Music Video Analysis: Madonna's Like A Virgin

Music Video Analysis: Madonna's Like A Virgin

Relationship between Lyrics and Visuals

• Illustrative : She is wearing white and her body is very covered connoting purity, as she sings 'like a virgin'. There are also many signifier's of love used, for example, gondolas, which re-enforce the lyrics. There is also a lion shown roaming around, as she sings about the 'wilderness'
• Contradiction : Throughout the video Madonna is acting in a very provocative, sexual manner and is dressed in black but is singing about how she feels like a virgin.

Relationship between Music and Visuals

• Illustrative : Sound-vision editing and very fast paced
• Contradicting : Some dissolves and cuts are not fast paced like the music

Performance, Narrative or Concept Based

• Performance : This is the main focus of the video, as she is putting a show on for the camera throughout
• Narrative : There is a slight narrative, however it is not a proper story nor is it whole
• Concept : Sex and sexuality
  

Visual Hooks

• There are lots of CU's and ECU's of her face, which makes her the visual hook and also many of her lips. There are also many CU's of her over the top jewellery and crucifixes. There is also the constant repetition of her sexual, provocative dancing.

Genre Characteristics (80's Pop)

• Music and Lyrics : Up-beat pop/dance style music
• Editing : Fast editing, which mainly fits with the pace of the music
• Gesture Codes : Dancing style
• Fashion : Big hair style, elaborate make-up, clothes and jewellery
• Artist : Well-known pop singer

References to the Notion of Looking

• She is singing to the camera, therefore leading us to look at her. We also see her in low angle a lot making us feel as if we are looking up at her
• We get a great sense of voyeurism when we are watching her in an intimate situation with her partner
  

Intertextual References

• The 1980's Decade : Clothes, hair, make-up, jewellery, dancing
  Venice : Gondolas connotes romance and traditionalist