Fringe Principle and the Gaga Effect

Before you read too far, I should warn you that this post has very little to do with Fringe, and even less to do with television in general. The only reason I'm invoking the name of the sci-fi (not to be confused with syfy) show is to call to mind a basic question that the show is good at raising. Just because a line can be crossed, does it mean that we should cross it?

We live in a world where pop artist Lady Gaga is considered a "visionary" artist by millions of fans both for her outlandish wardrobe and her blunt self confidence.

Here's my confession. I don't see it.

Now that's not to say I don't like Lady Gaga. I'm as big of a pop fiend, music-wise, as the next guy. I still can hear the notes of "Bad Romance" bouncing around my head whenever I drive past the stretch of highway I was travelling when I first heard it come on the radio. I just don't think she's a visionary. She might be a little bit insane. Either way though.

Whether you agree with her style or not, it's impossible to contradict the obvious: Whatever she's doing, whether it belongs on the stage or in a padded white room, it's crazy, and it's selling. Because it is working, it is putting an enormous amount of pressure on other pop artists to "perform" to her standards, both on the stage and in any public appearance. Just think of the technologically impaired Black Eyed Peas/Guitar Hero show that was the super bowl half time performance. Which brings us to tonight's Grammy Awards.

Now I'm not watching the Grammy's, so some of my comments may be made in ignorance, but from what I've heard via Twitter and Facebook, the theme of the night seems to be "over the top." Every act seems to be trying to out-gaga the next and we've had snakeskin pants and nude body suits. There were even some inexplicable ninja drummers. Of course, no matter what the performers do, it's hard to out-do the woman who shows up to the show in a giant dinosaur egg.

So here's my point: What is the point? Are muppets and faces in a jar really a metaphor for some deep personal emotion? Do giant wedding dresses with video images provide a window to the universal human experience? Does showing up at the music awards show in a giant egg really mean that you're trying to rebirth the music industry, or does it just mean that you're being as ridiculous as you can be to maintain your rabid frothing following?

Do these absurd performances serve a purpose beyond the self-serving need to delve into the absurd?

I keep expecting Gaga to break character someday and reveal that her entire pop existence has just been a giant "Emperor's New Clothes" type experiment. She'll point and laugh, and in her fit of hysterical laughter she'll choke out the words "See what I made you do? See what I convinced the world was 'artistic?'" And the whole of the pop world will be shamed into realizing how easily these supposed trend setters rush to follow the herd.

Maybe then I'll accept Lady Gaga as a visionary artist.