The diva College Essay Example

by critics, parents and religious organisations. It also impacted on her career as it resulted in Pepsi’s cancellation of her $5 million contract. Far from harming her career, this was one way in which Madonna manipulated the media in order to market herself as a ‘brand’ of diva, who thrived on sex appeal rather than on musical abilities.

She cleverly crossed boundaries as her ‘Like a Prayer’ video flagrantly combined prayer and sexuality and even her conventionally deviant romantic involvements overlapped with her career; she dated Tony Ward, a bisexual model and pornographic star, who starred in her videos for “Cherish” and “Justify My Love”. By her very deviance, Madonna became queen of the music video and, aided by her exploits and ever-changing fashion, she remained relevant, setting outlandish trends and gaining popularity.

Madonna does not have the “vocal prowess” (Jones, 2008, ‘Madonna’, p.165) associated with Maria Callas but she is undeniably perceived as a diva because there’s “something compelling about her personality, whether you like it or not” (Moohan, 2008, ‘What is a diva’, p. 163), which has induced her rise to fame. Madonna’s surfeit of accolades and achievements endorses her diva status by her growing list of capabilities: singer; songwriter; actress; film producer; author; business entrepreneur; and philanthropist. Unworried about critics, Madonna has forged an iconic place in American culture, overriding the disparaging associations with the term ‘diva’.

Maria Callas was a tremendously talented “opera star”( Phillip, 2008, ‘Maria Callas and the Authority of the Historic Recording, p. 174). Maria’s diva reputation stems from her accomplishments as a renowned opera singer who had an amazing “powerful and sensitive way of

acting out the words as she sings them” ( Phillip, 2008, ‘Callas as a Singer: Puccini’s Tosca, p. 178) Maria Callas’ parents were Greek immigrants who shortened their last name to Callas. In comparison to Madonna, she too had a disadvantaged upbringing that was outof the American ‘norm’.

Similarly too, Callas had a strict upbringing as her mother was said to be “ambitious” (http://www. famous-women-and-beauty. com/maria-callas-biography. html) not allowing her to “socialize” (http://www. famous-women-and-beauty. com/maria-callas-biography. html) with other children but instead “in her free time Maria studied and practiced. ” (http://www. famous-women-and-beauty. com/maria-callas-biography. html). It is perhaps owing to this that she honed such fine skill in her art, embracing what restrained her in a way that Madonna did not. However, both were perfectionists albeit in very different ways.