The truth about Madonna's "Confessions On A Dancefloor" era:

It's based on a 1974 rock-and-roll drug movie called "Tommy."

Tommy is the fictitious biography of Tommy Walker. Tommy's father, Captain Walker, had been listed as missing in action during World War I, but he returns unexpectedly in 1921 kills his wife's new lover in front of the seven-year-old Tommy. Tommy's mother and father say to him that "you didn't hear it, you didn't see it ... you won't say nothing to no-one", and Tommy retreats into deafness, dumbness, and blindness as a consequence. He has a vision of a tall stranger dressed in silvery robes with a golden floor-length beard, and the vision sets him on an internal spiritual journey, learning to interpret all physical sensations as music. During the remainder of his childhood Tommy's parents seek out various treatments and cures for him, while Tommy suffers sexual and physical abuse at the hands of several extended family members. On Christmas, his parents despair about the fate of Tommy's soul, as they realize he is unaware of Jesus or prayer. However, Tommy learns to play a pinball machine and soon becomes the master of the game and an international celebrity. His parents eventually locate a doctor who promises a "miracle cure", but all tests indicate that Tommy is actually capable of sight, speech, and hearing, and that his condition is due to an "inner block". Tommy is finally cured when his mother, frustrated that Tommy seems only to see his own reflection, shatters the mirror in a fit of rage. Tommy's cure becomes a public sensation and he attains guru-like status. Thereafter he assumes a quasi-messianic mantle and tries to lead his fans to an "enlightenment" like his own (requiring followers to play pinball while wearing eyeshades, earplugs, and a cork), but the heavy-handedness of his cult and the exploitation of its followers by his family and associates causes his followers to revolt against him.

How "Tommy: The Movie" relates to Madonna:

Storywise Tommy is much like Madonna's life, of course not literally but you'll know what I mean. Madonna has said time and time again that she was "trapped" in a certain state of mind, obsessed with the superficial aspects of life, glamour/fame etc, etc. Battling with her own religious demons, dogma's and questions. Then after releasing herself from the "inner block" she found hapiness and was "cured" of this mindset (thanks to kabbalah? ). She then set about to share this enlightenment with others (promoting kaballah in various ways, among them the "American Life" album) becoming a public sensation and getting guru-like status for her own "cult" with "merchandise", books, red string etc. But then due to the money factor and people getting sick and tired of the overkill of indoctrination and focus on that aspect of her life people started to revolt and call what she considers her saviour a cult and craze and question her sanity. I think Madonna's use of the movie "Tommy" is a sarcastic comment and view on what happened to her the last couple of years before "COADF". How many times has she not said that "she's been blind, but now she has seen the light", JUST like Tommy.

She visualized it by using several style elements from the movie Tommy, in which you can see tommy and his mother for instance going from church group to church group (one even adoring and praying to statues of Marilyn Monroe), seeking refuge in drugs (the acid queen), and eventually Tommy starting his own cult based around pinball, using that pinball as a trademark sign used in "religious symbols", merchandise etc, etc. You could even go as far as to say that the discoball she is holding in several shots is a refference to the pinball Tommy is holding and adoring in "Tommy".

Here are some visual relations between the movie Tommy and the COADF artwork:


pinball versus discoball on display


Tommy can only see his true self in the mirror, but it's also his "cage". The position of the mirrors for the COADF shoot is an exact replica of certain shots in the movie "Tommy".


Tina Turner as the acid queen, Madonna in the exact same outfit, also dancing wildly. Also, the handwriting on the tina turner single cover is similar to "Confessions on a Dance Floor".


In the movie a mirrored effect was used in certain scenes, which was also used in the LIWB footage for the Koko performance

Tommy's mother, consumed by superficial things such as good looks, clothes, glamourous lifestyles etc at one point resides in a completely white room, as does Madonna in her COADF Rolling Stone shoot.


Later, when she breaks Tommy's curse/cage she is seen wailing across the room trying to get HIM and herself out of their current state of being. Madonna is also seen throwing herself at the door...


