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Madonna's 'Girl Gone Wild' Video: Five Key Nods To Her Past
From 'Vogue' to 'Human Nature,' MTV News points out the many nods to the Queen of Pop's legendary music videos.
By John Mitchell
The video for Madonna's latest MDNA single, "Girl Gone Wild," dropped Tuesday night, and it is overflowing with winks and nods to many of the Queen of Pop's biggest videos.
The clip was directed by fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who have shot Madonna for Interview magazine and lensed the album artwork for MDNA, which is due Monday. Unlike her video for "Give Me All Your Luvin," "GGW" is not plot-driven, but rather an assemblage of striking images that recall the dark, sexed-up era she ushered in with her "Vogue" video and which reached its apex with the release of her "Sex" book and Erotica album.
Madonna makes references to her iconic past throughout the video, meshing vintage M with her current self seamlessly. Below are the five key references we noticed in the "Girl Gone Wild" clip:
"Erotica"
From Madonna's big, diva-like bleach-blond hair to those chains and leather-briefs-wearing men, the dark, sexy vibe here is pure "Erotica"-era Madge. The clip for "Erotica" was markedly grittier, employing camera filters and sleazy locations (and, you know, bridles and whips) to give off an S&M vibe. If "Girl" isn't as gritty in its approach to sex, it's also far less off-putting. The sex stuff in the "Erotica" video is more of an artful expression of fetishism than a series of "wow, that's hot" moments, like those featured in "GGW." But as usual, M delivers plenty of edgy eye candy.
"Vogue"
Those moves! Those angular, cutting arm, leg and body movements. Check. A bunch of scantily clad male dancers posing in formation. Check. In addition to being shot entirely in black-and-white, the dancing in "Girl Gone Wild" is a direct callback to the sharp moves from "Vogue." A few times in the video (check 1:10), Madonna and her dancers are definitely "vogueing" — or at least as close to it as she's gotten since she struck her most famous pose in 1990. There's also something to be said for the gay culture references in both videos. Madonna made vogueing mainstream in 1990 with her hit, but the highly stylized form of dance was actually born in the late-'80s Harlem gay ballroom scene (see the amazing documentary "Paris Is Burning" if you want to know where vogueing really came from). She embraced the connection then and appears to be doing the same here. In "GGW," we have two male models gnawing on the same apple, dancers in heels (and little else) and many, many suggestive close-ups celebrating the male form.
"Human Nature" The "Human Nature" video is most remembered for Madonna's black latex bodysuit, and she resurrects the look for "GGW." Beyond the suit itself, the "Nature" video also cast Madonna and her dancers in all black and set them against an all-white background, a style choice she uses frequently throughout "Girl." Like the "GGW" clip, the vid for "Nature" was directed by a well-known fashion photographer, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who also helmed Madonna's controversial video for "Justify My Love."
"Justify My Love"
Speaking of which, Her Madgesty is getting awfully handsy with her sexy dancers here, and late in the video, we find Madonna and her dancers really going for it, writhing in a pile and feeling each other up. The "Love" video was, of course, banned from MTV in 1990 for its depictions of sex acts. Set in a voyeuristic hotel, the "Love" clip includes what we can only refer to as an orgy sequence, and she recalls that a bit here, albeit in a tamer fashion. The scene in "GGW" is less explicit because it's not as direct about its subject matter — being sexy is part of the "GGW" narrative, while making a grand observation about full-on sex was at least part of the point of "Justify My Love."
"Like a Prayer"
Madonna wouldn't be Madonna without a direct reference to religious iconography. Here, we get a dancer wearing a crown of thorns. Her video for "Like a Prayer" famously featured Catholic symbols, including stigmata and burning crosses, and a dream about making love to a saint on an altar. Madonna herself has even donned a crown of thorns onstage. During her performance of "Live to Tell" on her Confessions Tour, Madonna sang from a massive mirrored cross while sporting the crown.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/168...ld-video.jhtml
Madonna Owns 'Girl Gone Wild' Title In New Video
Queen of Pop pays homage to her Erotica days with saucy black-and-white clip for second MDNA single.
By Jocelyn Vena (@jocelyn1212)
While Madonna favored vintage, kitschy, colorful images for her "Give Me All Your Luvin" video, the Queen of Pop opted for black-and-white sex for her just-released "Girl Gone Wild" clip.
Shot by fashion photographers Mert and Marcus (who also did the album's more multihued artwork), the video was the perfect homage to the singer's foxy "Sex" book and Erotica days of the '90s. Crunchy, sexy and edgy, the "GGW" clip is certainly the perfect response for anyone yearning for that Madge of yesteryear.
Twenty years after Madonna had conservative-minded folks worried about her sexy influence over pop culture, the singer can still make us want her and whatever brand of sex she's selling. Pleather, whips, chains and same-sex action define the images in the saucy clip. While "Give Me" featured pals Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., the only "Girl" in this video is Madge, who gets raunchy with a number of male dancers.
The video opens with Madonna in full glamour mode (big hair and diva makeup) declaring how she wants to be good but just can't fight the bad. We mean, who could blame her with all that eye candy around? Spastic shots of her doing yoga are intercut with ones of her dancing around and sexy male dancers posing with one another (and sharing an apple in a way we haven't seen before). The video also features an electrifying dance sequence, with men in tights and heels, really calling attention to Madonna's never-ending need to create memorable images.
It's clear this girl wants to have fun and she wants to be licked, kissed and grinded on by hot dudes. This is Madonna, so fans shouldn't be surprised that she's favoring erotic scenes in which she mugs for the camera with beefy guys all over her. Eventually, Madge proves she's still got the moves when she joins the dancers for another choreographed sequence.
As the video continues to show the singer and her dancers just being attractive with one another, the final shot is a close-up of Madonna, crying thick, black tears, proving that wild girls are saddest when the party is over.
Mert and Marcus are best known for their work as fashion photographers, and that influence is certainly felt in this video. It plays out as if it's a series of shots in a fashion magazine. MDNA, the singer's 12th studio album, is set for release on Monday. "GGW" is the second single from it.
