Madonna has a history of revisiting certain themes and associated imagery in her work. One of those is “the bride.” On her latest world tour, she dons a veil during the performance of “Material Girl” (“Like A Virgin” would be too obvious, no?) and walks down the stage as though it’s her aisle. And, in many respects, it is. Each night, she gives herself away to the audience, the fans who have proven to be the true loves of her life when other “cunts” like Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie have failed her.
And so, it’s a bit bittersweet that Madonna would have to suffer another highly publicized wardrobe malfunction almost exactly a year after her cape snafu at the BRIT Awards. This time, it was Madonna’s veil that got the best of her, for as her dancers tried to tug it away, the icon seemed caught like an insect in a spiderweb as she struggled to break free. Or, if you prefer a more religious analogy, as though an exorcism was taking place underneath that veil.
In many ways, maybe it was. The demons Madonna has been battling against have led her to do inexplicable things of late, like perform “Take A Bow” in Taipei and hire a private investigator to dig up some dirt on Ritchie. Watching the incident transpire, it seems impossible to tell how she could have gotten caught underneath it, but there is something eerily symbolic about the event. Madonna’s inability to free herself from the clutches of an uncomfortable and unwanted situation in the form of her custody battle over 15-year-old son Rocco has seemingly physically manifested. And truth be told, Madonna not getting her way with the wave of a queenly hand is probably anathema to her at this point. But as long as she has the stage to exorcise the devil that is dissatisfaction, we’ll all be here to observe and marvel.
