Stage Image Of Madonna - Chapter 1

1.1 Brief presentation of biography of Madonna. Her way to the top (greatest hits, the number of albums sold.)

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1.2 The stage image of Madonna at the beginning of her career and now.

The stage career of Madonna has been developing throughout an impressive period of over three decades, ever since her arrival to New York in 1978, and continues to unwind today. Even as a young aspiring dancer Luisa Ciccone already demonstrated outstanding nerve to pose nude for magazines such as Playboy and Penthose. That initial willingness to expose her nudity was a mere premise of a scandalous, provocative and open-minded personality that defined Madonna's ensuing career. Although posing nude attained considerable media coverage later on, with her photo sessions published anew in 1984, at the time it had been almost trivially common to attempt to gain popularity by undressing in front of cameras. Leaving aside nudity, Madonna's career took on new dynamics in the early 80s, especially after leaving the band for which she performed previously, Breakfast Club, and managing to sign a contract with a music records company as a solo artist. The unprecedented climax of her success was prominently supported by her first two debut albums, the second of which brought about the single most recognizable and pivotal hit single "Like a virgin". When discussing Madonna's initial stage image there is nothing more insightful that this song's message, the scenography and fashion of its performance in the music video as well as the determining performance at the MTV Awards in 1984. There had literally never been an artist who has imprinted so intensely on the music, culture, fashion as well as female sexuality and empowerment as Madonna. Her entire image concept revolved around the idea of contrasting the title virgin, the conventional immaculate wedding bride reflecting a transient era, and the modern-day sexually emancipated and revolutionary woman, consciously exposing and using the power of her sexual appeal to reach personal goals - sufficiently confident to escape the stereotypical frame imposed by society. The repeated scenic use of the wedding attire and religious symbolism in jewelry was a background constantly undermined by directly advocated free out-of-marriage sex and the portrayal of an indomitable, unashamed and supremely confident woman. Such openness about women's right to use their physical attractiveness for self-advancement corresponded directly to the views of a growing generation of women who could now voice their self-empowerment through the breakthrough art of Madonna. Her live performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, at which she appeared in a punk-rock wedding gown and descended the pedestal of the alter to reveal her garters, stocking and provocative underwear in a true vaudeville of sexually arousing movements such as rolling, humping and dashing around the stage as if miming an intercourse, was an event that sparked widespread passionate and fierce response. The audience reactions went from iconic admiration to straightforward indignation, yet one was undeniable - because of her courage and tendency to shock by constantly violating every possible rule, opposing prejudice and crossing social borders Madonna created a stage image that could not be ignored. Other notable live performances included the singer stripping down piece by piece to be left in a tight black corset, frequently simulating masturbation and appearing in skimpy outfits like the infamous cone-shaped bra. Another essential element of the artist's image was the emphasis placed on women's ambition, which was reflected in the name of her concert series Blond Ambition World Tour. The core of the singer-songwriter image has most definitely been shaped in the first half of the 80s and continued to be vividly present in her following performances. A perfect example was her appearance at the MTV Awards in 2003, which was an almost exact analogy to the previous one, with an enormous wedding cake at the center of scenography and dancing choreography performed in sexually stylized wedding gowns. Despite deriving conceptually from her early performances, Madonna has skillfully retained her invariable ability to startle by modifying and adjusting concert plans every time, e.g. by adopting an image inspired by Marlene Dietrich when in Germany or twisting her finale in 2003 by passionately kissing her star co-singer Britney Spears. Throughout the years that led to the new millennium the provocative and globally recognized artist has undergone numerous transformations, some of which led to enriching her image with elements as drastic as sadomasochism or bondage. Other initiatives saw the iconic performer cross disciplines and branches, hence resulting in several appearances in motion pictures. However much she might have changed, Madonna has successfully carved herself a startling place in the history of entertainment. Remarkably, the singer has accomplished a task at which many other performers have failed - Madonna adjusted with the times, offering the contemporary audience utterly reformed sound and a fresh image that the new generation could relate to. Should her career be perceived in its entirety, it is rather fair to assume that any artistic activity after year 2000 contributed to her most current stage image. The beginning of the millennium abounded in the nostalgic recount of all gathered experiences with a lyrically sophisticated album American Life, which summarized the artist's conclusions of the north-american lifestyle and indicated true maturity by identifying her priorities. After the album's relatively poor commercial success Madonna returned to her initial image in the abovementioned performance in 2003. Soon afterwards the hybrid performed managed to astound the public once more by writing and publishing children's picture books focusing on illustrated storytelling of adolescence. It was in 2004 that the singer embarked on a suggestively entitled Re-Invention World Tour, which clearly signalized a shift in her self-promotion tactic. However, her career took a truly unprecedented turn with the release of Confessions on the Dance Floor album, which in its form and sound was nothing like any previous one. First and foremost Madonna acknowledged the fact that technology has invaded the world of music, therefore implying cooperation with DJs, heavily remixed sounds (for instance she used a looped tune of ABBA's music) and albums in the form of club sets. With this album Madonna was renamed the queen of pop, although her musical style was now clearly electronic. The hit single Hung Up was so willingly acclaimed that it actually beat the Guinness record in the number of markets it entered. The stage image exposed during a follow-up tour presented Madonna equally as a dancer and singer, the music video supporting the vintage style of a dancer wearing a tightly-fitted rehearsal costume, immersed in her training and stretching before she finds solace and escape in the evening dance contest in a club. Apart from featuring countless dancers, the song's message encouraged dancing as a way of releasing tensions and a highly expressive way of self-fulfillment. That universally acceptable idea along with electronic, yet danceable tunes was at the heart of Madonna's modern renaissance. The sequenced, blended music perfectly fitted into the postmodern club arena and was constantly present on dance floors around the world. Madonna scarcely returned to her religious or feministic concepts, focusing on the massage of making full use of your time potential and conveying a lighter, friendlier image. By reinventing herself Madonna enforced her image of a constantly successful artist in an ever-changing musical landscape, yet maintaining the air and look of the sensual 80s, visible in retro costumes and old-fashioned music players. If there was anyone who could lay a bridge between a provocative young singer and a mature, modern entertainer - it could only have been Madonna.

