14 DAY TRIAL // In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, voices urged Madonna to ditch the fake gun props she kept using in her MDNA concerts. She refused to do so, without saying why but she’s making up for it by offering an explanation now.
As her fans must already know, the Queen of Pop is getting ready for the launch of the US leg of her tour. Coming forth with an explanation for the fake guns must have a lot to do with that.
In a post on her official blog titled simply “The MDNA Tour – In Madonna’s Own Words,” the legendary singer explains why she never caved in to pressure to remove the controversial props from her shows, saying that would have crippled the message she was trying to send.
Because she meant to have people see the guns, fake as they were, as metaphors for something else, Madonna refused to budge when angry voices tried to get her to compromise herself as an artist, she argues.
“My show is a journey, the journey of a soul from darkness to light. It is part cinematic musical theatre, part spectacle and sometimes intimate Performance art,” the singer writes on her official webpage.
“But above all it’s a journey from darkness to light, from anger to love, from chaos to order. It's true there is a lot of violence in the beginning of the show and sometimes the use of fake guns - but they are used as metaphors,” she further says.
“I do not condone violence or the use of guns. Rather they are symbols of wanting to appear strong and wanting to find a way to stop feelings that I find hurtful or damaging. In my case it’s wanting to stop the lies and hypocrisy of the church, the intolerance of many narrow minded cultures and societies I have experienced throughout my life and in some cases the pain I have felt from having my heart broken,” Madonna argues.
In order to see all this, all you have to do is keep an open mind, which is precisely what Madonna asks of her US fans.
Her message is one of love, acceptance and truthfulness and it’s in this context that her use of fake guns must be judged.