Free gun ownership laws and the ability for anyone to purchase deadly assault rifles in America has been something that has come under immense scrutiny in the last few years. This has been amplified by the high number of open shootings taking place in the country on a regular basis. Madonna, in her new music video, protests against this very issue with the help of chilling visuals, created by director Jonas Åkerlund.
The music video of ‘God Control’ has a warning at its start, which is also pretty unapologetic. It reads, “The story you are about to see is very disturbing. It shows graphic scenes of gun violence. But it’s happening every day. And it has to stop.” The scenes are organized in a long non-linear sequence that features a gunman opening fire at a nightclub, a choir singing in the church and modern day protests against gun violence. These are intertwined in between with shots of Madonna writing the lyrics of the song on a typewriter.
Through a statement, she 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.” She also took to her Instagram to draw light on the issue. She said, “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. Wake up and insist on common-sense gun safety legislation … Innocent lives depend on it.”
‘God Control’ is the third single from Madonna’s new album Madame X, which was released earlier this month. It’s a song with many different sections. It has mumble-rap portions at its start, but transitions to disco at one point, while inserting a haunting children’s choir in between. The song itself is 6:19 minutes in length, but the music video has been extended to more than 8 minutes.
You can watch the entire video of Madonna’s ‘God Control’ in the space above.
