Gaga Pays Tribute to Armenian Legend in 911 Short Film
Lady Gaga has just released a new music video for “911,” the third official single off her latest album Chromatica.
The video is a rich and colorful homage to the incredible 1969 film The Color of Pomegranates from genius director Sergei Parajanov. The film is a tribute of surrealist tableaux to the 18th century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova that combines cultural elements of Armenian history with dramatic, iconographic, and symbolic compositions.
Departing from the realism that dominated the Soviet cinema of its era, the film’s tapestry of folklore and metaphor led authorities to block its distribution, with rare underground screenings presenting it in a restructured form.
The video was directed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, a filmmaker and video of the year winner at the MTV Video Music Awards. Some of his most known projects include the Julia Roberts-starring Mirror Mirror and Jennifer Lopez's The Cell. Dhandwar has frequently cited Parajanov as an influence, and took this opportunity to reference the influential filmmaker, returning to the music-video format after 26 years of filmmaking.
"This short film is very personal to me, my experience with mental health and the way reality and dreams can interconnect to form heroes within us and all around us," Gaga wrote on Instagram. "I’d like to thank my director/filmmaker Tarsem for sharing a 25-year-old idea he had with me because my life story spoke so much to him."
Gaga has been very open about her struggles with mental health in the past, and is a staunch advocate for mental health issues. She started the 'Born This Way' non-profit foundation in 2012, named after her 2011 album, whose primary aim is to 'seek to support the mental and emotional wellness of young people by putting their needs, ideas, and voices first.'
It shares resources for people to get mental health help, funds programs such as the 'teen Mental Health First Aid' program which is 'in-person training teaches high school students about common mental health challenges and what they can do to support their own mental health and help a friend who is struggling.'
This advocacy and personal experience is presented incredibly in the “911” video. “Something that was once my real life everyday is now a film, a true story that is now the past and not the present. It’s the poetry of pain,” she added.
The visual references in the video are spot on. The poster of Parajanov’s film briefly appears in the video, and the word “caution” in Armenian (զգուշություն) can be seen throughout the short film as well. Below are some shot-for-shot comparisons between Parajanov’s The Color of Pomegranates and “911.”