Case - study: Madonna

In my last media lesson we looked at music videos featuring Madonna and analysed their codes and conventions and mise-en-scene to help us with our own music videos for our coursework. By looking at Madonna's music videos we were given an understanding of how she presents herself and how she attracts and appeals to her audience. We also looked at the ways she has changed over time especially in her image to attract different audiences and keep her old fans.

The first music video we watched was "Borderline". This video was part of Madonna's first key era in the early 1980s and she is presented as very feminine and young as she wears revealing clothes. Her dress sense therefore enables her to appeal to a teen audience as she is popularizing a girly, teen look and she also popularizes the big hair bows which were in fashion at the time. Furthermore, in Borderline Madonna tries to appeal to her audience through her racial and cultural identity. The setting of the video is an urban landscape therefore she is trying to appeal to her audience and give the impression that she really is a normal and typical women rather than a big, grand fashion icon. She also tries to attract the teenage audience in the video when she is presented as showing rebellion by the graffitti as she is attempting to relate to teenagers. Overall, in Borderline Madonna is presented as a playful and pretty teenage girl as she wears a floppy bow on her hat. However, she is also presented as very cool by the way she wears jeans and a leather jacket giving the audience the impression that she is strong to. Her "Boy Toy" belt relates to the teenage audience also and it is evident to the audience that she may be in her mid 20s but she still wants her image to be relative to teenagers therefore she has younger actors and actresses in the video alongside her.

Secondly, we looked at Madonna's music video "Material girl" and immediatedly recognised a contrast in image as the setting in Material girl is extremely grand and glamorous. Furthermore, the audience are given the impression that Madonna is indulging the glamour she sees all around her and she evidently has money and status as she has a rich red velvet carpet on the floor and she wears lots of expensive jewellery. She is also dressed very sophisticatedly and her outfit and hairstyle which has an 80s twist suggests a Marilyn Monroe homage and reference. Finally, there is a moment in the video when she is in her dressing room and has less makeup on and Madonna doesn't look as glamourous. Perhaps this is a personal reference to her past and she is remembering the girl in Borderline who didn't have glamour or fame. Therefore, perhaps she is reflecting on her past when she wasn't as well-off to keep her old fan base intrigued.

The third music video of Madonna's that we watched was Like a prayer and this music video shows a dramatic change in Madonna's image. Madonna in Like a prayer is presented as alot more mature and this emphasises that she is developing and is no longer the girly teenager she was in Borderline. She sings about more serious issues and overall the video demonstrates religious aspects which suggests that personally Madonna may have found religion in her own life.

Finally, we watched "Vogue" which introduced another Madonna image known as the erotic period. This new image