"Judas" is a dance song by Lady GaGa which tells the story of a woman in love with a man who repeatedly betrays her; despite his betrayal, she is unable to stop loving him. Stafani Germanotta (Gaga) explained that the song was also about honoring one's inner darkness in order to bring themselves into the light, "You have to look into what’s haunting you and need to learn to forgive yourself in order to move on." Gaga further explained that the lines spoken during the techno breakdown talks about how her character (Mary Magdalene) has passed the point of no return, ergo, she is unable to redeem herself, in terms of the traditional views of what a woman is supposed to be, i.e. "I'm hooker, prostitute, wench, vomits her mind".
This music video includes a Biblical storyline, depicting Judas and GaGa as modern day missionaries going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It includes the Biblical storyline of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss, and ends with Gaga as Mary Magdalene being stoned to death. Prior to its release, the Catholic League condemned Gaga for the alleged use of religious imagery and her role in the video; the same goes for GaGa's "Alejandro" where she is depicted both as a nun, and as Joan of Arc.
GaGa said of the video: "'Judas' is a metaphor and an analogy about forgiveness and betrayal and things that haunt you in your life and how I believe that it's the darkness in your life that ultimately shines and illuminates the greater light that you have upon you. Someone once said to me, 'If you have no shadows then you're not standing in the light.' So the song is about washing the feet of both good and evil and understanding and forgiving the demons from your past in order to move into the greatness of your future. I just like really aggressive metaphors—harder, thicker, darker—and my fans do as well. So it is a very challenging and aggressive metaphor, but it is a metaphor. I sing about what a holy fool I am, and that although moments in my life are so cruel and relationships can be so cruel I’m still in love with Judas. I still go back again to those evil things."
Synopsis of the video:
The video opens with a motorcycle gang cruising down a freeway, wearing studded leather jackets. The motorcycle gang is comprised of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. GaGa as Mary Magdalene clutches onto a Jesus-like figure who wears a golden crown of thorns. Among the riders is Judas, who, revealingly, races ahead of the rest of the pack while GaGa looks meaningfully towards him. The gang passes under a flyover, when the song starts. They reach their hideout - the "Electric Chapel" - where GaGa's character watches curiously as loose-cannon Judas enters the biker club and immediately gets involved in a brawl. While trying to protect Jesus from the fights she attempts to warn him about his apostle's impending betrayal, but becomes hypnotized by Judas' allure. The storyline is interspersed with choreographed dance sequences and close-ups of GaGa with stark imagery, including artistic eye make-up, which was compared to the Egyptian Eye of Horus. Her flowing blonde hair is accented by a red bandanna, blue leather jacket and wedding dress in different parts of the clip. The blue jacket worn by GaGa displays the "Sacred Heart", a depiction of what Jesus revealed as a symbol of his love for humanity. During the second verses, GaGa points towards Peter during the line "Build a house", and towards herself during "Or sink a dead body", implying the difference in purity between them.
After the second chorus, in a climatic sequence, the singer holds a gun up to Judas' mouth, and a stick of red lipstick bursts out and smears his lips. The scene portrays GaGa's choice to refuse to shoot Judas through the heart. As the breakdown ends, the music stops and GaGa is seen in a bathtub with Jesus and Judas, washing their feet and cleaning it with her hair. The sequence is interspersed with GaGa standing alone on a rock as waves engulf her, the scene being reminiscent of artist Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and Jesus marching towards his fatal destiny. The music restarts and Judas is shown pouring beer in the bathtub. Next Jesus is shown standing on a stage, surrounded by his supporters, the setting being inspired by scaffoldings present around newly constructed buildings in New York. GaGa kneels in front of Jesus and kisses his signet ring, while he places his palm on her head as Judas looks on. After Judas delivers the fateful kiss upon Jesus' cheeks, marking him for his death, GaGa falls on the ground with a silent, anguished cry. GaGa is then shown grasping Jesus' leg in the bathtub, referring to her choosing good over evil; however, the video ends with the death of neither Judas nor Jesus, but of GaGa as she's stoned to death by the crowd as punishment for her sins.
GaGa directly references art through a number of ways in this video, most notably, the scene where she is engulfed by waves, a direct reference to "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli.
Another example of her reference to art is her portrayal of the eye of horus, a symbol of protection, power and wealth.
GaGa also references several religious customs of Jesus's time, such as her washing the feet of Christ (an act which displays subservience to another):
and the symbol of the sacred heart, Christ's symbol of undying love:
Finally, GaGa directly references an iconic poster from the 1953 film "The Wild One" starring Marlon Brando, with the Biker Apostles of Christ shown throughout the video.
In conclusion, this video is a direct reference to art, popular culture and religion, and, despite causing some controversy, I absolutely love it!!
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