Madonna to Deliver Anti-War Message in Video
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Madonna, who cultivated her pop vixen image in the music video genre she helped popularize 20 years ago, is using her latest video performance to speak out against a possible U.S. war with Iraq.
The Material Girl plays out her anti-war message, including a scene in which she lobs a grenade at a fashion show, in a video being produced for the title track and first single of her upcoming album, “American Life,” due for release in April.
The elaborate video was shot last week in Los Angeles, and post-production work is under way, said Madonna’s spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg, who denied that the 44-year-old singer was singling out President Bush for criticism.
“This is not a Madonna statement against George Bush,” Rosenberg told Reuters on Monday. “It’s certainly an anti-war statement and a statement about the horrors of war,” she said, adding that the singer was moved by the prospect of an impending U.S. war with Iraq.
Madonna becomes the latest in a chorus of pop stars, from Dave Matthews to Sheryl Crow, to lend their voices to expressions of opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq.
According to a description released by Rosenberg, the Madonna video opens as a fashion show of runway models wearing couture camouflage and combat fatigues, then “escalates into a mad frenzy depicting the catastrophic repercussions and horror of war.”
At one point, Madonna herself appears on the catwalk and throws a hand grenade toward the audience, Rosenberg said.
The video, she said, “expresses a panoramic view of our culture and the looming war through the view of a female superhero portrayed by Madonna.”
Rosenberg said the video was expected to be released in March, about a month before the album, Madonna’s first collection of new studio material since her 2000 LP “Music.”
The video was directed by Jonas Akerlund, who also collaborated with the pop singer on her “Ray of Light” video several years ago, the publicist said.
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