'Like A Prayer'- Music Video Analysis

Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' is arguably one of the most controversial music videos of all time. Madonna wanted the video to be more provocative than anything she had done before and so created the video; 'Like A Prayer'. 

Essentially, a music video is created as a visual aid for the audience to accompany a song. It allows the artist to express themselves and tell any kind of story that they want to through the video. It is a way of the audience being able to see another meaning to the song and allows the artist to have a voice. Of course, a music video is also essential in promoting the artist as it raises awareness and through the use of social media in 2016, music videos get shared across the world within 24 hours of them being released. 

Madonna's interpretation of the video was:

"This is the story of a girl who was madly in love with a black man, set in South, with this forbidden interracial love affair. And the guy she's in love with sings in a choir. So she's obsessed with him and goes to the church all the time. And then it turned into a bigger story, which was about racism and bigotry."

Madonna's comments appear to describe an innocent love story, but the video shows otherwise:

The video shows some shocking and very controversial imagery that were almost unseen in 1989 when the video was released. Many of the images that Madonna chooses to include can be seen as offensive and inappropriate, especially the connotations of religion. Particularly in the US (in some parts a highly religious country), the images of burning crosses and racism within religion offended and upset many people. It is not difficult for the video to offend certain races and cultures through it's choice of characters and plot line. 

Madonna is still a popular star, even today. Dyer's star theory states that to  be stars, artists have to posses certain qualities that make them popular with target audiences. Madonna has many of the traits that Dyer suggests a star needs; rebellion, sexual appeal & a disregard for social values- clearly shown through this music video.  

Arguably, a lot of Madonna's appeal is down to the way that she has been constructed. Negus' theory of organic vs synthetic artists would definitely state that Madonna is a synthetic artist, constructed by the record label to appeal to a wider audience. The focus in the music video is not on the music but on the plot line and the story that revolves around Madonna throughout, another quality typical of a synthetic artist. 

The video begins with Madonna running away and the sound effect of police sirens, immediately giving connotations of rebellion and this has a dramatic effect for the audience, raising questions. They wonder if she has done something wrong, if she is running to safety or away from danger etc.

A lot of the video includes close ups of Madonna, highlighting her star image and making sure that the audience are aware that the main focus should be on her throughout. This means that the sense of fear is lost in the story line because the audience are reminded that the music video is simply a fantasy.  She is often lit from behind. This back-lighting had connotations of heaven and God and portrays her almost as an angel. 

One of the most controversial aspects of the video is the burning crosses behind Madonna, which have connotations of the Klu Klux Klan. Although she is not directly referencing them, this globally recognised, dangerous imagery provokes a certain amount of fear from the audience and is particularly controversial as the main character within the video is black. Fire also has connotations of danger and therefore the excessive amount of fire adds more of a dangerous element to the video, but also highlight's Madonna's rebellion.

Another particularly controversial topic that Madonna touches on within the video is the issue of racism. At the start of the video, a black mean is being targeted by the police and he is shown as being inferior to the officers and of a lower status- highlighting the issue of racism, which was still a particularly prominent issue at the time the video was released.

Furthermore, not only is the holy figure of Jesus represented as a black man, which to some christians may be seen as offensive, but Madonna also implies that she has sexual intercourse with him which can be seen as extremely offensive to religion.