Material World

I start by saying that I am not biased against Madonna. Actually, I have been "living" with her music for quite some time, along with Duran Duran's and Michael Jackson's (when you have had teen age children in the late '80s you couldn't help, could you?). But now, with more time to think at my disposal, I enjoy re-visiting old stuff with a new perspective. In the eighties, "Material Girl" was just a song with a catchy tune, the video was funny, with its reincarnated Marilyn, so no wonder it was a great success. I actually never paid attention to the lyrics, I just remembered the music. Now that I've taken the time to pay attention, in my search for the ways in which life is affected and conditioned by outside circumstances, I realize the dangerous message that is clearly expressed in this song. It says: ...the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right because we are living in a material world and I am a material girl. I know, I know, many would say that it's just a song and there are others saying the same and even worse. Nevertheless I am sadly becoming aware of how the world has changed even on the musical scene. Just a few decades ago you had lyrics that were mainly speaking of romantic love. Now, (for the little I know) they usually talk about - and portray in their videos - having sex, becoming rich and famous as quickly as possible, or cursing everybody and everything. Well, the world has really changed. Nothing to complain about, you say, because everything changes. Does change also mean progress? Progress meaning getting better?