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Madonna is back! The married mother of three children, she is once again re-making her image. Her newest album (her 11th studio album) is entitled “Hard Candy” and is filled with sexual innuendo and instinct gratification. Her new image is actually a remake of her old one—a sex goddess. She purposefully promotes herself as an object of desire and as a material girl. Success, wealth, materialism, raunchy language and blatant suggestions, all characterize the new (i.e., the old) Madonna.
Of late, Madonna has used her performances (i.e., her music and her dancing) to draw attention to Christianity, to poverty, to AIDS, and even to environmental causes. Jon Pareles writes that “No one since Madonna . . . has come close to achieving the same alchemy of flirtation, pop proficiency, concert spectacle and self-guided tenacity.” The Madonna brand is back!
How should we think about this phenomenon called Madonna? Incredibly successful, Madonna represents the superficiality and shallowness of so much of pop culture. Therefore, we need to think biblically about someone of her stature. Permit me a few observations.
- She is a gifted singer and dancer. Her gifts are serving her and her alone, for they are making her famous and very wealthy.
- She is a role model to countless teens—and young adults. As a mother, she tried the soft-pedaling of her talent and giftedness. But this new album returns to Madonna, the material girl; Madonna the sex goddess, who gyrates and sings incredibly suggestive lyrics.
- As a role model, she could be a vehicle for good, but it is difficult to see that being achieved in this album. This is Madonna going backwards to rejuvenate her career. And she will no doubt be successful.
- Madonna sets the standard for so much of pop culture. Her influence, her creativity and her talent have guided where so much of pop culture is going. For awhile, it seemed that she might be changing her tack—turning to more socially relevant or even spiritual issues. This new album destroys any social consciousness or spiritual emphasis. It is the material girl reborn!
- Because of her stature and fame, she has had an opportunity to be an effective and positive role model for young women. As a mother, she could have enormous influence. Through this album, she has rejected a meaningful influence that is positive. We are back to the old Madonna, which is not a good thing.
In a very real sense, Madonna is a tragic figure. She has been on a pilgrimage of sort—trying motherhood, trying a husband, trying social consciousness and sensitivity. But she returns to the most fundamental theme of the pop culture—“it is all about me!!” That is the tragedy of Madonna. It is not all about her! What she is modeling for this generation is a newly packaged return to the same old decadence. How tragic!
See Jon Pareles’s review of “Hard Candy” in the New York Times (27 April 2008). |
