FEATURE:
Reel-to-Real
Fabien Baron: Madonna – Erotica (1992)
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IN October…
Madonna’s fifth studio album, Erotica, turns thirty. I am going to write features about it ahead of its anniversary. Even though the title song does not turn thirty until September, I wanted to explore it now. I am going to lean fairly heavily on a Wikipedia article that talks about the video. Pushing her sound, sexuality and confidence further than she did on 1989’s Like a Prayer, Erotica is an album where Madonna inhabits a character, Mistress Dita. Able to play this character, in a sense, allowed Madonna to write and release videos that were a little mor provocative and controversial. It is empowering to see the video for Erotica! Sexual, cinematic and highly captivating, I think that it is one of Madonna’s greatest videos. The first single from the album, the video for Erotica did attract a lot of attention. Not only because of its visuals and themes. Madonna, as the biggest Pop artist in the world at that time, had eyes and ears her way. There was so much press speculation and intrusion! This megastar was taking her music to new heights and levels. Directed by fashion photographer Fabien Baron, the video for Erotica is phenomenal. Justify My Love was a single released to coincide with Madonna’s greatest hits album in 1990, The Immaculate Collection. Similar in terms of its sexual content and steaminess, if anything, Erotica takes things further and is the Queen of Pop at her most alluring, commanding and boundary-pushing!
This Wikipedia article gives information about the amazing video for one of the most memorable and talked-about singles of the 1990s. Many Pop artists of the ‘00s were inspired by Erotica and the video for the title track:
"Erotica" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It is the title track from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992), and was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992, by Maverick Records. It was later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). The song was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone and Anthony Shimkin, while production was handled by the singer and Pettibone. Musically, "Erotica" contains spoken word vocals, and is an ode to S&M, with Madonna using a pseudonym called "Dita". She invites her lover to be passive while making love to her and leads him to explore boundaries between pain and pleasure.
The song debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the highest debuts on the chart history at the time, eventually peaking at number three. Additionally, it became a success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, reaching the top position. "Erotica" also found commercial success internationally, peaking in the Top 10 in several countries including Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In Italy and Greece it peaked at number one.
“The music video for "Erotica" was directed by fashion photographer Fabien Baron. The video intercalates scenes of Madonna, dressed as a masked dominatrix with a gold tooth, with actual footage of the making of her Sex book; in these scenes Madonna is seen sitting topless in the lap of an older man, kissing model Naomi Campbell, wearing BDSM gear and riding a bicycle in the nude. The video also counts with cameos by celebrities such as Isabella Rossellini, Tatiana von Fürstenberg, Helmut Berger and Big Daddy Kane. Shooting for the footage of Madonna singing the song, took place on August 22, 1992, at The Kitchen in New York City while shootings for Sex took place at Hotel Chelsea and Times Square's all-male burlesque Gaiety Theatre. In order to imitate the look of old home movies and stag films, the entire video was shot with super 8 mm film. The video had its world premiere on MTV, on October 2, 1992. Upon its release, it was met with controversy; Susan Bibisi, from Los Angeles Daily News, called it a "virtual advertisement" for Sex". Entertainment Tonight had previously reported that Madonna herself had initiated the mayhem surrounding the video by walking bare breasted at designer Jean Paul Gaultier's fashion show and posing nude in Vanity Fair magazine. Richard Harrington from The Washington Post wrote:
In the video, Madonna becomes Dita Parlo, a masked, gold-toothed dominatrix from an indeterminate age, ready to help us cross the street at the corner of Pleasure and Pain [...] assuming different dominatrix roles and investigating assorted bondage scenarios before finishing up with some nude hitchhiking on a street remarkably free of pile-ups. Shot in grainy black and white, 'Erotica' has the feel of a stag film, though its quick cuts keep the viewer from seeing all that much.[
After its release, it was aired by MTV a total of three times, all of these after the 10 pm watershed, due to its highly charged sexual content, before being permanently banned; this made it Madonna's second video to be banned from airing by the channel, after "Justify My Love" in 1990. MTV spokeswoman Linda Alexander said, "The themes of the video are clearly aimed at a more adult audience. It is not appropriate for a general viewing audience". Madonna herself said she understood the channel's ban on the video; "MTV plays to a huge audience and a lot of them are children, and a lot of themes I'm exploring in my videos aren't meant for children, so I understand that they say I can't show it [...] I accept it". Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis said that "This is pretty much normal Madonna fare, [...] But how much longer can you continue mining sexuality? In checking off your list of taboos, how far can you take them? At what point does it just stop being interesting?” Similarly, David Browne from Entertainment Weekly, asked "Haven’t we seen most of this stuff before? Can we be bored with the subject matter already? [...] no emotion is attached to the mechanics of these acts, so it's difficult to identify with or care about the characters”. The video was nominated for the 1993 Billie Awards in four categories: Consumer print, trade print (music) and consumer print (retail), the most for a single entry It also was ranked at number 16 on VH1's "50 Sexiest Video Moments". The video was made commercially available in 2009, when it was included, albeit in a censored version, on Madonna's Celebration: The Video Collection compilation; it had previously been excluded from 1999's The Video Collection 93:99. In October 2020, during the 28th anniversary of the studio album, the music video got remastered and posted on her official YouTube channel”.
