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

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Madonna has long been accepted as a pop culture icon, but this text postulates a greater cultural importance by analyzing her as a postmodern myth.

This work examines how Madonna methodically discovered and constructed herself (often rewriting her past), the nature and extent of her ambition and the means she used to reach her goals. It also details the way in which she organized her own cult (borrowing from the gay community), devised her artistic output, and cunningly targeted different audiences. It also studies the fundamental contradiction—virgin or vamp? saint or prostitute?—that fuels Madonna’s career and describes how Madonna reflects today’s society, its contradictions and its attitudes toward sexuality and religion.

About the Author

Georges-Claude Guilbert teaches American literature, gender studies and popular culture at the University of Rouen and is an editor of the electronic academic journal Cercles. He lives in Notre Dame de Bondeville, France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786414081
• ISBN-13: 978-0786414086
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #239,498 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Madonna
  #71 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Pop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MADONNA BOOK FOR INTELLIGENT FANS, November 21, 2002

By	Co (Sacramento) - See all my reviews

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Final evidence of Madonna's superior intelligence, December 13, 2002

By A Customer

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Madonna Make "Postmodern" Interesting, January 16, 2003

By A Customer

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.