Wednesday, February 22, 2006
the goddess of the zeitgeist
Slate's television critic deconstructs Madonna's new video:
There has existed a line of thought in Madonna scholarship suggesting, to quote Robert Christgau, "that there was more gym than boudoir in the way she pumped her crotch." The point of this pair of videos is to deny that distinction. For Madonna, exercise is passion is pleasure. There is no sex or violence or violent sex here. No metaphysics, no religion, no politics. The singer's only statement is that she's the hardest-working woman in show business. Her only thrust is ambition.The old instrument is not as up to the task as it once was. It is hard to imagine what sort of reinvention she will have to undertake to maintain her explosive celebrity status and not injure herself in the process.
