Analysis of a music video - Like A Prayer

When Madonna’s music video for ‘Like a Prayer’ came out in 1989, it was very controversial due to the themes of race, religion and female empowerment that it presented. 

Conventions of a music video include many close up shots of the artist or band, as well as a direct address. Often women are sexualised by the close ups and the artist is lip syncing along with the song. In this music video, all these conventions are adhered to. However, it also subverts some conventions because it explores controversial topics such as race, religion, and the treatment of women, that are  not often explored by the media.

     The narrative of this video is as follows : a group of white men are assaulting a woman, and they run away when they hear police sirens. A black man comes to the helpless woman’s aid but when the police arrive, they automatically assume that it was the black man who assaulted her, and they arrest him. Madonna sees all of this and doesn’t do anything, she then goes to church where she ‘frees’ Jesus, who in this video is the same black man who has just been falsely arrested. The church turns into a court at one point, complete with an American flag, perhaps symbolising that American society is not secular and that religion and law are closely linked. In this way the video blurs the lines between the state and religion. By the end of the video Madonna has gone to the police to tell them that the accused man is innocent. She dances and sings with a gospel choir in the church, symbolising a sense of community and the idea that we are all equal in God’s eyes. This narrative explores various topics which would have been very controversial in 1989 and not often explored by the media. This type of video would have drawn a large amount of interest from the public. The more conversation a music video creates, the more publicity and success it brings the artist. The video also presents Madonna as standing up for minorities and persecuted groups which helps to sell her to a wider target audience.

          Firstly, the theme of race is explored because the arrest of the black man exposes the dominant ideology of society at the time, in which black men and women were often discriminated against. Also, the video opens on the image of burning crosses, a symbol widely associated with the Ku Kluk Klan, which was a white supremacist group. Madonna then ‘frees’ the black Jesus from the cage he is imprisoned in, symbolising the oppression of minorities and criticising society's treatment of them. Furthermore, presenting Jesus as a black man would have been very controversial at a time when, in the eyes of Christians, Jesus could only be portrayed as a white man. This ties in the theme of religion in the video. Some Christians would have been offended by this representation, and also at the fact that the video suggests that Madonna is having sexual relations with Jesus would have been seen as blasphemous.

The video can be seen as criticising the treatment of women because the group of white men are assaulting a helpless woman. Women are shown as empowered because it is the female gospel singer who gives Madonna the wisdom and bravery to go to the police and tell the truth.

Religion is referenced throughout, most obviously by the fact that the majority of the narrative takes place in a church. I think the overall message of the video in regards to religion is that we should use religion to unify, rather than divide - this is emphasised by Madonna happily singing and dancing with the gospel choir in the church. The image of burning crosses and the inclusion of Jesus further adds to the exploration of religion.

Mise en scene is used to great effect in the video. Madonna dressed scantily in a holy place would have been a controversial image. Also, a lot of the video is set in a church, and this location highlights the key theme of religion.

This video contains an intertextual reference at the end as the cast bow and a curtain falls. Text on the screen reads ‘the end’. This clarifies that the narrative of the video is a fictitious event and that none of it is really real.

The music video also constructs a star image, adhering to Dyer’s star theory. The music video makes it clear that Madonna is already a popular, successful artist because the video is so controversial and a new, unknown artist would not dare to produce such a brave video early in their career, especially in the 1980s. Furthermore, by establishing her beliefs and values, the video adheres to the Star Theory as it helps create the artist’s star character for her fans.

Overall, I think that this music video is an excellent example of a successful promotional campaign. The exploration of controversial themes would have sparked discussion in 1989, marketing Madonna and her music to a wider audience and clearly establishing her star image.