Pop icon Madonna has released a graphically violent video for her new single, depicting a nightclub shooting and containing a call for gun control.
The video for God Control contains scenes seemingly reminiscent of the deadly shooting in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub that left 49 people dead and 53 injured in June 2016.
In it, the legendary pop celebrity makes an unambiguous call for gun control, both in the song’s lyrics and in a written statement that emerges as the video wraps up. It reads:
“Every year over 36,000 Americans are killed in acts of gun violence and approximately 100,000 more are shot and injured. No one is safe. Gun control. Now.”
Madonna quotes civil rights activist Angela Davis:
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
In the video Madonna is shown typing the song’s lyrics:
“When they talk reforms, it makes me laugh / They pretend to help, it makes me laugh … They say that we need love / But we need more than this.”
The nightclub scenes are explicitly violent and bloody, intertwined with the artist visually imagining herself at the scene of the shooting, with the gun attack and rewinding back to her being mugged at gunpoint as she sets out for the club.
Some Youtube fans were quick to applaud the powerful new message from the singer.
Jeff Hilbert posted a comment:
“Brilliant. She no longer cares about record sales, being played on radio, or awards. What you have left is simply artistry. She's already earned the former. Now, you can tell she's doing what she wants. She's earned it. Layered, deep, and powerful.”
Abraao de Barros Soares Pereira responded:
“No matter what people say about her, this song and video deserve respect because of its message, a video of hers that is coherent to the lyrics and that is upstanding, I am so impressed, it just depicts the bitter reality.”
Crispy or smthn idk sums up: “The most impressive thing about Madonna is that she has never stopped pushing the boundaries of art and culture. Well done.”
Ramon Olivas was stunned by the sheer power of the message: “No lie, she hasn't put something out this powerful in a long time, ever since American Life. Wake Up.”
Madonna had also posted a link on Twitter to the violent video, and a twitterati response was not long in coming, with some lauding her effort and message and others claiming she was exploiting a horrible situation just to stay relevant.
This is your wake up call. Gun violence disproportionately affects children, teenagers and the marginalized in our communities. Honor the victims and demand GUN CONTROL. NOW. Volunteer, stand up, donate, reach out.
— Madonna (@Madonna) June 26, 2019
Perfect! A masterpiece... raw and real!
— Pedro Hosken (@pedrohosken) June 26, 2019
Glad I'm not the only one. Everyone seems to be lauding it but depicting the nightclub shooting in that kind of Tarantino/Luhrmann style really doesn't sit well with me.
— Ben Fensome (@BenFensome) June 27, 2019
Let's exploit a HORRIBLE, painful situation to stay relevant. Fleeting, vapidity never stays relevant. Substance does.
— Joanna Davis #JusticeDemocrats2020 (@pixiechiclet) June 26, 2019Tasteless, misguided and egocentric. Shame its not focused at the white establishment (the mugging scene and 'I don't smoke dope' rap really send the wrong message). Ugh.
— Sam Harvey (@SamAHarvey) June 27, 2019
perfect publicity shot-a little blood, lots of boob.
— Qalina (@Qalina_com) June 27, 2019
Tasteless, misguided and egocentric. Shame its not focused at the white establishment (the mugging scene and 'I don't smoke dope' rap really send the wrong message). Ugh.
— Sam Harvey (@SamAHarvey) June 27, 2019
In a separate statement, Madonna said:
“I want to draw attention through my platform as an artist to a problem in America that is out of control and is taking the lives of innocent people. This crisis can end if our legislators act to change the laws that fail to protect us all.”
In a recent interview, writes The Guardian, Madonna said: “When you think about the amount of people who have died, been killed, have been wounded, whose lives have been changed irrevocably because of the lack of gun control in America, it’s such a huge, huge problem.”
The Pulse terror attack was one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. The perpetrator, Omar Mateen, who had described himself as an “Islamic soldier”, was shot and killed by police during the attack.