The controversy surrounding the debut of the Rite of Spring ballet goes to show that now, back then and always audiences find a way to try and force artists into boxes. ‘I will pay for tickets, albums and performances if you do it my way’. I’d like to think maybe we have grown away from this and accepted artistry for its originality and risk taking, but it’s hard not to notice controversies in the modern world that have such closed-minded similarities to the Stravinsky debockle. The issue there being that people in that age had an idea of what music should be and how graceful dancing needed to be to be considered dancing. People were so uncomfortable with the idea of discomfort. Little did they know that some of the most thought provoking, ground breaking art would be the most uncomfortable to witness.
Controversy is unavoidable when producing work that questions traditional thinking, and in todays world with a widespread, newfound acceptance of minorities (whether it be sexual, racial, religious etc.) it has created a divide and a thirst for proving peoples beliefs on both sides. The instance that came to mind when reading this prompt was the 1989 release of Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’. The music video for this song challenged many traditional beliefs and sparked exactly the amount of outrage and uproar Madonna and her team had anticipated. The video begins with Madonna witnessing the brutal attack of a woman by a group of white men, and a black man being arrested for the crime. This could not resonate more in 2020, it is truly astonishing the emotional reaction I had to the relevance of that scene watching it today for the first time in years. Madonna then meets a black religious figure that resembles the man that was arrested for the attack, and shares erotic moments with him. It features a black gospel choir and burning crosses and ends with the black man being exonerated as Madonna comes forward as a witness.
Of course I could see that a certain kind of person would be offended by this, but if you really look at the deeper meaning and message of the video it’s not offensive at all. It challenges the racial prejudice of religion and the law. It bring to light the unfortunate reality for so many people, especially black men, that are convicted of heinous crimes they did and would not commit. It sheds light on the religious shame placed on women that are sexual. It proposes the idea of a black religious figure in a catholic church, an idea that would leave many religious folk trembling. She saw real issues in the world with very real implications and injustices and used her voice and her platform to bring awareness of it despite the negative attention and controversy it would bring her. The video even cost her a multi-million dollar deal with Pepsi – she was committed to get the message out no matter the cost. It is art like this that sparks real change, inspires people to question societal rules and provokes self examination. If artists like Stravinky and Madonna did not dare to challenge the rules of our society less people would spark the conversation of change, and change is absolutely necessary for growth. Growth that our world and society desperately needs to undergo.
