Frozen Video Analysis

            

Moving on to Frozen (1998), we see a significant change in Madonna’s style. It is quite obvious from here that Madonna takes inspiration based on her life experiences and channels it into her songs. Having converted from Christianity to Kabbalah while learning up on Hinduism and Yoga, we see its influence in this music video not only in terms of the composition of the song, but also in the audio and visuals of the music video as well.

The video starts off by showing the audiences a dessert bare of life. The colour schemes, although is a dessert, is cold, just like the title of the song, frozen. We then see Madonna dressed up in complete black with hair dyed black, floating mystically on air. Her hands are decorated with henna tattoos that are normally used in Hindu rituals. In the video, Madonna gestures her hands into the sky, as a gesture of pleading to her cold lover in desperation. (Glauner, 1998) For example, we can observe this when she sings the line:

            “Mmmmm, if I can melt your heart,

            Mmmmm, we’d never be apart,”

 

Interestingly enough, we noticed that Madonna in the music video shares some similarities with the Greek Goddess, Hecate, which happens to be the goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, the moon and dogs –bitches to be exact. Besides the scene of her floating from the ground in the beginning, continuing the lines of the chorus recited earlier,

            “Mmmmm, give yourself to me,

            Mmmmm, you, hold the key,”

We see that there are three apparitions of Madonna. Coming back to the similarities of Madonna in this music video and the Greek Goddess Hecate, Hecate is known to be a triple goddess and is often portrayed in her triple form. Not only that, as mentioned earlier, Hecate is also the goddess of black female dogs, now, we’re not saying that Madonna is one, but pointing out the similarities, Madonna does shape-shift into a black bitch –as well as black ravens, in the video.

In addition to this, we can also see a variable of yoga poses and hand gestures connected to Hinduism. In the middle of the music video, Madonna reveals another henna tattoo, decorated in the middle of the palm of her right hand. It is the symbol of “Om”, which is a mystic and sacred syllable in the teachings of Hinduism. Besides that, the beat and melody of the songs gives off an Indian feel with the bongo’s and drums, at the same time; it carries a futuristic feel when combined with the melodies of the violins and modern synthesisers. It is definitely mellower than her usual up-beat songs. The lyrics of the song are also more direct, for instance in the first verse:

 

“You only see what your eyes want to see,

How can life be what you want it to be,

You're frozen,

When your heart's not open,”

As compared to the earlier video, Like a Prayer (1989), the lyrics are simpler and more direct. Hence, making it easier for audiences to understand, yet, the simplicity of the lyrics gives chance for the melody, harmony and visuals of the music video to provide a different feel to her audiences and fans.

Taking into account both music videos that were discussed, we found that Madonna really is not only a singer, but a business woman as well, that sells not a song or an album, but a concept to which audience may choose to accept or not. It may be safe to say that Madonna knows how much influence she has towards her audiences, and she knows how to use this influence to spread what she believes in.

(INSERT http://www.biography.com/ .../madonna-around-the-world-34341420)