Globalization
of Popular Culture: Madonna
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Researcher: |
Rebecca Arredondo, email:beckya_79@hotmail.com |
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Topic
Description: |
The focus of my research project is the celebrity of Madonna. By
researching album reviews, articles, and pop chart status on her newest
album, "Music", from the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and Spain, I will
compare how Madonna’s image and celebrity are interpreted around the world. |
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Discussion
of Topic: |
In Joshua Gamson’s essay on celebrity in the twentieth century, he
argues that there have been two main explanations for why people become
famous. The first is based on the inherent greatness of a person. Some people
are just born to be famous. The other argument, which becomes more popular in
the later half of the century, is that celebrities are productions. Any
random person could be picked out of the crowd, churned through the
celebrity-producing machine, and made into a star. Madonna is one of the most well recognized celebrities in the world.
Many would argue that her fame is based on the chameleon like way in which
she has changed her image throughout her career. In his article, Gamson gives
us an explanation for her success. "Name recognition in itself is critical
for commerce. In fact, the less attached a name is to a context, the more
easily it transfers to new markets" (Gamson, 13). I argue that this is
the main basis for Madonna’s success; her name cannot be pinned down to one
specific context. If this is indeed the case, how do different cultures respond to the
name "Madonna"? Does her commercial success depend solely on her
name, or also the newest image that she delivers to the public? When
discussing her, what is it that entertainment writers focus their attention
on? Her music? Image? Personal Life? What is it that people in each of these
cultures focus on when dealing with her celebrity? |
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Method(s): |
By looking at recent popular music magazine articles from the
countries listed above, I will analyze the album reviews and articles in
reference to Madonna’s latest album, "Music". I will also take into
account her albums place in the pop music charts of each of the countries as
a way to determine the commercial success of her latest image. |
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Findings and
Data: |
United States - From my findings of internet and journal
articles, it is clear that Madonna’s image plays an important role in the
lives of American females and those “outside” normal society, most notably
gays and lesbians. In the U.S. her
latest album “Music” reached number one on the Billboard charts shortly after
its release. One reviewer commented
on how she was introduced to the new album by her gay neighbors, “the way
everyone should be introduced to the Madonna’s music.”(Aptowicz, www.liesuresuit.net) This is a clear example of how gay America
has embraced Madonna. Some explain
this phenomenon due to the fact that in the past Madonna has included homosexual
overtones in her videos and music lyrics, therefore bringing this subculture
to the mainstream public. Also in the
U.S., Madonna has been a role model and idol of young women since her
emergence on the music scene. A
author of one article describing her love of Madonna as “finally, someone as
reckless as we were (or as reckless as we wanted to be) was paving the was
for our own expression of individuality.” (Kay, 18) Madonna is seen as leading in the empowerment of girls and
women in America. As quoted by fellow
musician Liz Phair “Madonna is the speed-boat, and the rest of is are just
the Go-Go’s on water skies.” Japan- From the Japan websites, there are
similar references to Madonna as a role model and also a chart topper. Here the commercial success of her name is
clearly evident, as I also found examples of the advertising campaigns that
Madonna has been in. Here, as in the
United States, she is also lauded for doing it all, business
woman/celebrity/entertainer/mother.
One source of critique was found in reference to her previous album
“Ray of Light”, and the use of Asian spiritualism, which was apparent in this
image of Madonna and in her album.
This review had a theme of the public not buying into the image of
Madonna as spiritual leader. Spain – The key difference in the
information found on Madonna in Spain was the focus on her music when
reviewing her new album, instead of talking about her personal life
also. The web page I concentrated on
mainly “Cuidad Madonna”, broke down the album song by song, talking about the
musical qualities in each one, and my the review liked one over the
other. Unlike many of the other sites
I visited, this one left out all the personal stats and information when
discussing the music. It was truly a
rare find. This suggests the
importance of not disqualifying Madonna as 0 a musician because of her
immense celebrity status. Brazil- The information found in Brazil was
very reminiscent of things found on the other sites and articles. There was a
concentration on Madonna as a role model, and entertainer. Parts of the site devoted to her music,
movies, and other personal information. There seems to be on most of these
sites a day-by-day journal of Madonna’s actions. One thing that I found while looking at Latin America in
general that I feel is relevant to this section is a discussion of Madonna’s
role as Eva Peron in the film “Evita”.
