POPSCREEN: Tila Tequila

I don’t want to insult your intelligence by dwelling upon the more obvious features of “A Shot At Love” reality show host and noted MySpace tramp Tila Tequila’s new video, such as the economical digital camera work and lyrical pearls of wisdom like “some just want some layin’.” Therefore, it behooves me to instead confront the deeper issues that this video raises.

The chorus—“We all want the same thing”—seems to posit an idyllic utopia populated by both strippers and ex-boyfriends that would bring a tear to V. I. Lenin’s eye. But if Ms. Tequila and her stripper friends all want the same thing, then why are they fighting with each other for the attention of all these sleazy Jack Nicholson look-alikes? Clearly all is not well in the trailer park commune.

My expos preceptor taught me how to ask questions that reveal the deeper meaning of a work. When Tila looks pensively into the camera toward the end of the video, is she criticizing the worth of this stripper utopia? Is she reflecting upon the hollowness of her exhibitionist lifestyle? Has she adopted a devil-may-care attitude with regard to the burlesque dance? Her penetrating gaze forces us to confront the stripper that we all repress inside.

Overall, the video’s artistic choices serve it well. They provide a steady, relaxing stream of undulating eye candy to watch as you reflect upon whether the Lilliputian Ms. Tequila picked the guy or the girl in the final episode of her reality show. If this video is any indication, perhaps she, like Queen Elizabeth centuries ago, picked herself—and really, why wouldn’t she?

—Alec E. Jones