Madonna 'Like a Prayer'

Madonna 'Like a Prayer'

In this extract I will be analysing the textual analysis on the music video 'Like a Prayer', by Madonna. Mainly, I will state the different connotations that present this music video and add some historical facts that make this one of the most controversial music videos ever.

The synopsis of the whole song: The viewers first see Madonna who runs on the street. She witnesses the murder of a young woman, but is too frozen in fear to protest. A black man walking down the alley notices the incident and decides to help the woman, but the police arrive and arrest him. The murderers give a threatening look towards Madonna and leave. She escapes to a church and sees a caged saint, who looks like the black man on the street.

Madonna lies down on a bench and has a dream in which she is falling through space. Suddenly, a woman, representing power and strength catches her. She advises Madonna to do what is right and tosses her back up. Still dreaming, Madonna returns to the saint who becomes a black man who she has seen earlier. He kisses her forehead and leaves the church.  As the chorus starts, the scene shifts to Madonna and she sings and dances wildly in front of burning crosses. Simultaneously a church choir sings around her, who continues to dance with them. Madonna wakes up, goes to jail and proves the black man innocent, thus the police releasing him. The video ends as Madonna dances in front of the burning crosses.

 The first establishing shot of Madonna running in the distance. This is showing that she is in trouble or witnessed something awful. Her black dress connotates to an old fashioned women's dress back in the 1980's-1990's. The black colour symbolizes death or danger, it also matches the dark eerie terrain she is in.

 This image brought so much hate towards the video. As Catholic Christians disapproved that Jesus was a black man. Even though this was claimed to be just a Black Saint, that resembles the black man and how he is a 'hero'. The tears of the statue made more of the religious sector angry, the tears of the statue is a phenomenon that the statues of Christ and Virgin Mary experienced. Overall, this connotates that the black man is a saint, a hero, innocent and only wanted peace. It is seen as a miracle, when a statute is coming back to life. Once she cuts herself, it resembles the crucifixion of Jesus's hands. When a person recieves similar scars, it is known as a stigmata.

 Another controversy, cleavages in a church is forbidden, as well as giving a 'sex appeal' to people. This video has its meanings, but attracting the male audience with Madonna's body and having a really deep meaningful song was thought of a great marketing strategy, in order to attract a wider range of audience. This overall, was quite successful because it managed to become so popular, the audience back then most likely had the same reaction as, nowadays, Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball'
These two scenes are linked together. This shows a group of white men attacking a lady on the street. Perhaps this is around the 1950's-1960's where the civil rights of blacks in America were acting up and were becoming successful but many white Americans refused the change. This connotates that the white men are the ones who considered the 'bad guys'. This adheres to the stereotype of white males in the past.

This next scene shows how the black man was a caring man and decided to run and help her. The police arrived framing him for the crime. Arresting him, this also adheres to the stereotype because Black men were considered criminals. The white men run off, without being suspected.

This scene offended many black Americans as well as some Christians. The burning cross was a symbol from the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) a group of racists who would light up the crosses when the lynching of a ethnic group was about to occur. It's hard to understand why, they used this scene, but it perhaps may have been to show the suffering of the black men and all of their sacrifices. Also, in the 14th century, Crusaders from France were Catholic fanatics and would have the burning cross when they were about to execute a different religious group while fighting the Saladins and Hashashins in the Middle East (those two are Muslim groups that ruled the Middle East, and fought against them). This obviously, offended some religious groups because of the tragic events that have occurred in the past.

Lastly, the end scene. Where Madonna has a sexual intercourse with Black Jesus or the Black Saint. This scene was based on the black man and Madonna falling in love. Most of the time she was dreaming as she laid down on the pew and imagined the black man, that resembled the Black Saint. Many got a different point of view from this scene, they simply looked at it as Madonna is having a sexual relationship with Jesus. Towards the end, she takes a bow and a curtain call by here and the entire cast, suggesting that this entire video is a fake and don't take it to seriously. She is also breaking the fourth wall.

In conclusion, this entire music video was a number one hit at the time. This is easily compared to Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball, a deep and touching song but a ridiculous video. Nowadays this won't be viewed as offensive as it once did in the 1990's. This video has 2 separate narratives and brings a lot of ideas to the American society (at the time). It is extremely sexual and religious. But if we connect the two links together, it shows how she ran away from the crime scene and headed to the church. She may have thought that running away and not helping the man may have been a sin. The gospel relieved her from her sins and saved the black man from prison.