#Lady Gaga’s ‘911’ film exposes mental-health battle in raw detail

Just a couple of weeks after receiving the inaugural honor at this 2020 MTV Videos Awards — not to mention leading all winners with five Moonpersons — Mother Monster has dropped another eye-popping video, this time for “911,” the latest single off of her “Chromatica” album.

But it’s the mental-health message of the video that may linger even more than the visuals. That may come as no surprise for the Little Monsters who already know that “911” is a song about Gaga’s experiences taking antipsychotic medication.

The video opens with Gaga walking unnamed sandy dunes. Wherever they may be, it looks like a futuristic version of the Middle Ages, with Gaga chanting out the verses in costume change after costume change, hairstyle after hairstyle.

Setting the manic mood, it’s as if they’re a whole tribe of many different Gagas singing lyrics such as “I have heard enough of these voices, almost like I have no choice” and “My biggest enemy is me, pop a 911.”

Then just when it seems Gaga is stabbed through the heart toward the end, there’s a surprise twist: The video flashes to a whole different Gaga — one who appears to be on some type of movie set — fighting for her life after a gruesome car accident, which we don’t know whether she caused or not.

On her Instagram, Gaga explained that the “911” video — vibrantly directed by Tashem Singh (R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”) — is about her mental-healthy journey. “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 ends the post with some love for her fans: “Finally, thank you, little monsters. I’m awake now, I can see you, I can feel you, thank you for believing in me when I was very afraid. Something that was once my real life everyday is now a film … It’s the poetry of pain.”