There was some resistance against letting Madonna play this role in
Argentina. Some asked the question of
which history will remember, Evita as Evita, or Evita as Madonna. The man interviewed, a native Argentine,
argued that Madonna will never replace Evita to the people of Argentina since
she is only an entertainer to them, while Evita was a Robin Hood, Cinderella,
and Sleeping Beauty of Argentina. Eva
is too ingrained into the culture of Argentina to be effected by Madonna’s
role in a movie. |
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Conclusions: |
There are many things to say about this delve into the celebrity of
Madonna throughout the world. It
seems that there is nowhere, looking at magazine covers and album charts,
that the latest incarnation of Madonna does not cause a stir. The most important aspect of Madonna worldwide
is her as a role model to young women.
I especially found the Kay article interested because it seemed to
summarize the thoughts of so many of the websites that I had visited. Madonna is championed by young girls
because she does what no one else dares to.
From her article and the websites, it is clear that these girls gain a
vicarious joy and freedom by taking interest I-n Madonna’s latest exploits. The reasoning behind this can be seen, as one author put it,
Madonna makes her image for herself, while with other young girls; their
image is created for them. If a
normal girl went around doing to things that Madonna does, she would be seen
as a slut or a bitch. Therefore,
these girls who worship Madonna live her life with her while not risking
their own status. One question that this research has raised for me is, Where are the
limits to celebrity? When looking at the data on Madonna, it seems that
whenever he celebrity comes in contact, or tries to change some aspect of an
institutional aspect of culture, such as religion or history, there is a
backlash against her. From this,
there seems to be some limit as to how far a person’s celebrity is allowed to
influence a culture. In Madonna’s
case, once it starts to seep into aspects of a society’s Culture, especially
if the celebrity is coming from outside the society, there will be some
limits arranged. |
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References: |
Bibliography: |
“Evita or Madonna: Whom Will History Remember? Interview with T.E.
Martinez”, New Perspectives Quarterly, (Winter 1997) 32-33. Gamson, Joshua, "The Assembly-Line of Greatness: Celebrity in
Twentieth-Century America", Critical Studies in Mass Communication,
2 (1992):1-24] Hallstein, D. Lynn O’Brien. “Feminist assessment of emancipatory
potential and Madonna’s contradictory gender practices” Quarterly Journal
of Speech, 82 (1996), 2, May, 125-141 Kay, Lisa, “M stands for Madonna”, Moxie Magazine, (1999), 18. Kitzinger, Jenny, “’I’m Sexually Attractive but I’m Powerful’: Young
Women Negotiating Sexual Reputation”, Women’s Studies International Forum,
1995, 18,2,Mar-Apr, 187-196. Schwichtenberg, Cathy, “Madonna’s Postmodern Feminism: Bringing the
Margins to the Center”, Southern Communications Journal. 57 (1992),2,
Winter, 120-131. |
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Links: |
Tokyo weekender
http://www.weekender.co.jp/LatestEdition/980403/music.html#madonna US Review http://www.madonna-melaniec.com/frame.html Ciudad Madonna http://www.ciudadfutura.com/madonna/music.htm Cool Girls Japan-Who is Famous Now in Japan? http://www.coolgirlsjapan.com/CUTE1.html Cool Girls Japan Homepage Madonna
Japanese Commercial http://www.japander.com/japander/madonna.htm Madonna Rio http://www.iis.com.br/~rodolfoa/ Madonna
Magazine Covers (1998) http://www.sindrismadonnapage.com/mag-covers/1998/mags-1998.htm Madonna charts around the world http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~zhwang/Madonna/chart/CHTMusic.html Madonna awards http://www.madonna.ca/awards.htm Madonna
Resource Links Page http://www.cbvcp.com/c2/madonna.html |
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