An Analysis Of The Video Like A Prayer By Madonna :: essays research papers

An Analysis of the Video "Like A Prayer" by MadonnaMadonna head start arrived in the national popular close in 1984 withher song "Borderline". She moved very quickly in the ensuing yearsto make some(prenominal) records (many of which have gone multi-platinum)and to take several(prenominal) world tours with sold-out concerts, and hascaused quite a bit of controversy in what she has done in thepublic eye. Examples include posing nude for Penthouse magazine(and announcing subsequently that she was not ashamed for doing it),marrying (and subsequently divorcing) actor and media-avoider SeanPenn, creating a fashion trend (which was primarily popular withteenage girls), and making truly atrocious movies which thecritics hated and the muckle refused to see (the only twoexceptions are Dick Tracy and Truth or Dare, her controversial yetfascinating self-documentary about her tour of the same name). Itseems that Madonna seems to bang attention, good or bad, and itseems li ke she feeds on her own controversy. Her songs, and themusic videos which accompany them, are no exception to this.However, the things she does and the images she projects requestscontemporary society to reflect on itself, and to by chancere-create itself in innovative and inventive styles. Perhaps shealways breaks with convention because she sees things in adifferent light than the rest of society. This essay shall focuson the video which accompanies the title track from her 1989album, "Like A Prayer," which certainly had its share ofcontroversy.Probably the most startling image in the music video was that ofseveral burning crosses on a lawn or a hill. These crosses were inthe background, while Madonna was facing the camera and singing.When I saw the music video for the first time, this particularsection of the video made me sit up and intently watch mytelevision screen. The first things I thought about were, "Shes avery outspoken woman for doing this Boy, shes got a l ot ofnerve I believe she was raised Catholic, and shes making amockery of the Catholic Church by doing so The Pope would beoffended, to say the least(prenominal)" The radical approach to dispose ofany religion (or a persons religious or pious fervor) is at leastshocking. The cross is the symbol of Christianity and all itstands for. Seeing the cross engulfed in fire -- which symbolizes(and is) a destructive force -- would be very disturbing foranyone to see, Christian or not. I sat up and took notice, and Imnot even Christian -- I am Jewish. Furthermore, the fact that