Avenue G

courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
What can you say about superstar Madonna, that hasn't been said already? The Material Girl has been a fixture in our musical world for nearly 3 decades now. She's gone thru so many stages, it's hard to keep track:

• Early Madonna -- Like a Virgin temptress
• Material Girl -- Making material demands, showing mastery over men
• Who's that Girl Madonna -- Blonde and independent, asking Papa not to preach
• Like A Prayer Madonna -- Cavorting with a priest, breaking more taboos
• Vogue Madonna -- Justifying her love, playing the sexpot in Dick Tracy
• Evita Madonna -- Don't cry for Madonna here, probably her best movie role ever
• Kabbalah Madonna -- Speaking with a British accent, married to Guy Richie

Madonna is now in her late 40's -- her youthful temptress days are over, but she's still a pop culture force of nature. Other divas have recently, previously passed the same age milestones -- Barbra Streisand, Cher and Dianna Ross to name a few. Interesting how perception of age has evolved. In Sunset Boulevard, Nora Desmond was washed up at age 52. In All About Eve, Margo Channing was an old gray mare at 40. Nowadays, a woman can qualify for babehood all the way to 60, if she embraces the right attitude and has a good plastic surgeon. Age is no longer a crime, just a number.

Madonna’s list of hit records is a mile long, and her influences on pop culture are, if anything, more impressive. When she came along in the early 80’s, the women’s movement and taken large strides in the work world, but there was still a rigid double standard with regards to sexual freedom. Men could act out freely; any woman doing so was a ‘slut’. Madonna helped bring about the concept of an empowered woman who could do as she pleased. Today, a woman can be both provocative and seductive (and smart) without also being designated a prostitute. Actually men (and in particular gay/bisexual men) have benefited from the same evolution of attitude. If the legacy of our lady Madonna were simplified to a single phrase it would be:

“Let people be who they are”.

Thank you, Madonna. You might not have done it single-handedly, but you helped make the world a better place.

© 2006 blogSpotter.

Labels: Music