In art, a Madonna is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna 'my lady' (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in Christian iconography, divided into many traditional subtypes especially in Eastern Orthodox iconography, often known after the location of a notable icon of the type, such as the Theotokos of Vladimir, Agiosoritissa, Blachernitissa, etc., or descriptive of the depicted posture, as in Hodegetria, Eleusa, etc.
Michio Kaku is an American physicist, science communicator, futurologist, and writer of popular-science. He is a professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center. Kaku is the author of several books about physics and related topics and has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film. He is also a regular contributor to his own blog, as well as other popular media outlets. For his efforts to bridge science and science fiction, he is a 2021 Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
American singer and actress Madonna is recognized as a gay icon. She was introduced, while still a teenager, by her dance instructor, Christopher Flynn, an openly gay man who mentored her. Since then, Madonna has always acknowledged the importance of the community for her life and career, declaring that she "wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community".
A Madonna wannabe, or Madonnabe, is a person who dresses or acts like American singer Madonna. When she emerged into stardom in the mid-1980s, an unusually high number of women, particularly young women and girls, began to dress and do their hair and makeup in the style that Madonna displayed in public. The term was popularized by writer John Skow in a May 1985 Time cover story on the singer. Numerous sociologists and other academics commented on the Madonna influence in her wannabes.
A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon by members of the LGBT community. Such figures usually have a devoted LGBT fanbase and act as allies to the LGBT community, often through their work, or they have been "openly appreciative of their gay fanbase". Many gay icons also have a camp aesthetic style, which is part of their appeal to LGBT individuals.
Madonna studies refers to the study of the work and life of American singer-songwriter Madonna using an interdisciplinary approach incorporating cultural studies and media studies. In a general sense, it could refer to any academic studies devoted to her. After Madonna's debut in 1983, the discipline did not take long to start up and the field appeared in the mid-1980s, achieving its peak in the next decade. By this time, educator David Buckingham deemed her presence in academic circles as "a meteoric rise to academic canonisation". The rhetoric academic view of that time, majority in the sense of postmodernism, generally considered her as "the most significant artist of the late twentieth century" according to The Nation, thus she was understood variously and as a vehicle to open up issues. Into the 21st century, Madonna continued to receive academic attention. At the height of its developments, authors of these academic writings were sometimes called "Madonna scholars" or "Madonnologists", and both E. Ann Kaplan and John Fiske were classified as precursors.
Matthew Rettenmund is a Michigan-born editor, founder of Popstar! magazine and blog Boyculture.com, as well author of different books, including 1995 works, Encyclopedia Madonnica which debuted with solid reviews and sales, and the novel Boy Culture, which was later adapted into a movie in 2006 and in a spin-off web series in the 2020s with rave reviews.
Popular culture is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. The primary driving forces behind popular culture, especially when speaking of Western popular cultures, are the mass media, mass appeal, marketing and capitalism; and it is produced by what philosopher Theodor Adorno refers to as the "culture industry".
This is a list containing the different written works about Madonna, including biographies and other literary forms. Many authors have written more than one book about Madonna and these have been published in multiple languages other than English, including German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. The releases have sometimes become bestsellers and have faced varied reception from critics and academics. The staff of Xtra Magazine commented that "she has inspired a mini publishing industry all her own". Maura Johnston said that "the appetite for books on Madonna is large, and the variety of approaches writers, editors, and photographers have taken to craft their portraits is a testament to how her career has both inspired and provoked". On the report of Eric Weisbard "only Madonna books proliferated" compared to her other contemporary fellows from the 1980s. Evelyn Briceno from La Tercera described her as a character worthy of biographies, photo books and various analyses.
Madonna is an American singer whose socio-cultural impact has been noted by popular press and scholars from different fields, throughout the late-twentieth and early twenty-one centuries, and attested outside of the music sphere to an international scale.
Mary Cross is an American professor, editor, writer and biographer. She has written several books including biographies of figures such as Henry James and Madonna. Madonna biography was reviewed by New York Post as "fast, accurate and concise", became widely quoted and translated. Cross is professor emerita of English at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and she has taught at the City University of New York and University of Delaware. Cross has a PhD from Rutgers University and a BA from the University of Michigan. As an editor, she publisher various works, including 100 People Who Changed 20th-Century America.
Madonna is a 1989 Hindi-language platinum-selling pop album by Indipop star Alisha Chinai.
Madonna fandom refers to the fan community of American singer-songwriter Madonna. She attained cult status amongst different audiences according to professor Sheila Jeffreys. Unlike other fandoms, her fan base does not have an official moniker, although "Madonna wannabe" became a popular media label to talk about her fans over years. The fanaticism surrounding the singer, and also called Madonnamania initiated no later than 1985. She produced consecutive successful singles in various major music markets, established numerous international records and impacted the fashion industry. Thousands of her female fans were dressing like Madonna around the world and the term "Madonna wannabe" was born. Author and scholar Lisa Lewis believes she is "one of the first women to attract the kind of devotion of young female fans normally associated with male rock stars".
American singer-songwriter Madonna has been considered a fashion and style icon by fashion journalism and other sectors. Fashion critics, designers, and scholars have examined her influence in fashion from different stages, defining views on her public image and cultural significance. Her connection with the community was once labeled a symbiotic relationship, while her industry ventures include owning fashion brands and appearing at events such as the Met Gala.
The contributions and influence of American artist Madonna in the landscape of underground and contemporary arts have been documented by a variety of sources such as art publications, scholars and art critics. As her footprints in the arts are lesser-known compared to her other roles, this led a contributor from W to conclude that both her impact and influence in the art world have been "made almost entirely behind the scenes". She is noted for taking inspiration from various painters in her career. Once called a "continuous multi-media art project" by Jon Pareles in 1990, art critics and academics have noted she condenses fashion, dance, photography, sculpture, cinema, music, video and painting in her own artwork.
American singer-songwriter Madonna has been considered a sexual icon. Many have considered Madonna's sexuality as one of the focal points of her career. The Oxford Dictionary of English (2010) even credited her image as a sex symbol as a source of her international stardom. Her sexual displays have drawn numerous analyses by scholars, sexologists, feminists, and other authors. Due to her constant usage of explicit sexual content, she faced censorship for her videos, stage performances and other projects.
American singer-songwriter Madonna is seen by some as a feminist icon. Throughout best part of her career, Madonna's forays into feminism, womanhood and media representation of women have sparked discussions among numerous feminist scholars and commentators worldwide. She has also been noted for her advocacy of women's rights.
American singer-songwriter and actress Madonna has incorporated in her works references of religious themes of different religions and spiritual practices, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and Kabbalah. It became one of the most defining and controversial aspects of her career, with responses documented in the sector, popular press and from diverse theologians, sociologists of religion and other scholars of religion to different degrees and perspectives.
American entertainer Madonna debuted in media in the early 1980s. Once called a media icon, popular and critical explorations of her media figure spanned decades, and included areas such as media studies and communication studies. Madonna's celebrity encompassed a wide range of success, fame, and popularity. Reviews often transcended Madonna's own career as many authors noted an impact on others and in celebrity culture, even decades after her debut. Her early media dominance was through various formats and platforms. The media referred to her in various ways, including "Queen of MTV" or as the "Queen of Media".
