Madonna- Express Yourself

[Wetzelbill]

Run time: 03:56 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMt53HYkfY8   Posted on YouTube: April 17, 2015 By YouTube Member: YouTube Help Views on YouTube: 4287136   Posted on DU: November 17, 2006 By DU Member: Wetzelbill Views on DU: 611

 
From a political standpoint, Madonna is a visionary and groundbreaking artist, this video has various interesting images pertaining to power relationships between men and women. Look how she carries the cat in her arms at the beginning, as a symbol of a woman with Godfather-like power. Witness also how she changes clothes as she goes through the various levels of the floors. The men on the bottom are the most sexually raw. The men on the higher floors are much more sexually ambiguous. Notice also how she transforms into a cat, yet only gives up her power at her own discretion. The male she seeks out like a cat-like predator is eventually holding a cat and drops it when he comes in the room with her. That is an interesting power changeover. She's the powerful one, only vulnerable when she wants to and only when the man is expressing his own vulnerabilities to her. Also to augment this video read this article from Huff Post called " Hidden Husbands."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvia-topp/hidden-husbands_b_34311.html

Consider that, we now have a woman Speaker of the House. (or will have) The most powerful woman in our govt ever. What is Speaker-Elect Pelosi's power relationship with the men in Congress? How about Hillary Clinton? Interesting to note that both of the GOP and Dem Presidential candidates in 1996 are now house husbands to two Senators. We are witnessing a compelling dynamic in female-male power relationships right now.

It is also worth it to note and think about why we look at gender the way we do. As a separation. Madonna could be saying here by dressing in a masculine manner and exploring power relationships, that maybe we should not look at men and women as different genders. That possibly patriarchy would not exist if we cease in defining separate genders in the first place. If the concepts of men and women do not exist, then how can there be sexism? Sort of like the feminist theories of Monique Wittig. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monique_Wittig

But yes, at any rate, Madonna's work is quite rich, and interesting to deconstruct.

[Skinner]

1. Locking.

I know that many people here want to shoe-horn anything into the DU video forum. But this is a decade-old music video by Madonna. That's not quite what we had in mind when we opened the video forum. Sorry.