Leading up to October, there will be a lot of talk and writing out there regarding Erotica and Madonna’s Sex book. As they turn thirty, there will be fresh perspective. I wonder what Madonna herself will say on the anniversary – and whether there is a thirtieth anniversary re-release in store for Erotica (and if the Sex book gets reprinted). This Today in Madonna History articles recalls a very special day in 1992 when New York’s The Kitchen was graced with the presence of one of the most influential artists on the planet:
“On August 22 1992, Madonna filmed scenes for the Erotica music video at The Kitchen in New York City with fashion photographer/director/designer Fabien Baron. These scenes consisted of Madonna in the character of her Sex book alter-ego, Dita, miming the lyrics to the song, and would be intercut with a selection of 8mm footage previously shot by Baron during the making of the Sex book.
Baron also served as art director for the Sex book, the Erotica album and single, and later for the Bedtime Stories album and its singles Secret and Take A Bow. He also directed the commercial for her fragrance, Truth Or Dare by Madonna, in 2012.
“She put that book out at the best moment. She timed it very well. She knows what she’s doing. And such drive. Some people want to lift stones and see what’s under it. She’ll be on a beach with millions of stones and want to lift every one of them” – Fabien Baron”.
I really love the video for Erotica. It is challenging and bold without being too explicit or crude. If a male artist were to do a similar video (and they have through the decades, then they would not have got flak!). Madonna, as a woman in music, was subjected to judgment. Defying critics and those who attacked her, the Erotica album is one of Madonna’s finest works. Even though there was some slight pulling back and conservativism on 1994’s Bedtime Stories, Erotica’s title track is Mistress Dita taking the reins! This article explores how the vivid and wonderful video helped Erotica climb high up the charts:
“Proving to be shocking and highly controversial upon its release, the song served as the title track of Madonna’s fifth, eagerly-awaited album. Released to coincide with the steamy coffee table book she’d assembled, the directly and appropriately titled tome “Sex,” the video clip included a series of bold and somewhat pornographic vignettes. While critics, the religious right and many parents were less than thrilled with the video that featured Madonna in sadomasochistic gear, kissing supermodel Naomi Campbell and appearing topless in several scenes, it was agreed that the clip would be shown only after 10 p.m.. Viewed by some detractors as nothing more than an overt advertisement for her book, the video was shown only three times on television before being permanently banned, making it the second Madonna clip to achieve that status following her seductive clip for “Justify My Love” in 1990. The controversy paid off: The “Erotica” single climbed as high as No. 3 on Billboard’s singles chart and the album of the same name made it all the way to No. 2”.
With Fabien Baron helming a video of Madonna at her best, there is no doubt Erotica is one of the most striking and memorable videos ever. I think it took Madonna from this Pop artist on the verge of superstardom confirming her place as the Queen of Pop. Erotica’s video still seems and feels quite bold to this day! I think that Pop music has become a bit more reserved since the 1990s. It is a mixed blessing, but Erotica’s title track definitely opened the track for a generation of women in Pop. We will celebrate the track of the amazing Erotica album on its thirtieth anniversary…
IN October.