Customer Reviews

Madonna As Postmodern Myth: How One Star's Self-Construction Rewrites Sex, Gender, Hollywood and the American Dream

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In this book GC Guilbert shows how absolutely everything Madonna has ever done is packed with clever references. He doesn't mean that she's a plagiarist, far from it: she just uses her vast knowledge of (popular) culture, in a "postmodern" way. A fascinating read.

At last a book about Madonna that can be enjoyed by academics AND fans. There have been two or three collections of highbrow essays by various university eggheads that were a bit too hermetic. "Madonna as Postmodern Myth" is "intellectual" but crystal clear.The subtitle pretty much sums it up: Georges-Claude Guilbert does show the way the diva "rewrites" just about everything -- always cleverly -- and especially old Hollywood stars. Besides, it's a very feminist book, but a sexy feminist book (yes, it is possible). I'm sure every Cultural Studies professor is going to want to read it, as well as every Madonna fan who's ever wondered why it is exactly that makes her / him adore the "self-constructed" star, beyond the obvious: she's unique.

Madonna:alot can be said about Her but Boring isn't one of them.thsi Book Explores the Many things that relate too the Artist&personna that is Madonna.this Book is Challenging&also puts Madonna into a Complete Perspective from start too finish.just like the Woman Herself it will keep you wondering more&what lays around the Corner.

This book examines Madonna's work, in the same way a book of literary criticism would examine a writer's novels -- except it's much more entertaining. The emphasis is on Madonna's visuals, which is what most people are interested in, let's face it. Highly recommended, for Madonna fans and for anyone who's interested in the way North American popular culture actually works.

Like so many, I find Madonna interesting. And I agree with the positive reviews of this book -- I really like it. The unique contribution here is the way the author discusses Madonna in ways that make "postmodern" an interesting, understandable, ans useful concept. And believe me, I am no fan of academic writing of or about the posrmodern. But this book can be highly and widely recommended.

"Madonna as a Postmodern Myth" By Georges-Claude Gilbert is a very interesting book. The author analyzes the phenomenon of Madonna from a sociological and intellectual point of view. Not only is Gilbert a professor, he's also a Madonna fan, which explains the passion and enthusiasm he writes with. Gilbert dissects Madonna's several aspects of career (videos, music, films, performances, interviews)and explains why she's "postmodern". Postmodernism came about in the mid-20th century and involves the use of irony, ambiguity, pastiche (references to past works of art) and a sense of distance between the artist and the audience. All of these qualities are present in Madonna's work and various personas to some degree. Many passages in the book were very insightful. Gilbert explains Madonna's relationship with the gay community, how she channels stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, how she crosses cultural boundaries and seeks to bridge the gap between sex and religion. He's quite accurate in these assessments, since Madonna herself has spoken about all of those themes in interviews in the past. However, sometimes he takes his analysis a bit too seriously. He gets too analytical at certain points, breaking down every minute detail of Madonna's work and sometimes even her life. He comes across as one of those people who believes everything about Madonna is calculated, including her personal life. I doubt that, for example, Madonna named her son Rocco after a porn star as a "postmodern reference". Gilbert adds to the myth with this book of Madonna as this master of manipulation who calculates every detail of her career and life, instead of an artist full of creative impulses and the desire to explore new territories. It's true that she does capitalize on cultural waves and attitudes in order to make an impact but even Gilbert himself said, in the introduction, that it would be unfair to believe that Madonna calculates everything she does. (A statement that he contradicts throughout the book with his somewhat cynical assessments.) Nevertheless, I'm a huge fan of Madonna and found this an engrossing read. It provides evidence of her artistic brilliance and high intelligence and reasons behind why she seared herself into the collective unconscious and stayed there for so long. However, if you want a more humanized intellectual view of Madonna and her artistry, I would recommend Lucy O'Brien's "Madonna: Like an Icon".

The Queen of the Nile will soon be battling for historical significance with the Queen of Pop very soon. A unique take on the influence of Madonna beyond just hit records to a whole social expression that inspired other artists, feminism, and what it means to be an ambitious woman without apology.