Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga exemplifies what people consider an extreme musical artist. Exploring her music videos and the lyrics, one will realize she delivers music with a strong religious background. Gaga has a substantial connection with her Catholic background. She was brought up in a Roman Catholic Italian family in Manhattan, which includes going to an all-girl Catholic school. In “Judas,” she battles between good and evil, which represent Jesus and Judas. Looking deeper into the lyrics and the video, one will discover plenty of scriptural characters and how she struggles with them. At the start of the video, Jesus and his twelve disciples are riding into Jerusalem on motorcycles like a motorcycle crew. Gaga, who portrays Mary Magdalene, rides on the back of Jesus’ motorcycle. Magdalene was a famous prostitute who received grace when she …show more content…
In this scene in the video no music plays, Gaga stands on a rock and the ocean water comes up high behind her. The water symbolizes rebirth and baptism. Later in this scene, Gaga sits in a tub with Jesus on one side and Judas on the other, representing once again her struggle between good and evil. She has to make a choice of whose feet she washes. She washes Jesus feet, which refers to an old biblical ritual to express humility. In Jerusalem, because of the dirty and dusty conditions of the land, the people who washed feet were the ones whom were of the lowest class. Clearly, in this scene she does not want to wash Judas feet instead she mocks him by splashing his face with baptismal water. In the final portion of this scene, Judas pours beer over the Lady Gaga’s buttocks and groin, in an obvious act of disgust and dismissal. Gaga continues to pray to Jesus for forgiveness, Jesus honors her request with a kiss, but does not save her when she stoned to death by the dancers who symbolize the