1989s Like a Prayer
It’s 1989 and in ‘Like A Prayer’ Madonna explores racism within a white patriarchal framework. She sets up the narrative at the very beginning, allowing us to make a judgement only to get fooled towards the end. You observe a black man being taken away by the police assuming he’s committed a wrongdoing but she later shows us what really happened and so in the beginning lets us fall into our own trap of expectation of racial stereotype.
Madonna, looking like Mary Magdalene, is on the run from witnessing the sexual assault and murder of a woman by a gang of white males. Black guy gets framed, white guy escapes but not before seeing that Madonna’s character is witness to what’s really happened. She enters a church to escape her white attacker, aware that her well-being is threatened if she decides to stand up to the injustice of the black man who has been wrongly accused.
Jesus’ pain is Madonna’s pain?
She finds refuge inside the church. She enters and shuts the door singing, “and it feels like home”; the church is now ‘home’, a sanctuary away from the racial prejudice of the outside world and the situation she has found herself in. She confronts racial violence with the stigmata on her hands (marks corresponding to Christ’s wounds) – perhaps Christ’s pain is her pain. She kisses the feet of a black saint and Jesus-type figure that causes hostility from Christians and religious fundamentalists throughout the Western world.
Like a Prayer, Madonna, 1989
She stretches herself out on a church pew to rest and the video enters into a dream state. Her character free-falls but is caught just before she hits the ground by a black woman. The black woman is part of the Methodist gospel choir in the church and whispers encouraging words into Madonna’s ear and in a symbolic gesture gently tosses Madonna back into the sky to help her reach a higher moral self to attain the strength that she needs to do what is right.
Vital image of the black woman
The black woman, usually represented in mainstream media as destitute, living in ghettos, a domestic violence case or a down and out sex worker, is instead portrayed as one who offers help and encouragement. She is emblematic in affirming a vital image of the black woman as being supportive, equal and offering strength – hardly exemplified in the mass media.
Madonna then dances in front of burning crosses which caused scathing vitriol, condemnation and protest at the time. The Vatican, parent groups, church groups and government narrowly saw it as promoting the interests of the KKK and were up in arms about the video; both Pepsi and Sears threatened to pull advertising from MTV if they continued airing the video.
Yes provocative image, but thought provoking
But it was a powerful and symbolic reminder of the political and social extremities of racism that shouldn’t be forgotten. She conveys this message alone in front of them. The gospel church is also a symbolic reminder of its historical impact of providing a safe haven from racist assaults that threatened African Americans and from this place of worship she finds her strength; indeed, she is empowered now and invites herself to stand and express herself freely in front of the burning crosses.
By the end of the video, political and social issues have been raised and Madonna bounces joyfully in front of the gospel choir. The black woman sees that Madonna is now empowered and with assurance sings, “I’ll take you there” while gently placing her hand on Madonna’s forehead to bless her and Madonna ecstatically takes in the black woman’s power. But enraging the Vatican, worldwide governments, church and parent groups and a couple of corporate stakeholders hasn’t quite been enough for Madonna because the black Jesus type figure reappears and kisses her, the white woman; she is being seduced by him thus causing anger and dissent now amongst white, right wing racist groups and moral panic for the rest. Nice to see Madonna sticking that one at ‘em too before the video ends.
How to upset white fundamentalist racists
Madonna awakens and the dream sequence ends. She has found her strength and the happy ending is near. She heads to the police headquarters to tell the truth – the black man is innocent. He is freed and justice conquers all. She has conveyed her message of standing up to the injustice of racism upon the black character and reverses the way of how some in society perceive black people.
In quick summary, her music video as representation basically says ‘all good people in this video are black; all bad people in this video are white’. It’s firstly shown by the black man who runs to assist the white woman who has been assaulted; secondly, her transposition of a saint as black – she’s saying “yes, a saint can be black y’all and that’s all there is to it, no argument”; and thirdly, the strong, supportive gospel choir who are positive, powerful and uplifting with transformative powers.
In opposition, the white people are the aggressors and the idiots in the video. Firstly those who assault the woman; secondly, the white aggressor who menaces Madonna for being witness to the crime; and thirdly, the white cops who stupidly take away the wrong person.
The video then ends and justifies itself as a video – the entire cast takes a bow to make us understand the realism of events of this nature in society and that we all ‘play our part.’
Watch ‘Like a Prayer’ below:
a certain je ne sais quoi 