Page - 38 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

38 | Katharina Luise Merkert www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 34–39 conflict evident in the song, we can also identify, as I explore here, criticism of society’s normative gender values. Lady Gaga is represented in Judas as an inconsistent and contradictory woman. On the one hand, she appears strong and independent, unwavering in her faith in Jesus. On the other hand, she seems desperate and insecure, hesitant and doubtful when it comes to decid- ing about Judas. The pistol scene shows this opposition very well (fig. 1 and fig. 2). This scene illustrates her inability to choose between Jesus and Judas. She tries to accept both sides of her feelings and her personality but struggles to overcome an inner conflict. At the end of the video, Jesus appears to forgive Lady Gaga (fig. 3), yet she is still punished for her behavior and dies by being stoned (fig. 4). On one level we can identify a retelling of a biblical story as criticism of religion and the Catholic Church.7 The Bible recounts the use of execution by stoning as punishment for prostitution,8 and the depiction in the video appears to challenge religious judgement of women’s sexuality. But on an- other level, we find criticism of prevailing gender concepts. Judas portrays only the death of Lady Gaga and not the crucifixion of Jesus. The woman is made the scapegoat: her unfaithfulness to Jesus is the point of conflict, not Judas’s betrayal. The video thus portrays the demonization of women, with Lady Gaga deliberately criticizing the normative expectations of the female role. The religious symbols are used only to contextualize the message of Ju- das, to show that religion is significant in Lady Gaga’s life. The target of its criticism is society – symbolized by the angry mob that executes Lady Gaga in the end – and its insistence on women’s conformity to normative conven- tions. The religious symbols in Judas are a medium for the communication of a critical message and are aesthetic and illustrative elements in the story. The song and the video are a platform on which the artist negotiates specific political and personal values. Bibliography Daily Mail, 2011, Lady Gaga Dresses as Mary Magdalene and Takes a Bike Ride with Jesus Christ in “Blasphemous” New Video for Judas Single, 6 May, www.dailymail.co.uk/tv- showbiz/article-1384131/Lady-Gaga-Judas-video-Star-dresses-Mary-Magdalene-rides- bike-Jesus-Christ.html [accessed 24 May 2020]. 7 Daily Mail 2011. 8 See John 8:3–5.