Madonna's music video for "Like a Prayer" uses mysterious scenes and characters to intrigue viewers: In the opening scene, Madonna runs frantically at dusk in a neglected area surrounded by rubble and fire, appearing troubled. Subsequent scenes show her fallen on the ground, looking distressed. A mysterious dark-clothed man stares intensely at the camera, adding to Madonna's troubles. Later, a church is shown with warm interior lighting, providing a sense of relief and hope amid the darkness. Additional characters are introduced ambiguously, with one man appearing to be arrested, surprising viewers' initial judgments. Through these unfolding scenes and characters, the video keeps audiences questioning and intrigued about Madonna's troubles and

1. Madonna – Like a Prayer
Application of Textual Analysis

2. During the first six seconds of Madonna’s the ‘Like a Prayer’ music video, the
audience is confronted with a long shot of a female character, played by
Madonna, running franticly at dusk. The setting, immediately strikes negative
connotations, the neglected area, rubble and fire, it instantly sets a theme of
trouble in the music video. This scene is used to grab the attention of the
viewer, as they are curious to find out why Madonna is so troubled.

3. The following scene features Madonna in the same setting, shown
with a medium shot, however, this time the character has fallen to
the ground and has her head lifted and looking in front of her. This
scene like the previous is mysterious in the way the viewer is unable
to understand what is going on. Assumptions could be made that
Madonna is running from trouble, or she is the trouble however, it is
unclear as of yet which is true. The viewer is made to sympathise for
Madonna, due to her innocence portrayed throughout the scene
from her frantic turmoil.

4. For the first time in the music video, the audience sees another
character, which either adds to the confusion or lessens it,
arguably. The male character is portrayed through a close up and is
dressed in dark colours, with dark surroundings. The mise en scene
used creates a mysterious feel to the character, the eye contact
made with the camera and his facial expression adds to this. The
male character is overall interpreted negatively meaning the
audience is able to add him to the equation of Madonna’s troubles.

5. There is slight contrast to the previous scenes and this next one. The establishing
shot of a church doesn’t seem likely with the beginning of the music video. Shot
at a similar time, dusk, it is unusual to be at church at such a time, however, the
yellow lighting coming from within, in contrast to the darkness, adds a sense of
relievement and hope. There is hope within the church. The audience is now put
in a position to start questioning the part religion has within the video, and
maybe start to question their own faith.

6. Another character appears in the video with a shoulder shot and dark light
where only the characters face has been lit. This scene appears as the lyrics say
‘home’, this infers positivity onto the characters being, however, it is unclear to
the audience as to the part the black male plays in the equation with the white
male and Madonna. After watching on it appears that the black man is in fact
being arrested by the police, meaning the audiences initial judgment of him
have transformed against him.