Posted on 02/10/2017 7:51:38 AM PST by Kaslin
Halftime at the Super Bowl, once merely a forgettable 30 minutes to get another beer or join the line at the restroom, is now more entertaining. It sometimes gets different reviews from different generations. But this year, everyone could find something to be dazzled by in Lady Gaga's terrific patriotic pop.
She was a dazzling Peter Pan, a hip Mary Poppins, a sparkly SpongeBob SquarePants, floating through the air like the man on the flying trapeze, shimmering drones illuminating an American flag in the night sky behind her. It was testimony to high-tech triumphalism to match the magic on the stage, sky and field.
The lady who vamped Tony Bennett at his 90th birthday party with a seductive version of "The Lady is a Tramp" and engages millennials with flamboyant, funky and freaky electronic fireworks buzzed the stadium in radiant sequins of silver and steel. She announced that she was simply there to "make you feel good."
That's not easy to do in a polarized political culture, but the tweets afterward were decidedly cross-generational, enthusiastic and even bipartisan. Former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted that his "good friend" continues to amaze him. Ivanka Trump tweeted, "Incredible performance." And Tyler Oakley tweeted, "actual goddess bringing together all of America to celebrate being one nation under God, pop music & aerial acrobatics." The goddess soars through the air, courting the camera for fun, not miracles. Her drones do not kill or deliver packages; they decorate the sky for dramatic effect.
Super Bowl halftime is a fantasy world for everybody, whether they want to make America great again or nourish a post-November hangover for the ages. This year it called a truce in the culture war, if only for a half-hour. There were no sexual politics (or any other kind). Hers was entertainment to match the heroics of Tom Brady's astonishing comeback.
There was no wardrobe malfunction, as in 2004 when Janet Jackson's black leather jacket popped open for a split second and out popped her boob. Nor did we have to endure a tribute to Black Panther cop killers, which Beyonce came up with last year with a chorus in black berets, presumably as testimony to black power. Lady Gaga, by contrast, even gave a shoutout to her parents. That's as American as apple pie in the sky can get.
Vice President Mike Pence watched the show with two wounded warriors who flew with him to Houston on Air Force Two. One was wounded in Iraq in 2008, the other in Afghanistan last year. One rooted for the New England Patriots, the other for the Atlanta Falcons. Nice touch.
Polarized politics slam in your face 24/7, and they're in the eye of the beholder like a cinder, relentlessly cultivating divisions, fissures and chasms. Several pundits and big talkers describe Lady Gaga as a stealth subversive. They accuse her of sending a double message by singing "This Land Is Your Land" because Woody Guthrie originally composed it to be an edgy protest in an America still suffering from the Depression. They miss the lady's bigger point. Her rendition of Irving Berlin's mighty "God Bless America" and Guthrie's anthem brought the Super Bowl crowd together. She even added a few words from the Pledge of Allegiance. For a brief span of the game, Americans were divided only by competing loyalties to the Patriots and the Falcons. How refreshing is that?
Not everybody was thrilled, of course. Amanda Petrusich, writing in The New Yorker, scorned the men on the field as gladiators fighting at the Coliseum, "demolishing each other for the profit and entertainment of others." Who took Grandma Grundy to the ball game? That said, the scientific research on brain injuries on the gridiron is indeed scary. One study observing an offensive lineman in a game found that 10 hits he accrued had "the average G-Force of a car ramming into a wall at roughly thirty miles per hour." Few club owners, coaches or players protest that kind of wall when reaching for the millions.
There's a caution in this for our sons and grandsons who dream of making the team. Lady Gaga says she started planning her halftime entertainment when she was only 4 years old, and many little boys no older than that are dreaming of scoring the winning pass, run or field goal to win a Super Bowl years hence. No G-force is powerful enough to snuff that dream. But evidence mounts that football is bad for the brain (and the knees, shoulders and ankles).
Criticism of the sport sounds mean-spirited to anyone watching such skill and talent. Better to watch Lady Gaga catch a sparkling pigskin and disappear into that mysterious wonderland where talented performers and athletes go to dream their dreams. It makes the rest of us feel good, too, if only for the moment.
