3/7/96
Well, recently, I was talking with a friend of mine about why I believe Madonna's vulgarity to be attractive. I made the point that the kinds of degrading things she portrays, such as the Bye Bye Baby performance in The Girlie Show, are comforting to see. The are comforting because they acknowledge and confirm that people do treat each other in cruel and uncaring ways. Most of the time, everyone just goes about their daily lives, getting used to the tears and the pain, and even expecting injury to the point that they no longer consciously realize that people are being emotionally hurt. Madonna comes out and openly states this attitude, and people are subconsciously drawn to it because they know that what she portrays is true, even if not desirable.
My friend, who is generally somewhat critical of Madonna and her act, acknowledged this point. He then went on to state that since I come from a highly philosophical background, I could see this while other people couldn't. I agreed with that. His next assertion caught me totally off guard. "And she herself doesn't really know consciously what she's portraying, does she? I mean, she probably just goes through life and articulates what she experiences without really knowing what it is, and people like you are able to pick it up and figure out why she does what she does. But neither her nor the vast majority of her fans really understand what's going on, right?" I'm paraphrasing there, but his words were something to that effect.
I was stunned, and I wasn't sure why. I replied with some noncommittal answer about how maybe she doesn't really know consciously about what underlies all of what she is doing, but she must know something in order to be able to articulate it. I felt like a babbling idiot, and while we walked and I tried to figure out where the hell my logic had gone, our conversation drifted to lighter, more comfortable topics. We then spent an enjoyable evening socializing and discussing other issues.
A few hours later, when I was able to relax, I thought about our conversation more clearly. The question he had asked was an impossible one for me to answer. I cannot see into Madonna's consciousness. I cannot know what goes through her mind. There is no way for me to tell how much of her show is due to subconscious influence and how much of it she arranges with full knowledge of what is going on. How could I know? Unless I'm telepathic. Even Counselor Troi can't always figure out what the alien is thinking, and she's half betazoid! (Hope I spelled that right. Now are you totally convinced that I have no ability whatsoever to distinguish between fantasy and reality?)
Ok, enough with the dumb mind games. Next time I see my friend, I might want to say this: "If Madonna is just a dumb blond stripper with an I.Q. no greater than that of Forrest Gump, at least she gives people like me something to look forward to. And if I'm the judge of character, I'd say she's got the integrety and honor of a Forrest Gump as well. And who made me her judge? I guess I did."
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:1
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn
not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive,
and ye shall be forgiven.
Luke 6:37
Don't judge a man 'til you've been standin' in
his shoes.
True Blue 09:02:08-14