Writes Jennifer Weiner in "Madonna’s New Face Is a Brilliant Provocation" (NYT).
If you don't know what Weiner is talking about, see "Fans 'so confused' by Madonna’s ‘new face’ at Grammys 2023" (with photos).
I'm more disturbed by the women other than Madonna who are doing this to their face. Madonna — as everyone, include Weiner must always remark — has long distinguished herself as someone who changes her look. It bothered me when she departed from her original "Lucky Star" look, which was so charming in 1983. That was 40 years ago, and I got used to her continually changing herself. It's those other people, whose identity is not change, who are trying to hold onto the same and not age. They are a delusional horrorshow.
Weiner suggests that Madonna might be displaying this look as a critique of some kind. Wouldn't it be amazing if she intended to look awful as a way to say to other women, quit doing this to your face? It looks terrible on me, so abandon your absurd notion that it looks good on you?
Intended or not, the message is sent. Let it be heard.
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Still recognizably Madonna, but there is something disturbing in those photos that makes me pity her.
We seem to have arrived in Opposite World.
What are you talking about? Madonna looks great for her age, if her age is a 2700 year old vampire.
Yeah, I stole that.
That is one way to get attention.
The negative is always easier than the positive.
I didn't even know she was still alive.
Saw a number of Twitter posts comparing recent Madonna pics with recent Susanna Hoffs. Difference between surgery and (maybe) non-surgery. Roughly same age and 1980s rockers. Everyone ages differently and likely different lifestyles…
No, it's not that the empress is naked, silly. It's that her clothes are too fine to be seen by ordinary eyes. Educate yourself!
She looks like a sex toy blow up doll. which is fitting.
A very sad person trying to stay young by any means necessary. Accusing ageism ( is there an unlimited supply of 'isms' ) being the cause of her mutilating herself is ridiculous. But what else would I expect from blue america.
It looks like a physical manifestation of mental illness as personified by celebrities.
"Well, you must tell me, baby
How your head feels under somethin’ like that"
transcountenance
Or could she be suffering from something like the body dysmorphia that caused Michael Jackson to turn himself into a cartoon action figure? Or causes anorectic people to experience the illusion that the image in the mirror is completely different from the one that actually exists?
I mean, she looks ridiculous. Poor woman. I was just commenting on a grocery store checkout lane magazine cover the other day featuring Aerosmith, all looking like slightly and unevenly melted candles of themselves in their 20s. I told my family that I feel sorry for aging rockers who never expected to live as long as they have - what choice do they have, if they stay active in music, but to continue to try to look like their old (young) selves, no matter how outlandish the disconnect between age and face and clothes?
The crooners of old didn't have this problem! They were allowed to age gracefully.
I'm more disturbed by the women other than Madonna who are doing this to their face.
So thank you for noting the pernicious effect of our grotesque edgy pop culture. It’s not hard to predict that people will emulate the celebrities who get attention well above the level that their talents warrant, simply for inventing themselves as freaks.
As for Madonna, I still think she’s recognizable in the same way that Michael Jackson remained recognizable, but both of them made excessive changes (for him, the skin lightening and nasal reduction, for her, the “enhancement” of checks and lips.
What takes her current look over the top is the eyebrows. Ugly, and scary-looking!
Looks like she's trying to create an "Alien" look only 44 years too late. Or maybe she's just another celebrity narcissist craving attention. In other news, who cares?
Narcissistic Monstrosity with the white girl beat…
If a woman identifying as male can turn to the surgeons saying, "Do the best you can", why can't Madonna, identifying as young and beautiful, do the same?
I prefer to remember Madonna this way.
I think she's looked pretty bad for a couple of years but I noticed from these pictures that she's had her cheek fat removed for a more contoured face. Buccal fat removal has recently become huge in Hollywood. It's ruined some great faces. Anya Taylor Joy is at the top of the list for me. You'd think these young women would look at Madonna and say, "no, don't even start." Alas ...
Never send to know for whom Madonna’s Face tolls; it tolls for thee.
That thin ljne between clever and stupid
“Very scary, boys and girls!”
