Madonna - Like a Prayer

Madonna, Like A Prayer. Music Video Analysis

In 1989 Madonna released a music video with Warner Bros Records for her song Like a Prayer.
The video portrayed two linked but very different narratives. The first of these is a story about institutional racism, and the other, about a statue of a saint coming alive in the chapel.


Madonna points at the issue of unfair discrimination towards black people when it comes to crime suspects. To do this she uses a very unrealistic but obvious scene showing a stabbing, followed by an innocent black witness being taken to prison by all white police officers.

To follow this up is a genuinely very controversial set, depicting Madonna singing in front of burning crosses - a symbol associated strongly with the KKK group. All of this together creates a sense that Madonna really has got something to say, and wants to make a point of it. This creates a sense that Madonna is an intelligent person, who has her own views on tough political issues.




The church scene is undoubtably very odd. Kissing a living statue of potential black Jesus and dancing with your cleavage on full show is not necessarily going to please all audiences.
This part of the video in my opinion likely comments on Madonna's feelings towards sexual openness being oppressed by religion, as she herself was brought up a Catholic.

The final scene shows the cast bowing in the chapel, having finished the song. This in my eyes tells the audience that the video was just a show, and the points put forward shouldn't be taken with complete sincerity. Instead it enforces the idea that there was a message behind the video that Madonna wanted to express to her listeners.