"She's God Basically Mother of This Universe": The 'Authentic' Lady Gaga and the Re-evaluation of the Little Monster Fan Identity

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aut.embargoNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.containsNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.permissionNoen_NZ
aut.thirdpc.removedNoen_NZ
dc.contributor.advisorPiatti-Farnell, Lorna
dc.contributor.authorSpeakman, Blair Ian
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-07T01:03:17Z
dc.date.available2016-11-07T01:03:17Z
dc.date.copyright2016
dc.date.created2016
dc.date.issued2016
dc.date.updated2016-11-06T20:40:35Z
dc.description.abstractLady Gaga is a gender-subverting and theatrical pop-star who cultivated a uniquely close subcultural bond with her fans, the Little Monsters, by embracing the 'monster'. However, in September 2014, Lady Gaga 'shocked' fans and challenged audience expectations of her as an artist by releasing a collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek. This thesis is primarily concerned with critically investigating how Little Monsters received Lady Gaga's significant transformation in image and sound for the Cheek to Cheek era, and whether the jazz album impacted how fans perceived their fan-identity, the Little Monster community, and Lady Gaga. The following research questions were developed in order to gain an insight into the Little Monster identity: 1) "What is the relationship between the release of Lady Gaga's collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek (2014) and the perception of the Lady Gaga fan-identity"; 2) "How did the change in musical genre and persona affect how Little Monsters perceived their identity"; and 3) "How did the fan reception of Cheek to Cheek impact the fan community and fan practices". An online questionnaire was employed and survey data was analysed in relation to a range of academic fields including identity, community, fandom, social anthropology, and postmodernism in order to critically analyse whether participants re-evaluated their Lady Gaga fan-identity. Often contradictory and conflicting results illustrate how participants received Cheek to Cheek in contrasting ways, as some Little Monsters expressed their desire for the return of the music which made the singer commercially successful, while other fans perceived the jazz album to an extension of Lady Gaga's identity. The divide participants experienced throughout the Cheek to Cheek era meant that some Little Monsters felt isolated from the fan community, as they did not conform to the appropriate norms and fan practices.en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/10137
dc.language.isoenen_NZ
dc.publisherAuckland University of Technology
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectLady Gagaen_NZ
dc.subjectLittle Monstersen_NZ
dc.subjectCheek to Cheeken_NZ
dc.subjectFandomen_NZ
dc.subjectFan communityen_NZ
dc.subjectAuthenticityen_NZ
dc.subjectMusicen_NZ
dc.subjectPop musicen_NZ
dc.subjectMusic fandomen_NZ
dc.subjectPopular cultureen_NZ
dc.subjectThematic analysisen_NZ
dc.title"She's God Basically Mother of This Universe": The 'Authentic' Lady Gaga and the Re-evaluation of the Little Monster Fan Identityen_NZ
dc.typeThesis
thesis.degree.grantorAuckland University of Technology
thesis.degree.levelMasters Theses
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Communication Studiesen_NZ
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