rip-off of Madonna’s 1989 hit “Express Yourself.” This misstep invited unflattering comparisons with the former Queen of Pop, whose boundary-pushing career had unfolded at higher stakes and with greater finesse. Where Madonna sparked national scandals with her book Sex, Gaga partnered with Oreo on a limited-edition flavor. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 253

Categorization

• XREF: The Oreo-vs-Sex juxtaposition is a concrete instance of the ‘death of the sellout’ dynamic — commodification so total that partnering with a cookie brand reads as normal.