How about military marching bands? Makes more sense to me.
Like I said I am not a fan of her, but the reason I watched her was because she said she was going to do a patriotic song which she did. The other stuff didn’t interest me, though it wasn’t as weird as all the other stuff she does.
I went out on the deck and smoked one of my victory cigars during halftime...since I didn’t want to watch that crap, and it didn’t look like I was going to be able to smoke it after the game!
Agreed, we watch entertainers for entertainment, not political speeches or lectures.
She’s nothing but a weirdo to me.
I didn’t even finish watching the first video. She sure cleaned up her act for the Superbowl. Thank goodness. I think everyone was so relieved that she didn’t go into an anti-Trump rant.
Several years ago I asked my daughter about her and she said she was a good singer. She's not a fan of her either
But look at how nice and normal she appeared as a young girl. Damn shame they all seem to think they need to resort to becoming sluts and weirdos to advance their careers. Similar thing with Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus.
I LOVE military marching bands! That definitely makes more sense than giving the past four years of half time shows to satanists!
RE Jayz:
That moron is too stupid to understand that the guy he’s wearing on his shirt would have wasted him in a heartbeat just for simply owning and wearing that “bourgeois” bling around his neck in that picture.
And I notice he and his wife won’t LIVE in the Cuban “People’s Paradise” that Che helped create, either...
(snip)
Che Guevara was a racist who specifically held blacks in contempt.
I think about this often when I see deluded young African-Americans wearing a t-shirt with his likeness. ..."
As for Guevara's views on race, he did not mince words. After the Revolution's victory in 1959, he famously said, "We're going to do for blacks exactly what blacks did for the revolution. By which I mean: nothing."
And no, it wasn't just hard feelings over how Cuban blacks had supported the biracial dictator Fulgencio Batista. With Guevara it was more of a conviction, as we can glean from another quote. Speaking of blacks he said: "The ***** is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized and intelligent." ..."
http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2012/01/el-che-the-crass-marketing-of-a-sadistic-racist
Not surprising.
But Che got what he deserved in Bolivia. A good day for the world.
I know I will be a YUGE minority here, but I LOVE LADY GAGA!
I wouldn’t vote for her for political office, but as an entertainer she is FANTASTIC! She is a creative GENIUS!
This Superbowl show (with it’s many limitations) was a creative masterpiece. Stefani Germanotta (just to remind you that Lady Gaga is an act and that she is also a real person) was FLAWLESS in her performance. A true ARTIST.
I don’t know where she stands with God, but she gives evidence both ways.
She’s a showman, an artist, an entertainer, and VERY GOOD at it. She’s actually very pretty/hot, excellent physical condition/stamina, can REALLY sing, she has an incredible voice quality, she can REALLY dance. While on stage or in videos performing with professional dancers, she’s the BEST dancer on that floor.
Whether designing or just choosing, fashion and wardrobe, and theatrical sets, she’s a genius. Some of her earlier fashion statements were a bit weird (meat dresses etc.), but a girl has to get noticed.
If you are a Frank Sinatra fan, you won’t likely be a Lady Gaga fan. (I HATE Frank Sinatra style music, HURL!)
IF you could be objective you could appreciate that what I have said about Lady Gaga is true. But I know you all won’t.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Or perhaps they could have military marching bands and also bring in high school and college marching bands. NBC or whoever it is that broadcasts the game could hold tryouts for these school bands and, then, pay for them to come to wherever the game is.
Good PR for the network and good exposure and incentive for the students. And the NFL or whoever pays these horrible performers would wind up spending probably less than half of what they have to pay these disgusting acts.
Gaga killed Amercan Idol and wore x-rated shoes to shock underage winner - sweet little Scottie.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/lady-gaga-penis-shoes-american-idol_n_861555.html
That’s why it’s called ‘free will’. No one is forced to follow God and what he has commanded. You are free to choose and you don’t have to worry about it. Until you die of course.
It’s a shame she can’t just use all that talent for good instead of evil. Why would you want to do crap like that. Kids have enough issues to deal with these days without her trying to lead them down a dark path that will lead to no good.
As asked by a previous poster, where is the video???????
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