For this project, the selected artifact is Madonna and her impact on fashion design, music, and the concept of sexuality among other things. Madonna is one of the most celebrated American singers ever since she started her career around the early 1980s. Madonna relates to popular culture in the sense that her role as a songwriter and a singer had considerable social and cultural impacts across the globe through her attitude, lifestyle, clothing, and recordings. Most international researchers and authors have been able to describe Madonna as the queen of pop culture as well as an iconic and influential female artist. Madonna is, no doubt, a representation of a piece of a popular culture owing to her significant role in the growth and transformation of the pop culture (Allen, 2003). Through her videos, Madonna was able to reach, entertain, and inspire a lot of people. Her efforts also contributed to paving the way for the concept of reality television. This contribution was represented by the production of documentaries that were believed to be capable of displaying a combination of invention and reality. In making a theoretical statement, Madonna's debut has influenced different researchers and scholars around the world have managed to write several scientific trials, essays, and thesis in various branches of social sciences (Prieto-Arranz, 2012). Madonna influenced and participated in several historical events especially concerning pop culture as a way of making a historical statement. Madonna and her impact on fashion design, music, and the concept of sexuality helped in promoting the understanding of the idea of popular culture.
Lens Analysis
Analysis through the Lens of Humanities
Considering humanities, the role played by Madonna impacted various institutions within the society in multiple ways. One of these ways was her role in influencing the concept of sexuality among people in the community. She contributed to inspiring the society in questioning and forming different views concerning some of her music videos and song lyrics which were sexually explicit in nature. She also caused some significant outcry from people in the society owing to her provocative, costumes, pictures, and music videos. It has been argued that some of the songs and videos released by Madonna were simply publicity stunts meant to acquire more publicity. To that extent, Madonna seemed to care whether the publicity she was receiving from people in the society was good or bad. It could be argued that these videos and songs were publicity stunts by Madonna to gain more publicity (King, 2014). Even bad publicity for her was good enough since it implied that she attracted a certain level of attention or interest and various people in the society where talking about her in different ways.
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In light of humanity and influence to various institutions, the manner in which she used her body in embracing fashion, dancing and participating in several other activities has left people with more interests in understanding her way of life. For instance, Madonna was very instrumental in the popularization of the idea of tour extravagance and modern concern. To this extent, she managed to organize and oversee the creation of a blond ambition show which was widely perceived as being more theatrical compared to various previous ones (Schoenecke, 2007). This particular show comprised of different sections of themes involving set changes, multiple costumes, ambitious routines of dance, screen projections, revolutionary designs of lighting.
Analysis through the Lens of Social Sciences
Based on social sciences, the various works and contributions of Madonna to various aspect of the society may be studied and understood through the incorporation of an interdisciplinary technique focusing on media studies and cultural studies. Since Madonna's debut, different researchers and scholars around the world have managed to write several scientific trials, essays, and thesis in different branches of social sciences. Notably, some of the works and contributions by Madonna were highlighted in a publication titled "The Madonna Connection" comprising of compendium essays (Blanco, 2014). Controversy associated with some of the fields of study that find their basis in social sciences. Besides, such controversies are believed to have emanated from various discussions involving the intellectual value of pursuing studies into the life of Madonna as a pop musician where some have argued that this particular field of study only deserved to be accorded cultural commentary (Allen, 2003). In her artistry, fashion design, performances, and presentations, Madonna made significant contributions to the field of social sciences through her ability to convert controversies into publicities that seemed to work to her advantage.
For, the duration she has spent in her career, Madonna has managed to attract a considerable amount of contradictory social attention from religious groups, feminists, and family organizations among others (Choong, 2013). Even though her influence on the field of social sciences has been able to attract unprecedented attention from the global scene, there is no doubt that some of the reviews attributed to her lifestyle and performance have sometimes been negative leading to censorship. Some scholars have been able to express their views regarding the role of Madonna in promoting the development social sciences by arguing that her achievements and the associated controversies have always placed her as a critical figure whom students are interested in studying and understanding (Freccero, 2013). Besides, Madonna has helped in causing significant changes to the society by the show of her unwillingness to compromise on what she believes is right as well as the demonstration of her burning ambitions.
Analysis through the Lens of History
In the historical context, the mid-1980s saw the coming to prominence of Madonna for the first time. Since then, she has helped in shaping history by influencing and participating in several historical events, especially concerning pop culture. By the beginning of the 1990s, Madonna had already started attracting broader interests of commentators as well as the media. In the year 1992, Vanity Fair managed to report that there already existed a strong relationship between academics in various fields the personality of Madonna (King, 2014). It is in the historical domain that the nature of celebrity status held by Madonna was characterized by considerable uniqueness and appeared to be influenced by acceptance and repugnance. Unlike most star artists, the frame of her fame significantly depended more on people who hated her and disliked her way of doing things than those who loved her.
