Core Post #4 - Truth or Dare and Madonna's Masculinity

In Ann Cvetkovich’s “The Powers of Seeing and Being Seen,” she mentions that the camera has the power of surveillance and that Madonna allows the camera to survey her life in her own documentary, Truth or Dare. Rather than being the victim of the camera’s gaze, Madonna seems to openly invite it. Her attitude towards publicity stands in contrast to that of Warren Beatty who dislikes having his life being presented on camera. Essentially, Madonna’s private life is yet another performance. The off-stage scene is shot in black-and-white in contrast to the color footage of her tour performances; the editing and cross-cutting suggest a constructed compilation; Madonna and her dancers repeatedly address the camera directly or indicate their awareness of being filmed (i.e. flashing her breasts the camera, telling the camera to “go away” because she’s having a business meeting).

Hence, her documentary is not naturalistic nor is it showing candid realism. It’s designed to incite the voyeurism that fuels the publicity industry. And Madonna sees this film as an opportunity rather than a threat because she understands that publicity machine is part of what makes her a successful star. By using Truth or Dare to her advantage, she orchestrates her own self-revelation in order to capitalize on the seductive powers of secrets. And in a way, her fans grow closer to her because they finally get to see Madonna being her “true self” (even though some would argue it is a “constructed image”) as she visits her mother’s grave and as she interacts with her father.

Moving away from the form of the film, we see Madonna as making appropriations of blackness—one being the imitation of black masculinity. Bell Hooks in “Madonna: Plantation Mistress or Soul Sister?” states that Madonna “clearly sees black men as embodying a quality of maleness that eludes white men” and thus, she imitates and taunts white males with her own version of “black masculinity” (crotch grabbing and hip thrusting). Madonna is fascinated by what the “black style” but she is seemed also to be envious of that style; therefore, when it comes to rivalry, she clearly “perceives Prince and Michael Jackson as the standard against what she must measure herself and that she ultimately hopes to transcend” (30).

It’s funny how the timing works in our situation because The Ellen Show just had a Madonna week and Madonna also appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show few days ago. I want to especially point out this video:

From her attire to her posture (sitting with opened legs)—her style exudes male masculinity. And going back to Hook’s article about her making appropriations of male codes, Madonna is wearing gold chains and grills—which clearly are the markers of the black masculinity. By emphasizing on the black male experience whether on-stage or off-stage, she uses that image construction for her own opportunistic ends in order to “mask her acts of racist aggression as affirmation” (29). Even at an age of 56, Madonna is still relevant and she continues to strive to be different and “hip.”