I’m a monster. A Little Monster that is. If you aren’t exactly sure what I’m referring to, then you must not be a Lady Gaga fan. That is okay, weird and unsettling, but good. I’m not here to discuss how much I love me some Lady Gaga, her windpipes or her wild antics, I want to talk about the woman beneath the meat dress. The old soul that I have come to know and love beyond her talent and stage presence. I’m talking about the woman that we get to spend two hours with on Netflix; The real Lady Gaga, Stefanie Germanotta.
Lady Gaga’s Netflix Documentary Five Foot Two was released last week and is creating a lot of stir among her fans and even outsiders to Gaga phenomenon. The documentary takes a closer look at the making of her latest album, Joanne, as well as the challenges that she had to go through to make this year’s Superbowl Half Time show happen. While you think you know the artist on the surface, this gives you a closer look into why she created the “Gaga persona,” dresses the way that she does and allows you to take a closer look at the person she is behind all the masks and makeup.
While I love getting to know more about one of my favorite artists, the primary reason I wanted to write about this documentary, in particular, is because it also opens the door to the conversation about people dealing with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Fibromyalgia (a condition that I personally deal with) is something that we have all heard of, but never really knew what it was. Lady Gaga is really the first artist to shed some light on the condition and the struggles that people with the condition have to go through on a daily basis.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes widespread pain throughout the body, as well as fatigue, headaches, bowel issues and difficulty with the ability to focus on tasks. The tricky thing about this condition is that one day you can feel beautiful and your body shows no signs of pain, and then the next your pain can be unmanageable and feel as though you had aged fifty years. As Lady Gaga shows us all in the documentary, this condition can be completely debilitating. It not only makes you recognize how strong of a person she is for being able to get on stage with this condition but the real struggle that everyone has to go through who is living with it.
It is also heartfelt and humbling to see one of your favorite artists suffering the way that you do. While we idolize artists, we sometimes forget that they are human. They suffer like we do, go through heartbreaks like we do and feel pain just as we all do. With this look into Lady Gaga’s life, you are able to see that she is just like us. Thirty-one, struggling to find herself, struggling to keep her body healthy, struggling to make money and struggling to keep her head above. When all is said and done, we are able to feel Lady Gaga’s struggle and know we aren’t alone.
It doesn’t matter if you are a Little Monster or not, this documentary will allow you to see Lady Gaga in a whole new light. Not only will you get to see a little bit of the behind the scenes of the music industry, but you will also get a lesson on chronic pain and fibromyalgia. It is worth two hours of your time, so make sure you add it to your must-watch list!
Feature image via Gaga: Five Food Two on Netflix
