Half, And Yet Whole: The Ins Of Jo Calderone
I was on a Gaga fansite earlier tonight, and saw a Gaga hater - you know the types, the ones who apparently have nothing better to do with their lives than go onto a fansite and bash the person the site is dedicated to, in plain sight of a throng of fiercely loyal fans, mainly because they have no jobs and live in their parents' basements, yeah, those kinds of fansite trolls - claim that Madonna's '93 performance at the VMAs, where she was dressed in a tux but was not in fact playing a male character, had much more "concept" than Jo Calderone's attendance of this year's VMAs. Whoever this person was demanded that the Gaga fans explain the concept behind Jo Calderone, asking what he's there for other than for Gaga to have the chance to dress in drag.
My first reaction was "How DARE you," quickly quelled by "Gaga isn't for everybody, and clearly she isn't for you." I will never be very mad at anyone who doesn't like Gaga, for whatever reason, and I'll never try to change their minds about her either, but it got me thinking: Why amI so obsessed with Jo? What is it exactly about him that draws me to him?
The answer came to me after an hour under the shower, Jo's monologue and performance at the VMA's blaring from my iPod and speakers in the bathroom.
It's not just about who he is, but more about whyhe is.
Jo Calderone is not just a male alter-ego. He is not just a figment of the imagination. He's not just another character that Lady Gaga's creativity gave birth to. He is real. He lives. He exists.
Jo Calderone is the half that makes Lady Gaga whole.
"You'll never find what you're looking for in love, if you don't love yourself," Gaga said, as she released the covers of the "You And I" single, featuring Jo's gruff mug on both. Of all the messages she has released on Twitter about love and unity, this one was the most straightforward. She didn't need to mess around with the message, because the message didn't need it. But little did we all know just what exactly it would mean.
Fast forward to two weeks later. Jo makes his VMA debut, and, despite calling her "fucking crazy," professes a love for Gaga. He says he wishes Gaga were more herself with him, that he wants her to be real, wants to share in her spotlight, wants to shine WITH her, wants to see her be honest with herself, wants to GIVE her a chance to be honest.
And considering the world that Gaga operates in, the career she's chosen, the path she must tread while carving out her own, wouldn't she want someone to want all of these things for her? She talks of herself as if Stefani is the shell, and Gaga is everything else. Gaga is the person, the Fame is the character, and it has taken away so much of the reality within her. She wants it back, and she wants someone who will love her enough to want all these things for her as well.
In other words, Jo Calderone is the love that Gaga has for her true self.
So you see, dear sceptics and critics, it is once again proven that nothing that Lady Gaga does entertainment-wise is ever without purpose, statement or message. It's just that they weren't meant for everybody to understand. A lot of non-fans of Gaga will not see past the drag outfit, the crazy faces, the constant swearing. They won't get it the significance of Jo Calderone, and of him being the one to sing about a love so pure and true that, foolish though one may have been to leave, one must come back and find and never leave again.
Jo Calderone, and everything he stands for, ties in still with everything that "Born This Way" and the Haus of Gaga is about. He is real. He lives. Heexists. Why? Becausehe is LOVE. And "Love is a Result. We bare an Unbearable Human Inability: to 'BE.'"
So there you are, random Gaga hater. There's the concept for Jo Calderone.
Any other questions?
Love Lots And God Bless!
~ MARCIANA ~
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