After Tommy's cage is broken and he is back to normal again and starts his cult, Tommy's mother abandons all the things she was so consumed by. She rejects superficial things and goes through life without make-up, fancy clothes and hides her hair under a scarf. Which reminded me of this picture of Madonna from the shoot.

This isn't the first time she has "adapted" a visual concept. The Hollywood video was a blatant Guy Bourdin rip off.

interesting

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then she dances skirt swaying in the half-light she dances white blossom in the black sky
'I need new clothes', she thinks, 'new skin, a mind I can bear to live in'.

How was Tommy about drugs though? Religion / pop culture as a drug yes. But it wasn't a drug film...

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"Moderate intoxication includes additional abnormalities such as hyperactive bowel sounds,"

so we get to see madonna humping a cushion while bathing in baked beans spewing from a tv set? i for one can't wait.

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

Same here.
I'd also go a step further, and I want to see her as a drug addled Keith Moon collapsing over a drum kit after being injected with horse tranquilizers.

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Here's a spoiler for you: Chinese Democracy is shit

I know Madonna does incorporate themes from movies and photographers into her work, But I'm not sure about Tommy and COAD, it might be coincidence.
I don't see that much in common between the themes of COAD and Tommy other than they both look back to the 70's.

I saw that on another forum, it's pretty interesting.

i wanna see madonna as pervo moonie/uncle ernie dialing a phone in rubber gloves and panting at whoever all is on the other end.

it's funny this should get mentioned, cos that movie was just on the other day.

it'd also be funny to see pete townshend's reply to all this. he's grown up to be a bitter old bugger, and i bet he'd make some hysterical quip dismissing her.

she was successfully sued for that as well.

speaking of madonna's plagiarism, her song Frozen was banned in some countries because she lifted the "mm-mm" line from song guy's song.

the lyrics to the song Sky Fits Heaven are stolen nearly word-for-word from a poem some guy wrote. his name isn't credited but madonna's people claim he was paid. i forget his name but i'm sure i can find it.

ray of light is supposedly a rip off, the lyrics are from a poem written in the 1960's. there are so many other instances that i've read about. the bass line from Justify My Love, the entire concept of the Sex book, i should look further into it. madonna's a bit of a crook. she definately has a reputation for stealing.

will i have to watch her "fiddle about"?

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

oh....interesting. did you find this on a website or did you observe this on your own?

Tina Turner played the Acid Queen (if i remember correctly)

but overall it had very little to do with drugs

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my heart isn't black, it's just dirty from the floors

what is LIWB?

Yes, I was aware of this. Guy's son I believe was the one who reaped the benefits. His son also published a book of Guy's work, despite his father not wanting him to. Kinda sounds familiar.

GOD i hate tommy.

she's too fucking stupid to have concieved any part of what she's done over the years. and obviously her people arnt any better.

the only good things about madonna are the eighties hits (i love lucky star) the new album (i love hung up, but then hey, abba) and desperatly seeking susan (and even then arquette shat all over her)

Ray of Light is a re-write of the '60s track 'Sepheryn' written by Curtis & Muldoon. William Orbit and Christine Leach (grand-daughter of one of Curtis and Muldoon) were re-writing the track when Madonna stepped into the picture and asked for the song. Madonna is credited for changed up a few lyrics.

Also the chanting back-up vocals on 'Erotica' which were later featured on 'The Beast Within' are from a traditional Christian-Arabic hymn. The album was banned in several Middle Eastern courtires because of the use of the hymn.

Let It Will Be in Madonnatard.

Really? I'm curious as to why and if you hate the Who vrsion or the film soundtrack version or just the film. ( OR all of the above.) I find it really interesting when people hate things I absolutely love.



Yeah Tina played the acid queen. She ssang it too. It was in the scene where the step father takes Tommy to get his cherry popped. She makes the most insane face ever at the end of that scene.

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"Moderate intoxication includes additional abnormalities such as hyperactive bowel sounds,"