—- Count Floyd
They got ‘er on milk and alcohol…
Did Weiner talk to Maddonna? I'm sure Maddonna's seen plenty of weiner's close-up.
And is there anything more pathetic than an old man or old woman trying to look young? At some point you gotta give in and accept reality.
@re Pete
Now everything's a little upside down
As a matter of fact the wheels have stopped
What's good is bad, what's bad is good
You’ll find out when you reach the top
You’re on the bottom.
Weiner suggests that Madonna might be displaying this look as a critique of some kind. Wouldn't it be amazing if she intended to look awful as a way to say to other women, quit doing this to your face? It looks terrible on me, so abandon your absurd notion that it looks good on you?
It would be amazing, but if that's the case why is Madonna running around crying that all the buzz is really misogyny and she's a victim?
Also, there are very few people in this world that are that altruistic. Madonna isn't one of them.
She's moved past being at the vanguard of culture, to being ridiculous, to becoming pitiable. It's all been done before, to more extreme effect, by others. She doesn't look anything like Madonna anymore, and if pressed I would demand fingerprints. She's like every older person that goes under the knife for beauty: She doesn't pass the first scrutiny without the surgical effects coming to the forefront and dominating her appearance. Old people just don't heal the way young ones do.
No Warning
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
And maybe I'll get a little work done
Maybe a lot of work...
And when walk down the red carpet
I shall smile only inwardly at the gasps
of all the people who aren't me
And like that muddafuggin' Zukabug
I shall not give a shit
I never found her attractive. Her face, her music, the whole enchilada.
Now, she’s hideous.
Her target demographic is 14 year old girls, and she is 64.
Stick a fork in it. She’s done.
Never got Madonna. Never got my peers, grown men back in the 80s, scrambling to get tickets to go see her. Shushing the bar crowd when her videos came on. Never got any of it. She was, and always has been a pop singer, singing bubblegum songs in her underwear. And that- the underwear- more than anything, got her noticed.
When that ran out she tried various other things to get noticed. This is the latest. I'd say she needs help, but its far too late. She just needs a circus at this point.
I kept waiting to hear it was an impersonator. Her presentation was horrible and stilted, too.
It is funny to think of Madonna speaking out against the beauty industry. Who pushed beauty and looks and style more than her? In 20 years this will be Beyonce, and Jennifer Weiner will try the same thing.
Imagine if Melania Trump had this work done; how different would the article be?
You want to see transformation? Google Sammy Sosa and compare images of when he first came to the United States to play baseball to how he looks today.
The Sad Truth is: Your 1st facejob, MIGHT make you (think that you) look 'better'..
Your 2nd one, not so much... By your fourth (or fourteenth), they Just make you MORE hideous.
"a side of critique about the work of beauty"
Ah, the "work" of beauty. A woman writing?
"the inevitability of aging"
Newsflash.
"the impossible bind in which older female celebrities find themselves"
A "bind" of their own making.
"the superstar has gotten us talking about how good looks are subjective and how ageism is pervasive"
Who dat us? Anyway, good looks may be subjective, but standards are also pretty universal. Ageism may be "pervasive," but in fact many kinds of performance decline with age (one of those "inevitabilities"), and old people are in fact good at getting and keeping theirs--hence the massive looming entitlement crisis. The real ageism in America is the skew of public policy toward seniors, at the expense of the young--cruelly accentuated during the pandemic.
Yuck. There is no improving the natural aging of someone who takes care of herself. Looking good for your age is so much better than looking weird for someone far younger. Madonna was a beautiful woman who took care of herself.
I don't know what to say about this crazy "she did it on purpose" theory. If it wore off after a year or she could undo it, then sure, why not? But this is her face now. The surgeons can change it again, but they can't fix it. Keep trying and you end up looking like Michael Jackson.
Ron Winkleheimer said...
What are you talking about? Madonna looks great for her age, if her age is a 2700 year old vampire.
Rusty said...
I didn't even know she was still alive.
What, On Earth, makes you think she IS still alive.. Vampire theory makes much more sense.
The material girl.
Whatever else Madonna may be (a major narcissist, for starters), and even though she is merely an OK singer and dancer, she is a gifted songwriter and an accomplished businesswoman. I can see that, and I'm not even a fan.
