Visual imagery is, without a doubt, the most powerful form of meaning. The use of color, shape, dominance, symbolism, and so on can create a sense of feeling, change ones mood, and even alter ones interpretation of the world around him. Music videos are some of the greatest forms of this visual imagery. Music videos hit our auditory and visual senses, creating an all-encompassing system of interpretation. Pop super-star Lady Gaga's music video for "Marry the Night" is, in my opinion, the most visually powerful music videos to date. Lady Gaga uses striking visuals in six distinct sets as well as in human body language and expression to create a video aimed at urging us to embrace our tribulations and use that acceptance as power to improve ourselves. 

In the first distinct set, the clinic, there are many clean, sharp lines, white outfits worn by the nurses, and warm, dark green walls. The windows let in an abundance of natural white light. Lady Gaga herself is a visual image. Her face and body are tattered and pained. All these visuals create a sense of sterility mixed with sadness. Sterility makes me think of illness, we go to a sterile place to stop the illness. The illness Lady Gaga is referring to is own psychological instability. It is clear from the video this is not a normal hospital. It is a metal institution for women and Lady Gaga is trying to be cured.

After the clinic we have the second distinct set, Gaga in a ballet studio. The studio has a very ominous, blacked-out surrounding that is contrasted by bright stage lights and Lady Gaga herself. Gaga is wearing a pink leotard. Pink, a color of love and romance, can be seen as a symbol of what she loves, her performances. There is also a visual of dominance; she is the largest, most prominent image in the scene, showing her importance. Her face and body language are one of poise, calm, and focus, showing her love and devotion to her work. 

Third, we have Lady Gaga in her apartment. After receiving a brief and blatant phone call, a breakdown ensues. We experience a dark color pallet, flashing graphics, and objects being thrown all around. Gaga's facial expression goes from one of poise and composure to one of pure confusion and disarray. These visuals create a sense of unadulterated chaos. This chaos is caused by failure; her label dropped her over the phone. The meaning behind this scene is that, even if we try our hardest, we can still fail and it is natural to feel a sense of hopelessness after these failures. We just need to pick ourselves back up. 

Following the breakdown, the next and fourth distinct location we have is the parking lot -- the start of the real music video. In the lot, we see, again, a very dark color pallet. Everything is dark and Lady Gaga is wearing black. The only distinct break in color we see is her prominent red soles and red lipstick. This dark pallet is designed to show pain and suffering, but the red, because it so sharply contrasts the dark blacks, is added to show resilience. Gaga is symbolizing to us that, even after massive failure, we must be resilient to move on. There is the visual of an exploding car; this symbolic scene is brought up again later in the video to show its importance. In this scene, Lady Gaga's facial expression goes from one of defeat and pain, to one of strength and determination. She is moving on from her troubling past and picking herself back up. 

The fifth set, the dance studio, is a pivotal part of the video. In the studio, we see an instant change in mood. The background color shifts from the ominous black to a more lively light blue. There is an overarching sense of order and symmetry in the dancing. Each of the dancers is in sync, making for a very visually pleasing number. One striking scene is when the girl falls down; we see embarrassment and concern in her facial expression. Then, Gaga comes over and helps her up, both of them smiling -- a first in the video -- , and they go on to finish the number perfectly. This scene could be symbolic for the notion that whenever you fall down, someone is always willing to help you up. Once back on your feet, you can succeed. This pivotal moment is meant to show us that even after such hard failures, she is still working harder than ever to succeed and we should do the same.

Finally, we have the climax and sixth set of the music video. This scene is split between a New York Street and a house. In this scene we see a recurrence of her breakdown. There is flashing scenery, rapid movements, dark colors, and so on. One distinct part is when we see Gaga in a white bathroom wearing all black, covering her eyes and head with sunglasses and a big hat. This is symbolic of her unhealthy relationship with herself. She is blinding herself from her issues. She then goes on to try and throw up the food she just ate, getting frustrated when nothing comes up. She lights a cigarette, but takes her glasses off -- unmasking herself from her destructive ways -- and throws the pack of cigarettes in the trash. Coming back to the car-exploding scene, we see that Gaga is the one who lit the fire causing the explosion. This is symbolic for destroying the past she isn't proud of. In conclusion, to wrap the video up, we have Gaga dancing in a New York Street. She, again, is wearing all black, signifying that her sadness and troubles are still part of her, but her facial expression is much happier, representing that those troubles don't control her anymore. Finally, we see her trying to get into a car with a massive black hat; she can't get into the car with it on though. Sometimes we need to let go of our bad past experiences to move on. In the final scene, she is in the car, and flashes a note written on her hand saying, "Interscope Records, Hollywood, CA, 4pm." Interscope was the record label to sign Lady Gaga back in 2008, producing and promoting her first single "Just Dance" and album "The Fame" (Wikipedia). She had to let go of her past failures and tribulations and stay resilient to move on. When she moved on, she was finally able to find success. The meaning of this final scene is one of self-empowerment. Even if we fail again and again and feel like we have nothing left, we can still succeed at our goals through hard work and determination. 

Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" music video uses remarkable visuals in the set as well as human facial expressions to create a video that is calling for us to embrace -- or Marry -- our troubles -- the Night (night symbolizing evil and misery) -- and use that acceptance as power to improve ourselves, overcome, and succeed. Gaga starts off in a psychiatric hospital for some unknown reason. She then moves on to a ballet try-out where she ultimately is cut and dropped from her record label, leading to a chaotic breakdown. She recovers and works hard in the dance studio to succeed at her goals. She then has another total breakdown, showing the viewers her struggle with bulimia, cigarettes, and self-harm. Finally, we see her overcoming these tribulations and ultimately getting the big break she was trying her whole life for. We need to follow this example, life is full of failures, but success is made in failure. 

