The most noticeable thing about this video is that it is completely in black and white, a throw back to the Art Deco period and the Golden Years of Hollywood, as signified by the costumes worn throughout the video by the various dancers.
The video starts with a shot of some feather fans - which appear to be ostrich feather, again a throw bad to the eloquence of the Hollywood Golden Age; these fans are then quickly removed, revealing a line of stylised dancers posing. The camera tracks down the line whilst the strings introduction to the song plays. In the shots we see in the opening, there are numbers paintings and sculptures in the background, once again signifying to the viewer a time of great opulence. This continues until the introduction of the beat, and then we have a short shot of the back of a dress, covered in bejewelled strands of fabric. The music is all cut to the beat of the song, and throughout the next sequence of shots, the viewer is shown the dancers moving, interspersed with yet more shots of the back of Madonna.
One of the most interesting shots, I think, at the beginning of this video, is the one where the servant or butler is seen dusting the bannister of a staircase. This, again, is a stereotypical throw-back to the Hollywood Golden Age, and shows a very different era to the one we live in now. We also have a shot of a maid picking up clothes strewn on the floor; both of these shots are interspersed between the before mentioned shots of Madonna's back and the posing dancers.
As the next layer of music comes in, we are shown as CU of Madonna's face, finally being introduced to the artist herself. She has her hands framing her face, once again as a reference back to the setting of the video. It is very obvious in this video that Madonna's main influence on her look is Marilyn Monroe, as she looks very similar to her throughout the video. The words to the song also help to reinforce the time period - "strike the pose" - reinforced by the black and white stylised shots used throughout. This is a huge reference to the Art Deco period that the video is set in, and makes it very clear to the viewer which time period the video is meant to be set in.
Throughout, there is a sense of high fashion in this video, with various actors modelling clothing, using stylised poses, reinforcing the words, contrasted by the idea of the butler and the maid sort of on hand to make sure everything is spotlessly clean and perfect. This is very clever direction by well-renowned filmmaker David Fincher, as if reinforces on so many levels the Hollywood Golden Age and makes it so clear and obvious to the viewer which time period the music video is set in.
Everything about this video is very clear cut. The dancing moves are all in time with the music, and the shots are cut to the beat, again a throw back to the 1930s, when this video is supposedly set. The grandure of the mock Roman pillars throughout are there to emphasise the wealth of the time.
The representation of women in this video is actually very interesting. The women other than Madonna in this video are made to look quite masculine, wearing trouser suits with their hair tied back, where as Madonna looks quite feminine in various dresses with her hair flowing at points. This is very interesting, I feel, as Madonna seems to represent the women how they were at this time and the other women seem to represent a later time when women were shown to be more masculine.
So, what makes this a great video?
- it's snappy cutting to the beat
- it's obvious depiction of another era
- it's interesting portrayal of high fashion and arts
- it's fascinating portrayal of men and women
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