Analysis of the Chromatica Ball (a thread)
1. Stage Name: Museum Of Brutality Style: Brutalist Architecture
Why brutalist architecture? This style may provide the audience the feeling of horror and ugliness. It’s also a style that matches with time, giving a retrospective nostalgia of the 40s but still being a part of the modernism design.
Note: A reason for Gaga to have picked this style may be cause it doesn’t care about the material its made but more of the quality/honesty of it. Meaning that Gaga doesn’t care about the eccentricity of the stage, she just wants it to be the host for the story she’s about to tell
Why ‘Museum Of Brutality’? “Museum” refers to time. Gaga in this show will dive in time to tell her story. “Brutality” of how cruel/brutal the true story will be, suggesting darkness and horror.
2. Set List Why? Gaga in this tour links ‘The Fame Monster’ album with the ‘Chromatica’ album. Not cause of how relatable both albums are to each other, but more of how Gaga’s situation in The Fame era lead to the creation of ‘Chromatica’.
3. Opening Visuals The show starts with a visual long intro. The first images full of sparks and signs suggest the time and space for the Chromatica universe are being generated. Later we see a red ball, which is the full representation of the creation of the planet Chromatica.
The planet then starts to expand in a way that we’re about to see what’s deep inside of it. We see a dark geometrical figure, that may symbolise the “monster”. And then later we see Gaga crying indirectly telling us that all that world / monster was created in her mind.
4. Opening act In the opening act Gaga’s mind hasn’t created Chromatica yet. Gaga is just going to her past to show us what lead to that creation, and the reason is the FAME.
“Fame is prison” she says, that’s why she open the show singing stuck in an outfit, that may resemble an outfit of The Fame Ball tour. Bad Romance / Just Dance / Poker Face were her first huge hits which equals for the fame, implying that they were the reason for her huge stardom
5. Act 1 visuals In the first image we see Gaga with something connected to her brain which means that we’re about to enter her brain. That’s when Chromatica I starts playing and we see the portal to Chromatica, and from this moment on we’re going to be inside her mind’s world
6. Act 1 This act is still a very fresh beginning. Gaga’s telling us about her mind’s situation. In ‘Alice’ she’s immovable suggesting she can’t move her body, she’s stuck on her mind.
In ‘Replay’ she’s addressing the dark intrusive thoughts which are originated by this mind monster that Gaga sings about next with ‘Monster’. And that’s when she closes the first act.
7. Act 2 visuals. In these visuals for the most part we see white flowers, to be more specific tulips which are known as the “flowers of death”. White tulips also mean faith, if u dream about them it’s cause your about to experience a fresh new beginning of life.
That’s why it’s then cut to an image of Gaga in white lay down and then slowing starting to awake. This means that the identity of Gaga lost in her mind wakes up again with faith, ready to battle the mind monsters.
8. Act 2 In these act Gaga keeps on dealing with her monsters but this time she’s battling them. In 911 she’s facing her enemy deep inside, in Telephone she’s facing again the fame monster and her fear of suffocation.
While on LoveGame she’s battling through love and fame and in Sour Candy she’s telling us she still knows what love is and wants to feel it again.
9. Act 3 Visuals In these visuals we see a sudden light appearing and overshadowing the dark. This means Gaga found her light and was able to fight the darkness away. That’s why we next see some explosion visuals, they symbolise the destruction of the world Chromatica.
10. Act 3 It’s only on this act that Gaga addresses the public and says “this is ball”, which means only at this exact moment the party is gonna start as she’s not stuck in her mind anymore.
In Free Woman she goes walking the downtown, and she’s addressing the fans. This can be comprehend if we pay attention to the lyrics where she says “we own the downtown”. We = her fans. She and little monsters are one another and she’s ready to battle with us.
After Free Woman, she sings the anthem that brought her and her fanbase together (Born This Way) and celebrates.
11. Act IV visuals In these visuals we may see an inspiration from the painter Tamara de lempicka and Art Deco. Gaga explores that art through the geometrical figures behind her. She portrays herself as a woman figure Tamara painted.
It’s like Gaga pays respect to the painter for pioneering this feminist type of art of self-confident woman. Tamara was also queer, a reason why Gaga may have wanted to payed tribute too.
12.Act IV In this act she only sings songs addressing someone, and not her. That’s cause she’s singing to her fans now. She sits on the piano to communicate with us.
In Shallow, she’s saying “we’re far from the shallow now”; In ARUTW, Gaga is telling little monsters she will never forget them; In TEOG, Gaga is saying that she will be with us until her last final moment; In Enigma, Gaga is saying that she will always be our enigma.
13. Finale Act Visuals In these final visuals Gaga is giving her fans what they want. With a feeling of the Monster Ball inspiration (the tour where all the little monster + mother monster relationship started), Gaga is ready to serve visuals to little monsters again.
14. Finale Act Speech In this speech Gaga speaks on the creation of art and how throughout her art transformation, admires of her start to create a community (little monsters) and both came together neglecting all the discrimination.
She finishes saying that herself and her fans may have found the light, but there’s people still out there in the dark.
15. Finale Act In this finale act Gaga comes together with little monsters to celebrate and dance with them. This act is a form of saying both her and little monsters will keep on dancing forever and ever more.
On the encore Gaga brings the same idea with Hold My Hand saying she and little monsters will keep on supporting each other forever and ever more.
