This past September, Netflix released a documentary entitled Gaga: Five-Foot-Two. Directed by Chris Moukarbel, the film offers an intimate look into the life of music artist Lady Gaga. Best known for her extravagant costumes, her outrageous on-stage performances and stunts, and her artistic take on pop music, Gaga is the embodiment of a true superstar. However, rather than being portrayed as a larger-than-life figure, the singer is shown in the most vulnerable of ways: as a real human being. Rather than adorned in meat or flashing lights, Gaga is shown without makeup, dressed in pajamas. .

The documentary also closely follows of her battle with fibromyalgia, the heartbreak of her ex-fiance, and her struggles in attempting to cope with the hardships facing her own family members and friends. Gaga is shown in tears as she sits on her couch in incomprehensible body pain; she is shown is tears after learning her friend’s cancer has returned; she is again shown crying while recording her album, explaining that making music is as invasive as “open heart surgery.”

However, the film does not regret to depict Gaga’s struggle with fame. At one point in the film Gaga states, “They will leave, and then I’ll be alone. And I go from everyone touching me all day and talking at me all day to total silence,” in reference to the loneliness of stardom. Gaga shares with her fans that being famous is one of the most lonely experiences in the world, however, she knows that being an artist is what she is meant to do. Her creativity and ability never seem to be in short supply as the artist is shown writing and recording her most recent album, Joanne, throughout the film. In collaboration with her producer, Mark Ronson, Gaga creates her most personal album yet, inspired by her father’s sister who died at the age of 19 from Lupus.

The documentary concludes as Lady Gaga steps onto a platform being raised beneath the football stadium at the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The cheers and screams of the crowd can be heard as Gaga takes her final breaths before entering the biggest stage on which she has ever performed. She states to her crew members, “I don’t know about you, but I’ve been working my whole life for this.” Such a humbling remark resonates with the audience as they come to recognize that the performer has devoted her whole life to her music career that began only nine years ago; her journey toward success has not been without struggle and heartbreak, an important detail she does not regret to leave out.