Mr. Stefani
02-16-2003, 11:08 PM
Madonna's new video to make antiwar sentiment
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Madonna is courting controversy again -- this time with a violent music video that her publicist says depicts the “catastrophic repercussions and horror of war.”
“It is an antiwar video, but the purpose of the video, as with a lot of Madonna’s work, is to be thought-provoking,” publicist Liz Rosenberg said Monday.
“It is many other things as well” as antiwar, she said.
The website The Drudge Report reported Sunday that the video was “the most shocking antiwar, anti-Bush statement yet to come from the show-business industry,” complete with images of Iraqi children and bloody limbs. !
But Rosenberg said, “I’m not going to say it’s specifically anti-Bush at all.” She said there were no pictures of Iraqi children or bloody images, though the latter could change in postproduction.
The video, directed by Jonas Akerlund, is “a panoramic view of our culture and looming war through the view of a female superhero portrayed by Madonna,” Rosenberg said. It also speaks to the glorification of war, she said, starting off as a runway show of couture army fatigues.
“[Then] it just starts to go haywire and goes into other things...it kind of takes it into a more violent direction.”
The “American Life” video is expected to premiere in mid-March; Madonna’s new album is due on April 22.
Madonna is an expert at creating controversy with videos. In 1989 religious images in “Like a Prayer” led Pepsi to drop her as a spokeswoman. In 1990 MTV refused to air “Justify My Love” because of its sexual content. Two years later, it relegated “Erotica” to the early-morning hours, and in 2001 VH1 and MTV would not air “What it Feels Like For a Girl” because of violence.
Rosenberg said that despite the new video’s imagery, the song itself is not antiwar.
“The lyric content to the song doesn’t reflect that at all. There’s a line in which Madonna sings about ‘I live the American dream,’” said Rosenberg. “It’s things like that, about what the culture thinks is important.”
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Madonna is courting controversy again -- this time with a violent music video that her publicist says depicts the “catastrophic repercussions and horror of war.”
“It is an antiwar video, but the purpose of the video, as with a lot of Madonna’s work, is to be thought-provoking,” publicist Liz Rosenberg said Monday.
“It is many other things as well” as antiwar, she said.
The website The Drudge Report reported Sunday that the video was “the most shocking antiwar, anti-Bush statement yet to come from the show-business industry,” complete with images of Iraqi children and bloody limbs. !
But Rosenberg said, “I’m not going to say it’s specifically anti-Bush at all.” She said there were no pictures of Iraqi children or bloody images, though the latter could change in postproduction.
The video, directed by Jonas Akerlund, is “a panoramic view of our culture and looming war through the view of a female superhero portrayed by Madonna,” Rosenberg said. It also speaks to the glorification of war, she said, starting off as a runway show of couture army fatigues.
“[Then] it just starts to go haywire and goes into other things...it kind of takes it into a more violent direction.”
The “American Life” video is expected to premiere in mid-March; Madonna’s new album is due on April 22.
Madonna is an expert at creating controversy with videos. In 1989 religious images in “Like a Prayer” led Pepsi to drop her as a spokeswoman. In 1990 MTV refused to air “Justify My Love” because of its sexual content. Two years later, it relegated “Erotica” to the early-morning hours, and in 2001 VH1 and MTV would not air “What it Feels Like For a Girl” because of violence.
Rosenberg said that despite the new video’s imagery, the song itself is not antiwar.
“The lyric content to the song doesn’t reflect that at all. There’s a line in which Madonna sings about ‘I live the American dream,’” said Rosenberg. “It’s things like that, about what the culture thinks is important.”