Case Study on Madonna - Material Girl

As Part of my Research into codes and convention used/portrayed in music videos, I have conducted a case study of Madonna's 'Material Girl'. I have embedded a video of 'Material Girl' below which can be viewed. 

Case Study

Madonna states the time that this music video was recorded was how she was feeling at the time. The narrative of 'Material Girl' is simple as the song is about a lady who is inspired by materialistic things such as cars, money and jewelry. This is shown in the as the men who 'lust' for her in the video are constantly giving her jewelry, flashing money and driving her around in expensive and prestigious cars. Madonna has copied some of the uses of 'Mise En Scene' as Marilyn Monroe who used the same setting and clothing in 'Diamonds are a girl's bestfriend'. Possible reasons for using similar characteristics of Marilyn Monroe's video are that Marinlyn Monroe was a well known Hollywood star and she took pride in her material possessions. 

The music video of Material Girl is both Narrative and Performance based. 

• It is Performance based as the costumes, setting, and in general Mise En Scene stands out. Also the characters throughout the music video are very dramatic and this can be seen from their actions and dancing throughout.
• It is Narrative based as the lyrics of the song dictate her love for materialistic possessions and this is shown in the performance side of the video.

Star Image is represented through the costumes worn, as speculated a 'Material Girl' is likely to be proud of her possessions and the costumes worn throughout the video by the characters as well as Madonna are likely to be designer clothes. Madonna is seen wearing expensive and sparkling jewlry which contributes to her 'Star Image' as it makes her the centre of attention as her costume is unique and very difficult not to notice. Another thing that adds to this is the fact that the extra characters are wearing black suits whilst Madonna is wearing a bright red costume which stands out, yet again making her centre of attention. The heavy use of jewelry defines the title 'Material Girl' as the jewelry is materialistic hence the title. However, the costumes are not the only thing that contributes to Madonna's Star Image. The use of the Ferrari Mondial QV makes her look prestigious as the car itself is a rare, expensive and prestigious car to have and in one of the scenes in the video she is seen being driven around in this car. The fact that she is being driven around yet again portrays her to be a star as its as if she has her own 'chaffeur'. 

Madonna has used the technique/convention of 'Intertextuality' by using the same setting, costume and storyline of Marilyn Monroe's 'Diamonds are a girl's bestfriend' (as mentioned earlier). Intertextuality is the reference of a text to another text. Some may say that 'Material Girl' is a tribute to the late Marinlyn Monroe as the storyline references Marilyn Monroe is many ways such as her being a materialistic Hollywood Star. Examples of Interetextuality include the background (red) throughout the first scene and the costume which Madonna is wearing. 

Marilyn Monroe's 'Diamonds are a girl's bestfriend'

Madonna's 'Material Girl'

There is use of 'Voyeurism' in Madonna's Material Girl at the start of the video where the two characters are talking in the cinema and Madonna is onscreen performing. Another scene that includes voyeurism is the scene where Madonna is seen in the changing room talking on the phone. The addition of this convention makes the audience feel as if they are seeing everything in first person, this gives the audience the feeling that they are involved in the music video and they are seeing everything themselves. However it also makes the audience feel as if they are seeing/hearing things they shouldn't, as the phonecall should be private and in this sense the audience feel as if they are intruding and invading her privacy.

To conclude, Material Girl is a great video in the sense that it uses many of the conventions listed above in a way that makes the audience notice Madonna as a 'Material Girl'. As mentioned earlier, this video was recorded based on how she was feeling at the time, the composition of this video is brilliant in the aspect that it expresses her feelings and her state of mind and at the same time tributes another star, the late Marinlyn Monroe.