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Inside Gaga: Five Foot Two

One of Lady Gaga’s hit albums is Born This Way.
One of Lady Gaga’s hit albums is Born This Way.

In a new documentary, the life of musician Lady Gaga is revealed in a remarkably candid light like never before seen of a mega pop star.

“Gaga: Five Foot Two” made its debut on Netflix Sept. 22. The documentary by visual artist Chris Moukarbel follows the pop star while making her fifth studio album “Joanne.”

Viewers get a behind-the-scenes look into the pop star’s daily life, catching a glimpse of the real woman behind Lady Gaga.

Like everyone else, Gaga struggles with self-doubt and finds counsel through friends and family.

The 100-minute film is a commentary on fame and the reality of how crippling a life in the limelight can be.

After the release on Netflix, Gaga wrote in a Twitter post, “Fame is not all it’s cracked up to be.”

She said in the post that her lifestyle is lonely, isolating and psychologically challenging.

At times the film is difficult to look at as is depicts a woman struggling through life while trying to promote her business.

In a hard-to-watch scene, Gaga lays on the couch in enormous amounts of body pain due to her battle with fibromyalgia--a chronic disorder with widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in the body--which she has become public about.

This scene took place hours before she attended Tony Bennett’s 90th birthday party. In the next scene, Gaga is performing a jazz version of “Bad Romance.”

It is the combination of moments like these that make the cinematic experience disheartening to watch. She never gets a break.

For every major success, Gaga pays the price in other unwanted ways.

Taking place during her breakup with ex-fiancé Taylor Kinney, Gaga said in the film that she loses everybody.

Fame has taken some of the best parts of her life, but she relentlessly moves forward making her music and album.

The singer is so touched by her music that she willing walks through hell and back for her art.

It gives a new appreciation for those in the music business, like Lady Gaga.

Whether or not the film quality was up to snuff is debatable.

The film went out of focus many times and shots were shaky or not executed in the most aesthetically pleasing way.

It is understandable that Moukarbel may have wanted to give audiences the most raw look into Gaga’s life.

However, with so much torment going onscreen for the pop star, audiences would have benefited from a better quality of film.

Like yin and yang, the director could have balanced out the harder moments with more visually pleasing shots.

Although the film had an overarching tone of sadness, it also celebrates great highlights in the singer's life.

Beginning months before Gaga’s Super Bowl LI halftime performance, the film ends with the singer and her team preparing for the show.

Here is where we see the dedication of the performer.

Days leading up to the performance in rehearsal, Gaga holds nothing back. No injury can stop her.

She is going to put on the best show, and she makes sure no detail is missed.

By the end of the film, the well-known halftime performance is a major success. Gaga and her team are celebrating the victory and emotions run high.

This is a moment where fame pays her back.


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