1.3 The influence of Madonna's stage provocations and her image on culture.

Madonna has been one of the most self-transforming artists of the 20th and 21st century, with her transgressive career impacting all aspects of culture including music itself, gender equality, attitude to love, sexuality and freedom of expression, woman's emancipation and empowerment, dance, fashion and life style. Each of her reinventions entailed setting new trends and resulted in imposing revolutionary views or values. The beginning of her career has been laid out in detail in the previous paragraph. It resulted in a massive number of both followers and critics - few of those who lived through the 80s remained indifferent. Like a virgin had a profound influence especially on the generation of women who sought to escape the virginal bride stereotype, a legacy of the prudish 50s and 60s, and identified with Madonna both musically and culturally. All trends set by the performer were universally followed, especially with regard to women's confidence to use their sexuality for self-advancement, but also in case of fashion or hair styles. Culturally Madonna laid the path for a true shift in female attitude to femininity, with the overriding goal of equating opportunities for both genders and overthrowing the society of patriarchy. The artist's performances encouraged almost pugnacious sexuality and demystified the idea of women initiating, enjoying and profiting from interpersonal relations. Most understandably many young women began to imitate Madonna's style, contributing to the appearance of an entire cultural movement with followers known as Madonna Wanna-Be. Women across the world were emulating the artist's look with fashion outfits full of beads, jewelry with crucifixes and rosaries, lace tops, leather skirts and bustiers finalized with bleached hair. Macy's, one of American largest department stores, ran an entire floor section dedicated to Madonna-inspired clothing. It was after Like a virgin that Madonna started being discussed at universities, serving as a valuable example for gender studies, and among feminists, who acknowledged her iconic significance in terms of women's rights. Like a prayer, a direct follow-up of the first album, caused renewed cultural sensation. Media coverage emphasized the immense controversy deriving from two main scenes from the music video, namely Madonna kissing Jesus portrayed by a black man and dancing on the background of burning crosses. Her outward sexuality, however already provocative, has now been combined with religious symbolism on an unprecedented scale. Catholics, supported by the Pope himself, deemed Madonna undermined and insulted religious values and therefore urged catholic followers to openly boycott her music. On the other hand a vast majority of the artist's established audiences underlined her anti-racial message in the martyred black Jesus and references to historical executions - burning crosses revived the murder of three black civil workers. References to the stigmatization and racial abuse of black people were meant to expose the injustice and discrimination paid for with sacrifice and suffering (portrayal of black people in holy figures). In the end of the 80s the American society was gradually developing the notion of racial equality that Madonna so literally stressed in her video. It was of immense cultural significance that Madonna's previously expressed ideal of gender equality was now broadened by that of racial indiscrimination. The fact that these crucial values were carefully marketed by provocative sexuality or religious symbolism directly contributed to the massive publicity that in turn enabled them to resonate globally. Throughout the 90s Madonna delved ever deeper into the concept of sexuality which remained the prevailing theme behind the release of Sex book, Erotica studio album and an erotic thriller revolving around sadomasochism and bondage. During The Girly Show World Tour the performer had gone as far as embodying a dominatrix and whipping supporting topless dancers. Perhaps it had occurred to Madonna that sex-related scandals are relatively safer for her career than taking a stand on socio-political issues. The use of provocative sexual imagery triggered public debates about sexuality and feminism. Madonna's recurring sexual provocations blurred the lines between music and pornography and imposed new standards of nudity in show business for other artists. By observing and emulating Madonna's style young girls around the world learned how to expose and use their sexuality while simultaneously retaining complete control of their lives. The constant re-inventing of her image was of tremendous meaning to the culture of entertainment, proving to be an excellent example of how a female artist could survive in its ever-changing landscape. Roger Chapman wrote about Madonna that she has suffered condemnation and critic from almost every existing religious organization and conservative group. Academic professors used Madonna as an example in a variety of social and media studies, presenting her as a self-fulfilling prophecy - she gained incredible control over the public and the media exactly by promoting the concept of female empowerment. Numerous cultural commentators and academics outline the performer as a direct antagonist to the American establishment and puritanism. Her approach to gender issues, style and sexuality has been followed by people across the world. The numbers speak for themselves: over 300 million sold records worldwide exerted a powerful pull on the culture of most western, Latin and Asian societies. Throughout the 90s she reinforced her position as the queen of pop, musical and cultural icon, one of the most successful entertainers of time and was permanently listed on countless rankings of most powerful, influential and admired artists. Madonna channeled her creative work through numerous platforms such as music television channels, radio charts, life performances and DVDs as well as magazine and book covers. Her work has been constantly commented by writers and journalists. Laura Barcella claimed that Madonna has ultimately defined what a female artist could and could not do in front of the public. According to Carol Clerk she managed to transcend the term pop star in favor of a universal symbol. The BBC and Forbes magazine defined her as a cultural icon, The Daily Telegraph directly said that Madonna has changed social history , The Rolling Stones claimed she knowledgably manipulated the media and the public . Madonna remains a key figure in the music industry and had an undeniably unprecedented impact on culture and world's society.