"I'm Your Biggest Fan, I'll Follow You ... " Lady Gaga, Little Monsters and the Religious Dimension of Fandom in Pop Music

This thesis examines the religious dimension of fandom in popular music, taking as an object of reflection Lady Gaga and her fans. I combine fan studies with theories of immanence as well as Deleuze and Guattari's notion of the process of becoming, and provide a theoretical reading of the relationship between Lady Gaga and her most fervent fans, the 'little monsters.' Both fandom and religion promise a stable sense of identity and authentic community to devotees. Performing deconstructive discourse analysis on three of Lady Gaga's music videos, I demonstrate how fandom, like organized religion, can simultaneously be an emancipatory practice and a practice that seeks to deny individual subjects their agency. This thesis provides a new theoretical framework for understanding fandom, and illustrates how the purported benefits of both fandom and religion can only be gained when the figureheads of each group are symbolically destroyed by the members themselves.

Lovell's Business and Professional Directory of the Province of Ontario, for 1882, Alphabetically arranged as to Places, Names, Business and Professions, with a Classified Business Directory of the City of Montreal (1882)

Business directory for the Province of Ontario for the year 1882.

Music Program for St. Mark's Church "Song of the Bell" - 1884

A musical program for a concert at Music Hall Niagara for the St. Marks' Church organ fund. The program consists of 27 numbers from Schiller's "Song of the Bell. The event is dated Thursday, April 17th, 1884 and admission is 25 cents, 15 cents for children.

Advertisement Star Music Store

An advertisement for Star Music Store, established 1869. The advertisement describes the services offered and the brands sold.

Music Score - The Drunkard's Home, As it was Temperance Song and As it is Chorus

A music score called "The Drunkard's Home" by Frank Howard. The front cover of the score has an illustration of two different experiences. One side of the illustration appears to be a family sitting by the fire as the patriarch reads the newspaper and the matriarch tends to one of the children. The other side of the illustration shows children on the floor in torn clothing as a female is slumped over a table and two men stumble in the door.

Public Instrument of Protest

Public Instrument of Protest (1 double-sided handwritten page) by William W. Gillvery and the North West Company against Angus W. Gillis for breaking his agreement with the company, March 26, 1800.

Instrument of Protest from Edward Barrori Palmer

Instrument of protest from Edward Barrori Palmer, Notary Public of Oakville regarding a protest by Samuel Sutherland, Master of the schooner Elizabeth and Charles McEacherin, mate. The schooner belonged to the Port of Niagara. It set sail from Port Credit to the Port of Niagara. On the 15th day of May there was a violent storm. On the 16th day of May, part of the deck and cargo consisting of lumber went overboard. The mainsail was lost and the jib was split due to the wind. All losses and damages should be borne by the merchants and whomever else it concerned and not by or through the insufficiency of the schooner of neglect by the officers and mariners. This is a 2 ½ page handwritten document, May 16, 1837.

Telegram from Montreal and Dominion Telegraph Companies’ Lines to Louis Cabot stating that Mr. Woodruff has arranged to transfer the shares

Telegram from Montreal and Dominion Telegraph Companies’ Lines to Louis Cabot stating that Mr. Woodruff has arranged to transfer the shares, Jan. 18, 1886.

Receipt from W. H. Eckhardt, Pianos, Organs, Sheet Music and Musical Merchandise for piano

Receipt from W. H. Eckhardt, Pianos, Organs, Sheet Music and Musical Merchandise for piano, May 9, 1887.

Receipt from W.H. Eckhardt, Star Music Store, St. Catharines for rent of machine

Receipt from W.H. Eckhardt, Star Music Store, St. Catharines for rent of machine, Feb. 1, 1888.