Introduction
Madonna was an American female hip-hop singer whose music was categorized as controversial of her actions, her rebellious image, and songs with provoking lyrics. At the same time, Madonna was also a songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Her popular fame came in the 1980s and 1990s when she sold an album worth 300 million. She studied dance in America Dance Theater in New York City in her early stages while in the music industry before later on moving to Paris, France, where she became a member of Patrick Hernandez’s dance. In her music career, she collaborated with the likes of Jean-Paul Gaultier as the designer, Steven Meisel as the photographer, and Mary Lambert and David Fincher as the directors.
Madonna Social and Cultural Impacts in United States Society.
Religious
After releasing several songs titled Like A Prayer, Rolling Stone, and Holden, they resulted in a nationwide debate. Catholics, traditionalists, and the Republican Party leaders said that the song’s message and video were blasphemous and disrespectful to God. Madonna said the song was all about a passionate young girl who was so much in love with God. While in a Rolling Stone song, Madonna said she the taboo connections between sex and spirituality. Other songs which resulted in a religious debate include Holden, Like A Virgin, and Till Death Do Us Part (Staff, 2018). By releasing such controversial songs and videos, she brought awareness and reflected on the constricting views of the Moral Majority on religious and traditional matters.
The Women Empowerment
Madonna, later on, came with another impact on society, which was all about women’s empowerment. In her song titled Material Girl, Madonna said she wanted to encourage young girls to stay away from materialistic ideals and try to establish themselves. Another song Papa Dont Preach (Staff, 2018), released in June 1986 which was all about a girl who was pregnant, and the girl insisted to her strict Dad that she would keep the baby. The song came at a time when there were more than a million teen pregnancies annually. The song resulted in a social and cultural debate on teen pregnancies which even led to a campaign to discourage teenage pregnancy. Other Madonna songs which encouraged women include Dullea, Express Yourself, etc. All those songs led to a social and cultural debate on women as Madonna’s role was to raise a concern about women in society through her song’s message and dance.
Voice for the LGBT
Madonna’s song titled Express Yourself was used as an empowering tool for the LGBT community as the song encouraged members to express themselves to the public about their sexual affairs. Other’s songs supporting LGBT freedom include; Vogue, Hung Up, Forbidden Love, Etc. (Assunção, 2018). Those songs helped marginalized groups to feel recognized in society. This led to a positive movement in the century leading to cultural and social debates about the freedom of the LGBT community. In 1987, Madonna had a concert at her Madison Square Garden, and all the money donated she gave to an American Foundation for Aids and Research (Jimenez, 2020), she even donated some books. The homosexual couples said that they felt Madonna spoke about their life. Madonna became an example to society as she raised social and cultural debates about people’s behavior.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the in1980s were a time occupied by social and cultural changes and movements. At the same time, the LGBT community grew and got challenged by religious and traditionalist followers. Madonna achieved to initiate a debate on each of these aspects of 1980s society and created a revolution through her music, videos, and actions in the music industry. Madonna, later on, had a voice in minority groups, those affected by early pregnancies and HIV, who were afraid to speak out. All of that Madonna made it through her massage and videos in her songs. Due to her impact on society, Madonna was able to grasp seven Grammy wins and more than 20 nominations, several MTV music awards, and many other awards.
References
Assunção, M. (2018). 10 Madonna songs for your LGBTQ pride playlist: Listen. Billboard. Web.
Jimenez, G. (2020). Madonna’s impact on culture, fashion and music. No Majesty. Web.
Staff, B. (2018). The 100 greatest Madonna songs: Critics’ picks. Billboard. Web.