How Madonna Punished Herself in the ‘Express Yourself’ Video
Madonna‘s “Express Yourself” was a bold new chapter for the Material Girl, as it changed her musical style and persona. The Queen of Pop said she included “extreme” images of herself in the music video. This caused controversy, and the “Like a Virgin” singer elaborated on what was going through her head when he made the clip.
Madonnas’ ‘Express Yourself’ music video is based on a classic movie
“Express Yourself” is an important milestone in Madonna’s career for two reasons. First, it was the “Holiday” singer‘s first feminist anthem. As time went on, feminism became a huge part of her image. Second, it was her most extravagant music video yet, with sets modeled on the epic science fiction film Metropolis. Even today, the special effects look impressive.
In the video, Madonna plays the empowered leader of a futuristic city. At one point, she is chained nude to a bed while wearing a dog collar. During a 1991 interview with Rolling Stone, discussed this image and she connected it to traditional femininity. “These are traditional roles that women play, and here I am doing them, but that’s not really what I’m doing,” she said.
Madonna was trying to show ‘extreme images of women’
Madonna discussed whether wearing that collar was an attempt to punish herself. “It is, I’m sure,” she said. “I can’t entirely explain it. It’s just an image I thought was powerful, and I chose to use it in my video. It showed an extreme.
“First, you see me chained to a bed, then you see me on top of a stairway with these working men below, and I’m wearing a suit and grabbing my crotch,” she said. “Extreme images of women: One is in charge, in control, dominating; the other is chained to a bed, taking care of the procreation responsibilities.”
The video ends with a sexual encounter between Madonna and one of the workers in the futuristic city. Even though Madonna wears a collar in “Express Yourself,” there’s a clear power dynamic at play where she seems to be in charge. These images have special significance as Madonna coupled them with a song about women holding their men to high standards. While some 1980s artists were content to film simple live performances for their music videos, Madonna was out there making political and psychosexual dreamscapes worth unpacking intellectually.
‘Express Yourself’ was part of a string of hits from the same album
“Express Yourself” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. The track appeared on one of Madonna’s most artful albums, Like a Prayer, which topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks and stayed on the chart for 77 weeks in total.
Like a Prayer was a hit factory. It produced four more top-20 singles: the title track, which reached No. 1; “Cherish,” which reached No. 2; “Keep It Together,” which reached No. 8; and “Oh Father,” which reached No. 20. The other single from Like a Prayer, “Dear Jessie,” missed the chart entirely, possibly because it’s for small children and doesn’t fit in with Madonna’s provocative image.
Madonna’s music videos sometimes riffled feathers but the Queen of Pop always knew how to express herself.
