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Salvation Through Sin: Like A Prayer by Madonna

By: Jess Predkelis

In the 1980s, the Catholic community was one with strict guidelines and explicit expectations for its members. Respect towards God and proper practices of the religion were of utmost importance to practicing members of Catholic churches across the country. The inclusion of sexuality within the walls of the churches was strictly forbidden and heavily frowned upon by Catholic authorities everywhere. Madonna, one of the biggest singers and celebrities at the time, was the exact opposite of a figure that Catholic churches praised. Many people believe that Madonna is excellent at evoking shocking responses from the public through almost everything she does. The 1989 release of the “Like A Prayer” music video sparked massive controversy throughout the Catholic community, as it included a plethora of offensive material pertaining to the church and challenged the morality of the Catholic religion. Madonna’s name itself was even considered offensive to the Catholics, as its meaning relates to the Virgin Mary, a holy figure. One Catholic theologist even remarked in her book, The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church, that "When the word Madonna is mentioned, it's not Mary who comes to mind but someone arguably her antithesis… a crude and irreverent vocalist." (Miller, 2015.)Ìý

Even before the release of this specific music video, Madonna was considered offensive in the eyes of religion. However, times were drastically changing, with standards regarding sexuality being altered like never before. Of course, this was no foreign concept to Madonna, so she decided to craft a clever and calculated response to those criticizing her the most. Madonna’s utilization of aural, visual, and gestural modes in her 1989 music video for her song “Like A Prayer” targeted her critics directly while also pushing boundaries regarding the intersection of religion and sexuality and protesting traditional Catholic beliefs.Ìý

Aural AnalysisÌý

Madonna’s usage of music and sound effects throughout the video aids in conveying her sensual and provocative message to viewers. The video begins with sounds of gospel and church instruments, like the organ, playing behind the song which aids in displaying a religious undertone. Madonna sings the opening lyrics in an emotional and airy voice, evoking both confusion and comfort alike. The lyrics and cadence of the song throughout the first half of the video remain upbeat and sensual, with lyrics like “In the midnight hour, I can feel your power. Just like a prayer, you know I’ll take you there.” (Madonna, 1989, 0:51-1:00) These lyrics, while repeatedly mentioning religious prayer, portray a more sexual tone through phrases like “In the midnight hour…I’ll take you there.” The way Madonna’s tone switches as she sings the phrases following the chorus strongly resemble an angelic choir, making her seem more innocent and holy while also maintaining a consistent provocative tone. A choir group can also be heard harmonizing behind these phrases as well, further emphasizing the presence of God and religion throughout. This intersection of traditional religious sounds alongside a more mainstream pop sound in the chorus aids in the blending of her controversial and sexual ideas with the more sacred, religious scene.Ìý

Visual AnalysisÌý

The visual elements Madonna uses throughout the music video aid in further conveying her provocative message to viewers. Near the beginning of the video, after Madonna enters the church and has a very intimate interaction with a saint, she is shown to have wounds on her hands resembling the wounds of Christ. However, she does not have the reaction one would expect, and appears to be happy about these wounds, which pushes a more sensual and sinful tone. While the initial interaction could already be viewed as offensive, Madonna pushed the limits even further and included the second scene as well. This is not the only sensual visual element she includes, as the color, lighting and costumes in the video are an equally important component in her argument. The overall atmosphere of the video is almost heavenly, with soft, warm, and blurred lighting in every shot of the church. Capturing this essence is crucial in maintaining a religious feel throughout the video, despite the strong sexual visuals taking place at the same time. Madonna’s clothing and costume choices made throughout the video convey the opposite feeling of other actors in the video and the atmosphere of the church overall, as they are extremely provocative. All other characters in her video, including the Saint and choir members, are dressed in traditional religious outfits like robes. To show a sharp contrast, Madonna reveals an outfit that is extremely low cut and provocative, which she wears for the entire second half of the video. Seeing her outfit amongst the rest of the modestly dressed church members creates a feeling of confusion and calls into question the expectations of the church, as none of the members seem to be offended by her vastly different clothing choice.Ìý

Gestural AnalysisÌý

Arguably the most controversial component of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” music video is her frequent sexual gestures and provocative body language throughout the entirety of the video. Her facial expressions throughout the video, particularly while she is praying near a statue of a saint, are viewed as extremely emotional and sexual. These facial expressions occur throughout the entire video and strongly convey her controversial message by displaying emotions that are not typically seen in the church setting. Immediately following this scene, viewers see Madonna lay on her back and enter a dreamlike state where she is saved from her despair by another religious figure. This body language is incredibly sexual and alongside her costume, which is extremely revealing and almost falls off her body at a separate point in the video, portrayed a very distasteful message in the eyes of the church. Finally, her implementation of dance in the church resulted in major criticism as well. The act of dancing, especially inside a church is considered sinful in the Catholic religion, and Madonna takes this sin to another level by including sensual elements in her dance such as swaying and grabbing herself. The act of “Dancing to bring attention to yourself or your body, therefore, would be sinful” (Richards 2016.) This dance strongly invokes feelings of both freedom alongside discomfort from viewers, as the behavior strongly challenges typical religious ideals but equally provides an enticing component of excitement.Ìý

Madonna’s music video for her hit song “Like a Prayer” effectively utilizes the aural, visual, and gestural modes to craft an extremely controversial response to critics and convey an argument regarding the outdated nature of traditional religious morals and rules. Through her implementation of a variety of multimodal elements including gospel and traditional church sound, dreamy lighting, provocative costume, and sensual body language, Madonna crafted an argument which controversially called traditional Catholic faith and standards into question. In the video, a fictional situation was created where sexual behaviors and religious practices were able to exist as one, which was heavily frowned upon by practicing Catholics at the time of its release. Following its release, Madonna’s reputation alongside ideals of the Catholic religion were called into question, which was precisely her goal while creating the video. Through this video, Madonna emphasized the need to revisit a variety of outdated religious beliefs, and through a controversial video, she made the statement that upholding these strict standards is not truly necessary to be spiritual.Ìý

ReferencesÌý

Madonna. (1989). Like a prayer [Official video] [Video]. YouTube. ÌýÌý

Miller, M. (2015). The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church. Emmaus Road Publishing.Ìý

Richards, G. (2016, May 29). Should Christians Dance or Even Go to Dances? - Online Articles ‹ Cedar Park church of Christ. ÌýÌý