Posted in a public area
2/10/96 7:16am
Madonna said that when she was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a nun. She remembered the nuns who took care of her to be kind and compassionate, and she wanted to emulate them. It is the intent of this document to show that she did indeed fulfill her childhood dream in the fullest way possible, despite what naysayers and "common sense" would have you believe.
Before we can demonstrate how Madonna did (and continues to do) this, it is necessary to examine the original purpose of nuns and of the church. In the early, pre-medieval times, a church was a place people could come when they were hurt, disspirited, and needed spiritual guidance. Nuns were there to help to comfort them and see them through to mental health. Although it has since been greatly perverted, the church still retains this role to a certain degree.
Next, we must examine the type of people who are attracted Madonna and her act. In the movie Truth or Dare, Madonna even admits that she hires people who are "emotionally crippled" so she can "mother" them. Her dancing team and crew are not the only people she attracts who need help. I believe that a large share of her audience is composed of those who have been deeply wounded in one way or another, and are seeking answers to questions they have about life.
The first thing Madonna must do in this process of healing the sick is to attract attention to herself, get noticed, be the headline in all the newspapers, and preferably in a way which would gain notice from those she wants to reach. She does this in a variety of ways. One is to hit hot-button political and social issues, as controversy always draws a crowd. She also displays images of herself which to some might almost seem to be "quasi-porn." This is a particularly effective method of finding hurt ones, as pornography often appeals to people with a harmed or seemingly destroyed sexuality.
Once she has attracted her audience's attention, she must establish a basis of trust and understanding. This she has done differently through the years, as her core audiences change. It began primarily with teenage girls, moved to gays and religous rebels, on to sexual deviants (No offense is meant by this term. Sexual deviants are for this discussion people whose sexual practices differ from the majority. i.e. S&M), and at this point seems to be composed of various people who in one way or another feel alienated from the mainstream of society. As of late, it appears she is turning her attention to Argentina, a country torn with political strife and poverty.
During the first era of her career, the objective was to appeal to teenage girls just hitting puberty. This was a time when the femenist movement was confused, fractioned, and relatively directionless, and society's expectations of its upcoming female population were at best murky. Madonna epitomized the feelings of an uncertain identity felt by her audience with videos such as Like A Virgin and Material Girl. It felt to them like she knew what they were going through when nobody else could, as if saying "What you are experiencing IS real." The bond of trust was established. She has "put you in a trance."
She applied similar techniques over the years, using the frustrations of a peep show star in Open Your Heart, the conflictedness of a teenager to tell her father of a pregnancy in Papa Don't Preach, and the lack of confidence of a witness to a crime in Like A Prayer. The audience and, therefore, the subject matter changed, but the basic formula was always the same: find the audience's weak spot and push the button. Similar techniques are used by politicians. Their aiming at public sentiment is usually a guessing game: hit and miss, whoever hits wins the election. Madonna, however, has demonstrated a rare eptitude for this, unmatched in modern times.
After the audience's attention and trust are locked, she moves in and gets the work done. Songs are scattered with subtle, as well as not so subtle messages of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. In many cases (this audience member's included), the recipients are initially unaware of the subtle propaganda inherent in the music and imagery, but it does have a slow, steady, confident effect on the unconscious. Phrases such as, "Everybody is a star", "Happiness lies in your own hand", "Keep people together", and "Express yourself don't repress yourself" pervade the music.
More importantly, the overall themes are very positive. Even in "Erotica", the darkest, gloomiest album Madonna has ever made, feelings of hope and a sense of destiny lie beneath the dark lyrics. The song "Bad Girl" presents a seemingly hopeless situation of a person searching for fulfillment and not finding it. Yet the implications of the lyrics are empowering. The words "I'm not happy when I act this way" give the character control over her destiny. To demonstrate this, try changing the wording. She did NOT just say "I'm not happy" and leave it at that. The words "when I act this way" are all-important to giving the character control over her life, making it possible to choose to act in a different way. This is just one of many possible examples in her music of a seemingly unbreakable rut being turned around to give a person power over her life.
Another key to understanding Madonna's power in music is the concept of existence by belief. Don't get me wrong here. If you think that by thinking, a new car will magicly appear in your driveway tomorrow because of the raw powers of your mind, you're sadly mistaken. Belief does count in matters of the mind and emotions, however. If you don't think you can run a marathon, chances are you won't even try. However, if you believe in your potential and run as far as you can, you may not complete the marathon the first time, but each try will make you stronger, and after practice a marathon will become easy to you. (Ok, maybe not easy, but you'll be able to do it)
The same concept applies to a myriad of possibilities in areas including mood changes, social activeness, and spirituality. So when Madonna repeatedly subverts your mind with messages of love, hope, empowerment, and add_your_own_adjective, it has a profound effect on your soul whether you know it or not. Scary thought, huh?
This brings into question a disturbing possibility. What if this kind of power were to end up in the wrong hands? Could it not be used to dominate, control, and effectively put people into slavery? I believe the answer is a mix. Yes, the power to influence can be (and has been) used in a negative way. However, I believe God to be a just and good being, and (S)he has put a sort of "goodness detector" in every human brain. It is our responsibility to trust and use what is commonly known as instinct and intuition. In other words, even if the rest of the world may call Madonna a "slut", you have to trust your own gut feeling about her as well as anyone else who comes along wanting to play with your mind. I believe a trust in this time honored and often maligned device given to us by God is what is most strengthened in Madonna's music. To have the courage to say "call me a fool, but I know I'm not. I'm gonna stand out here on the mountain top" is vital to sustaining human energy and prosperity.
Finally, I'd like to touch on the topic of Madonna's shifting audience. Many of Madonna's teenage admirers from yesteryear have gone on to lead successful and fulfilling lives, with or without knowing her instrumental role in stablizing their generation. Some remain fans, others have found other interests to supercede her. In either case, she has performed her role in their nurturing and focused her energy to various groups that need help more urgently. Anyone who needs revitalizing can always pop in one of her old cds and take a listen, but she doesn't need to pay the same kind of special attention to people she has already helped. This may explain her often talked about "neglect" of the American market. She has not forgotten us, other people simply need her immediate care more urgently.
Lastly, I'd like to wish Madonna luck with her project in Argentina. The people there need so much guidance, as the loss of Eva Peron still haunts them. I suspect Madonna's recent talk of fortune tellers, reincarnation, and predestiny is an attempt to appeal to Argintina's religion (which I know little to nothing of, so forgive me if I'm wrong) long enough for the people there to listen to her. Then they too will reap her fruits of love, passion, and trust, things they so desparately need. The way to heal a culture is through the minds and hearts of its citizens, and given Madonna's latest polling data from over there, I'd say she's doing a damn good job of it. Keep it up, Maddie. We're praying for you.