Comments on: Let's talk about Madonna's post-Aurora decision to play with fake guns in her show

By: petite poubelle

petite poubelle — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Let’s not talk about Madonna because that’s exactly what she wants.

By: shutz

shutz — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Those who were offended by this waving of fake guns in a faded pop star’s music and dance show are CHOOSING to be offended.

I would have expected Boing Boing to stand for more than protecting the easily-offended from seeing things that they then choose to get upset about.

If I was doing rock shows right now, and if it fit with the style of one of my songs, I’d probably stage something similar to what happened (with fake weapons, of course) as part of the show, in order to give the audience something special to remember, and some extreme emotion to associate with that memory.

Only, I wouldn’t do this in the US, for fear that the event might turn into a real bloodbath from the people in the audience carrying guns in order to (allegedly) stop this kind of incident.

By: Dave Nullstein

Dave Nullstein — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Madonna? Tasteless? Say it isn’t so….

That said, I agree with everyone else who pointed out that you didn’t complain after shootings in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, et al.

By: atimoshenko

atimoshenko — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:23:00 +0000

107 people died in mass shooting and bombings across Iraq today.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/23/us-iraq-bomb-idUSBRE86M06M20120723

The loss of innocent Iraqi lives is not worth outrage? And how many innocent people die from gun violence daily, either in the US or worldwide?

My heart really does go out to all of the victims of Aurora and their families (for all that a random Internet commenter’s sympathies are worth), but given the incidence of violence in this world, communal lamentations over tragic events that happen to strike developed world middle class communities seem a little hypocritical.

Also, what is the motivation behind removing “insensitive” reminders of guns after a gun-related tragedy? For a while we consider it rude to remind ourselves that guns are widespread in this world?

The author is entitled to her opinion, of course, but I cannot agree with it.

By: snagglepuss

snagglepuss — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:22:00 +0000

I despise Madonna not for the piss-poor quality of her music, or for her lame controversy-baiting tactics, but for the simple fact that, for all her rhetoric about women becoming “empowered” and “respectable” and “dignified”, she herself set the example that all a woman has to do to succeed in a man’s world is to be just as crass and venal as men are.

By: Ian Osborne

Ian Osborne — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:20:00 +0000

At least she didn’t leave her DNA behind.

By: Punchcard

Punchcard — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Madonna using gun props half a world away is insensitive.

Continuing to show the movie, well, we wouldn’t want the terrorists to win right?

Seriously, are we now just inventing things to be outraged about now?

By: pineapplecharm

pineapplecharm — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Facts? We don’t need no facts! We’re outraged about a celebrity, damn you!

By: Ipo

Ipo — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:15:00 +0000

I’ve been done with Madonna since the mid-eighties but this doesn’t bother me.

The ignoring of “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, …” bothers me.
What militia was James Eagan Holmes a member of?
None? How could he bear arms?

Jamie Frevele,
how do you feel about the millions of people that have watched this ultra violent Batman flick since the madman claimed to be the Joker.

What does Madonna, with toy guns, in Scotland, have to do with insanely lax gun control?

By: altaylor

altaylor — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:12:00 +0000

Forget the guns. You got Mom stuffing herself into leather and dancing around not so much differently than she did 30 years ago and calling it “art.”

Isn’t that bad enough? *shivver*

By: aguynamededdy

aguynamededdy — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:07:00 +0000

What Madonna’s show and the unfortunate tragedy in Colorado have to do with each other is beyond me. With all the wars and strife going on in the world, it amazes me that bb decides to jump on this particular concert to decry the use of prop guns.

By: FAQ me

FAQ me — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:05:00 +0000

Oh come on!
Why would one of the many shootings that took place in America that day/week etc. be a reason for her to change the show? She wasn’t even in America at the time of her show. Do they expect every play, film and tv show that features guns to be cancelled because of it? What happened in that cinema is sad but this type of reaction is absurd.

By: woodpeckersymphony

woodpeckersymphony — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Maybe we should be worrying about actual guns used in real life rather than props in a concert.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:59:00 +0000

I don’t really think she needs to alter her performance because of Colorado, but I do think that this “artistic” use of gun props is a pretty hackneyed way to try to appear shocking or dangerous, or whatever it was she was going for…..

By: kateling

kateling — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Waving fake guns around in a show is certainly insensitive to the victims of gun violence, but sanctimoniousness after a particular tragedy is not helpful. I suggest that mustering up a bit more outrage in connection to the 200+ Americans killed by guns *every day* would be more helpful.

By: hymenopterid

hymenopterid — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:56:00 +0000

I live in a state (California)that has the most strict gun laws yet which cranks out entertainment that absolutely fetishizes guns in the most juvenile ways. It’s essentially an insane culture where a gun’s primary purpose is seen as being a prop or a fashion accessory and not a dangerous tool that requres responsible use.

By: kP

kP — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:55:00 +0000

What about waving fake guns around after curfew?

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:54:00 +0000

There is a point to the idea that we killed well more the half a million Iraqi civilians in the last 10 years, but suddenly gun-play is uncool when 19 white suburbanites die in Colorado. Artists should making social commentary on Guns and violence just because it got too close for comfort for the proletariat the other night.

That said, Madonna is old jokes do apply and the term “artist” could just as easily be replaced by “spotlight chaser”. She is on her way to be the next Cher.

By: WaferMouse

WaferMouse — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:54:00 +0000

More like “Madonna still alive: ‘Singer’ continues performing despite irrelevancy and grossness” (/troll)

By: jdk998

jdk998 — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:53:00 +0000

“despite what happened in Aurora, Colorado a day before involving actual machine guns and pistols.”

That is factually incorrect. The gun in question was a semi-automatic rifle.

By: eselqueso

eselqueso — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:53:00 +0000

Madonna != relevance.

By: rtresco

rtresco — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Am I to understand that on this planet, guns only killed people in Aurora CO that day? And this translates to a Madonna show in Scotland somehow. But the next day, although guns killed people in Syria, Madonna held her show again in a different part of the world and it was no big whoop. Once Madonna doesn’t have guns, only Madonna wannabes will have guns.

By: Matt Demers

Matt Demers — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Not defending the insensitivity of what she did, but didn’t the Scots ask her not to because of a law they have about fake guns on stage (brought in after the Dunblane massacre in 1996), as opposed to a call for sensitivity for Aurora? Just seems a little heavy-handed, and makes us want to hate her for defying the cops for a reason that didn’t actually happen.

By: -v-

-v- — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:52:00 +0000

It’s big news here too. Maybe not as immediate as stateside, but people are upset.

By: stellastarlite

stellastarlite — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:50:00 +0000

I seriously doubt the Scots are that traumatized by an event that took place 4000 + miles away.

By: -v-

-v- — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:49:00 +0000

I didn’t see the show, but traveled on the same train as a lot of people coming back from the show. The Scottish fans were pretty upset, or at least the ones on the train were. Of course, they had all walked out early.

By: Joe Buck

Joe Buck — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:44:00 +0000

It’s had the desired effect; we are talking about Madonna, something that doesn’t happen as much lately as Madonna would prefer. She evidently prefers bad publicity to no publicity. I think she knew exactly what she was doing.

By: lafave

lafave — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Let’s see what she does with her “art” when she plays Colorado

By: spiffw

spiffw — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:43:00 +0000

And I think she’s wearing its skin.

By: Alex Schneider

Alex Schneider — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Have you heard Madonna interviewed recently?
It’s just as well that you’re done with Madonna, she’s been done with you [and the rest of reality] for some time now.