Core Post- Madonna's Iconic Complexities

Bell Hook’s writing about Madonna opened my eyes to the racial controversies within her image. Hook immediately notifies the reader, “I do not consider myself a Madonna fan” (158). Yet she also notes, “I often admire, and yes at times, even envy, Madonna because she has created a cultural space where she can invent and reinvent herself and receive public affirmation and material reward”.

Hook’s writing critiques and analyzes her use of “appropriating black culture” throughout her career. I find it difficult to agree with Hook’s critiques, when there is so much of Madonna’s complex image that Hook lightly touches in her beginning remarks, but fails to include in the remainder of the essay. I believe Madonna indeed has “invent[ed] and reinvent[ed] herself”, establishing herself as an icon. To me, Madonna is more than a “star”, she is an icon, representing the 1980s and 90s in terms of fashion, music, dance, and pop culture.

The “Vogue” music video comes to mind when reading this essay; Madonna includes several black dancers and back up dangers in this video. She camera zooms in on and frames one black back-up singer and dancer several times throughout the video, and Madonna sings “it makes no difference if you’re black or white, a boy or a girl”. The “Vogue” music video presents Madonna, her lyrics, and her beliefs as racially and sexually accepting and inclusive. Thus, it is difficult for me to absorb and agree with Hook’s statements. His writing unpacks Madonna’s use of lyrics and dance moves and her overall “envy of black culture”. However, I see the “Vogue” video and lyrics as a prime example of her inclusion and acceptance, rather than her “envy”. While this essay unveils racial controversies apart of Madonna’s career, it ignores the bulk of her iconic image.