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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume Two
Spring 2003
Madonna: Rebel
With a Cause? - Page 5
by Duyen Pham
Commentary: Neha Bagchi
Response: Duyen Pham
Madonna also stands alone among pop artists in that to this day she remains the sole performer to hold a position of such social significance for so many people. She is both the bellwether and the indicator of social and political trends. Other musicians following Madonna (and, arguably, preceding her) may have come close to selling as many albums, dressing as provocatively-even similarly pushing the limits of propriety and sexuality-but they in no way match Madonna's functional importance in society. Steven Anderson recognizes that "[o]nce a flesh-and-blood superstar, she's now a metaphysic unto herself . . . . The only aspect left to consider is Madonna's resonance in the minds of the public, for whom-like it or not-she's become a repository for all our ideas about fame, money, sex, feminism, pop culture, even death" (67-8). Madonna's notoriety as a pop icon is due in part to her unwillingness to maintain a static image. Her continually changing persona has given society the impression of Madonna as being a work-in-progress, and has allowed her to deal with a myriad of issues in her music. In doing so, she has left no stone unturned. It is for this reason that society finds itself relating Madonna to a number of ubiquitous social and political issues. Her shrewd business skills and control of her career give her the opportunity to deal with a variety of issues, portraying them in a way that she sees fit. At the same time, women associate with Madonna's incredible sense of autonomy.
With the release of her fourteenth album American Life in April of 2003, it seems unlikely that Madonna will be willing to step down from her reign as Queen of Pop anytime soon. Acting as a reliable source of meaningful texts which the public can use to transgress societal norms for over two decades, it hardly seems logical that the public would want to overthrow Madonna and select a new source for achieving transgression. The public would be hard-pressed to find another artist who could so wholly intrigue and inspire it as Madonna does. Although society may readily buy another star's albums and memorabilia in volumes comparable to the amount of Madonna merchandise it consumes, it would not as readily pass on Madonna's longstanding social importance. Madonna herself plays a major role in ensuring that her legacy as an important social icon and pop artist lives on. In short, Madonna attempts to ensure, and to a large extent succeeds in ensuring, that she will be the only Madonna.
People are forever scanning mass culture to find relevant struggles to incorporate into their popular culture. Men and women alike can relate to Madonna's free-spirited exploration to find her identity and to make meanings for herself through whatever mediums are available to her (for example, her use of S/M). They thus incorporate Madonna's texts into their popular culture. As she tears through the seams of gender and sexuality, Madonna takes on forever-changing masquerades so that virtually anyone struggling to find himself or herself is able to identify with at least one of her personas. In addition, as in her view of her music as a feminist text, or the androgyny of many of her dancers, Madonna's ambiguity coupled with keen business skills help her to maintain her top status as a cultural icon. For example, she draws intrigue to herself as she seems simultaneously to appease and to mock Britney Spears. Madonna has been recently spotted donning an "I Love Britney" tee shirt, which was reciprocated by Britney wearing Madonna fan gear and gushing that she wanted to do a duet with her idol. By appearing to support Britney Spears, despite that as a fresh young star Britney poses a potential threat to Madonna's career, Madonna keeps the crowd wondering whether her actions are heartfelt or mocking, drawing attention to herself while at the same time appeasing Britney. It does not matter so much what her true opinion is; so long as she has the audience's attention focused on guessing her beliefs and intentions, Madonna achieves her goal of remaining in the spotlight. This strategy is similar to the one employed when Madonna declared that her music was not intentionally feminist-her actions speak loudest to those struggling to transgress cultural norms. Those mired in codes of patriarchy will likely see her actions as heartfelt, accepting them at face value without any effort to discover how she truly feels. Those struggling to defy cultural standards will interpret this as blatant mockery of Britney and the cultural norms that she stands for, and thus will be provided with another text with which to transgress social conventions. Britney, flattered by praise from her idol, is then seen by the socially marginalized as conforming to the codes set for her by Madonna, instead of exploring her own identity. The public, on a constant quest for meaningful struggles to relate to, will overlook Britney Spears as a resource for their own struggles. Madonna, with all her various incarnations, will then be the sole provider of texts that hold meaning to the public, at least in the realm of female pop artists.
Likewise, it seems that any attempt to emulate Madonna's style and various personas will not receive the same public response as was given when Madonna introduced them. For example, exploring issues of sadomasochism, or giving the impression that "white girls can curse," would today be interpreted as either trite or vulgar, depending on the viewer. While Madonna has paved the way and opened doors for female musicians, her specific footsteps are not easily followed. If she is not careful, a young performer displaying multiple images and addressing various issues runs the risk of contradicting herself and thus diluting her credibility in the eyes of the public. For example, many pop artists wish to seen as sexy and seductive as well as the innocent girl-next-door with high morals. Trying to maintain both personas at once may lead to the artist wavering uncertainly between the two poles of the dichotomy, lacking credibility in either role. As such, the audience will not incorporate these elements into popular culture. Although Madonna chases through various personas, and the persona itself may be fleeting, she presents a complete image of whatever role she is playing, often exaggerated and dripping in excess, so that those struggling for their identity can truly relate to her. Moreover, she never looks back on past masquerades as she constantly searches for new roles to fill. Once again, Madonna's prescience, keen business sense, and willingness to address an array of social and political issues set the stage for her to become the ultimate pop icon, and at the same time ensured that no other artist could take her place.
Works Cited
Anderson, Steven. "Forgive Me Father." Village Voice (4 April 1989): 67-8.
Ciccone, Madonna. Interview with Forrest Sawyer. Nightline . ABC. 3 Dec. 1990.
Faith, Karlene. Madonna, Bawdy and Soul . Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1997.
Fiske, John. "Popular Culture." Critical Terms for Literary Study . Ed. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.
Gilmore, Mikal. "The Madonna Mystique." Rolling Stone (10 September 1987): 37.
Hebdige, Dick. "From Culture to Hegemony." Subculture: The Meaning of Style . New York: Routledge, 1988.
Justify My Love . Perf. Madonna Ciccone and Tony Ward. Dir. Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Videocassette. Warner Bros., 1990.
McClary, Susan. "Living to Tell: Madonna's Resurrection of the Fleshly." Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality . Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1991.
Robertson, Pamela. Guilty Pleasures: Feminist Camp from Mae West to Madonna . Durham: Duke UP, 1996.
Stallybrass, Peter and Allon White. The Politics and Poetics of Transgression . Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1986.
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