Madonna played a significant role in influencing historical development and understanding of the concept of feminism. In this respect, her actions, performance, and lifestyle influenced the global society to generate various opinions concerning the subject of feminism. Besides, Madonna has often been placed at the center of the feminist movement owing to being regarded as a revolutionary figure with the ability to question matters of gender. She is also associated with the historical responsibility of influencing the behavior and thinking of women as well as the manner in which the society tends to interpret various changes related to feminism (Musial, 2014). In that regard, history has been able to record the significant role played by Madonna in enlightening young women to value the female status and sexuality while remaining in full control of the events happening in their lives.
Analysis through the Lens of Natural Sciences
According to Schoenecke (2007), natural science is one of the branches of science that focuses on predicting, understanding and describing natural phenomena based on experimentation and empirical evidence acquired through observation. In some cases, repeated findings and peer reviews among other mechanisms are utilized in ensuring the validity of scientific phenomena concerning natural science. The role played by Madonna in influencing different aspects of natural sciences has been linked to the issue of understanding sexuality. In this respect, the sexual icon constructed by Madonna has been cited as an effort directed toward the acquisition of freedom and sexual expression. To that extent, most intellectual that has been indulging in the discussion concerning matters of sexuality have often referred to the role played by Madonna. Freccero (2013) observes that Madonna significantly contributed to influencing the different people including academicians to regard nudity from a different perspective. The complexity associated with the core competencies held by Madonna has made it extremely difficult for anyone to imitate them.
Other than being a talented artist, she managed to learn the art of packaging and to market her personality and performance to the amazement of many people. Her innovativeness and flexibility were critical in sustaining and enhancing her competitive advantage as well as significant in advancing different themes in the field of natural sciences (Blanco, 2014). It has been observed that certain aspects of natural sciences did not embrace or support the role played by Madonna in the course of her musical career. However, it is noteworthy that most scholars utilized a significant number of her performances in teaching and training other upcoming artists and musicians especially those who were interested in pursuing the pop culture. According to King (2014), Madonna happens to be among the first female pop artists to display an image of fierce dependence, drive, and control. She did not come to the point of opting to betray any form of emotional fragility despite the kind of sufferings that she experienced. Besides she has been able to wear costumes and outfits that resemble armor. As a social statement, the personality and character of Madonna as a globally celebrated artist have been instrumental in defining and transforming the contemporary idea of the music video.
Conclusion
In summing up, it is worth indicating that studying Madonna and her impact on fashion design, music, and the concept of sexuality among other things is associated with considerable gains in understanding the concept of popular culture. The integration of the four lenses namely humanities, social sciences, history, and natural sciences are critical in helping to understand the manner in which popular culture impacts the society in the sense that they provide a wider view involving different perspectives from various scholars. The feedback loop or the interconnection existing between Madonna as an artifact and the society is that most people around the world still are still inspired by some of the achievements she made during her career as well as her contributions to the transformation and advancement of the pop culture.
Utilization of the popular culture promoted by Madonna would require different strategies for application in the field of study, profession, and everyday life such as streaming interaction with different personalities coupled with a deeper understanding of the cultural background. Approaching a critical analysis of different aspects in the field of study, profession, and daily life would utilize the four lenses described in popular culture presented in this text by learning to perceive, evaluate and analyze different phenomena in term s of humanities, social sciences, history, and natural sciences. Besides, the critical analysis of issues in life through these four lenses would significantly help in the acquisition of a wider perspective (Allen, 2003). The analysis of popular culture such as the one displayed by Madonna through her artistry plays a crucial role in facilitating interaction with people of different culture, perspective, and views points in the sense that it broadens one’s understanding several issues influencing the day-to-day life.
References
Allen, S. (2003). Madonna. The Journal Of Popular Culture , 27 (1), 1-12. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-3840.1993.1654646800.x
Blanco F, J. (2014). How to Fashion an Archetype: Madonna as Anima Figure. The Journal Of Popular Culture , 47 (6), 1153-1166. doi: 10.1111/jpcu.12203
Choong, K. (2013). The Celluloid Madonna: From Scripture to ScreenO’Brien, Catherine.The Celluloid Madonna: From Scripture to Screen. The Journal Of Religion And Popular Culture , 25 (1), 169-170. doi: 10.3138/jrpc.25.1.169
Freccero, C. (2013). Unruly Bodies: Popular Culture Challenges to the Regime of Body Backlash: Two Live Crew and Madonna. Visual Anthropology Review , 9 (1), 74-81. doi: 10.1525/var.1993.9.1.74
King, M. (2014). Popular Culture and Museum Culture. Popular Culture In Libraries , 2 (2), 5-14. doi: 10.1300/j117v02n02_02
Musial, J. (2014). From ‘Madonna’ to ‘Whore’: Sexuality, pregnancy, and popular culture. Sexualities , 17 (4), 394-411. doi: 10.1177/1363460713516335
Prieto-Arranz, J. (2012). The Semiotics of Performance and Success in Madonna. The Journal Of Popular Culture , 45 (1), 173-196. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00917.x
Schoenecke, M. (2007). Guest Editorial: Report on Popular Culture and American Culture Associations. The Journal Of Popular Culture , 40 (1), 1-3. doi:
10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00350.x
