Following the release of her sixth studio album Chromatica, Lady Gaga dropped a short film to accompany the track “911” on September 18th. The video visually coincides with the song’s chaos, through bleach sanded deserts, finding a false paradise, and a dark ambulant cry for help. A classic example that when it comes to music videos, Gaga is in a league of her own.
The track itself sonically describes Gaga’s manic-depressive war within her mind, referencing her experience with taking antipsychotics. She toys with this idea over a chaotic pop melody where she writes;
“Keep my dolls inside diamond boxes Save 'em 'til I know I'm gon' drop this Front I've built around my oasis Paradise is in my hands"
Dolls are references to the pills that calm her depression and bring her to a peaceful state of mind. However, the intensity of the song urges the listener to understand that antipsychotics are a blindfold, and will eventually bring back reality. The living dreamscape painted with hieroglyphics and murals is only a distraction from the depression. The chorus almost simplifies the emergency where she sings;
“My biggest enemy is me
Pop a 911”
An opening display of vast white sand-dunes sets the scene of the video, where Gaga lays alone in the center wearing a red-caped dress spilling over like blood. The entire short film seems to play with vivid colors to symbolize the vibrancy of the mind. Through outfit changes and pulsating dance beats, the film makes sudden transitions completely in-line with the song. This aggressive aesthetic is pretty on-brand for Lady Gaga, dancing through the harsh fantasy she created on Chromatica. Playing out like the most bewildering psychological thriller ever, the video is an honest statement of pain the singer-songwriter has battled her entire life. An abrasive end finds Gaga screaming at the top of her lungs (a possible nod to lyrics from “Alice” on Chromatica). Which is when Gaga finally wakes up.
After watching the film, you come to understand it references a real-world situation where Gaga finds herself amid a horrific car accident. The entire film was from the perspective of a concussion where Gaga dreamt her entire accident and used prophecies and art to repaint a more picturesque experience. She screams from the bed of an ambulance with a chilling cry “DID ANYBODY DIE?”
Chromatica is now available on all streaming services, featuring the song "911" amongst Gaga's 16 track collection. Watch the short film for "911" here:
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