That logic is stretched tighter than Madonna's forehead skin.
Saw 80 for Brady over the weekend, it's an OK date movie, and as a Patriot's fan, it was fun to see the Atlanta Super Bowl replayed, but I am not sure that the movie is going to go over big in the Peach State, but anyway, Jane Fonda looks hideous. There is a scene with her without the wig and makeup, and she was completely unrecognizable. Her father looked great right up to the end. Who knew that she was that vain of her looks, which as a young woman, were admittedly off the charts. Why isn't that enough? If ever anybody had the genetics to age beautifully, it was her. Madonna was more of a personality, and was never a looker. I did like her in Desperately Seeking Susan, at the time, though. And loved her album in the '80s. I miss my youth too, in many ways, but at some point it's just mutton disguised as lamb, it doesn't fool anybody.
I think she's taken this "Madge" thing too seriously and is trying to look like woman from the Palmolive dish soap commercials.
That logic is stretched tighter than Madonna's forehead skin. And it's a conceit blown up bigger than Jane Fonda's lips in 80 for Brady.
I'd love to hear what social critic Camille Paglia has to say about this new Madonna. Paglia admired and supported Madonna throughout her career and wrote about her often, but, according to Google, the last thing she said about Madonna was in 2016 and was critical. I've never been interested in Madonna, but over the years I've enjoyed reading Paglia's insights into pop culture and her criticism of the Democrat Party. In her 1992 book of essays she criticized the "paranoid fantasy of male oppressors and female sex-object victims." Predictably, students at the University of Arts tried to get her fired in 2019 for her "dangerous" ideas.
Imagine what she'd say about 20's culture and politics.
2023 Madonna is beautiful like Betty boop/a cartoon of beauty. Nobody on earth looks like her, her plastic surgery is a form of extreme body modification/post humanism that’s transcendental of the human experience. Why did people ever think Madonna would age gracefully?
What Madonna longs for and what her career is historically defined by is ultimately what all “hyper online” people long for and this sort of new found interest in her as this cultural phenomenon as people forget about people like Kim Kardashian is just reflection of a shift. In a way she’s the first zoomer and people are shocked and disgusted by her appearance bc she represents the logical conclusion in our generations collective pathological desire to be seen, be beautiful and be unique. The way she tortured herself and was so image conscious in the 80’s and 90’s and her attempts at intellectualizing her vanity is very gen z. I don’t think of her as a good or bad person but just a specific type of person anyone could turn into when they are too concerned with being perceived.
Sean Combs Angered Madonna Now Owns 'Puffy'
Never been a Madonna fan. I've only been peripherally aware that somebody called Madonna was a big star. The only Madonna song I could name off the top of my head is 'Like A Virgin' and that's only thanks to Weird Al.
But today, I'm kind of a Madonna fan.
Tomorrow, I'll to go back to never thinking about Madonna. That's where you want to be. That's the sweet spot, Madonna-wise.
Ironically, ageism is not only pervasive in liberal societies, but is a social justification of the wicked solution under progressive policy. An ouroboros ethical religious taboo. #HateLovesAbortion
Neither "beyond" or "more" is enough interest for me.
Seems like only yesterday, a vivacious, pussy hatted Madonna was fantasizing about blowing up the White House
Yikes, her face looks as puffy as Kim Jong Un’s. That’s sad, everyone knows her age, a puffy face won’t make her younger.
Every young woman had that Lucky Star look for a while, right? Such great times. Holiday, celebrate!
For me, I am still shook by her transition from Michigan/Midwest girl accent to British accent. What's up with that?
Let's hope we all age gracefully. Embrace it!
Madonna throughout here career was original.
Her face is now a cliché. There is something eerily similar about people's faces that overdo the plastic surgery and collagen injections.
Madonna is buying land in Uncanny Valley, and wants to blend in.
if you are on the Left, you are required to believe that the Punch and Judy clown face that drag queens don to caricature the feminine is beautiful. Madonna must have believed.
he looks like she took a few blows to the face, maybe a few more on the left side than the right, an covered the swollen bruises with a ton of makeup.
Good thing they require you to get a new photo for your drivers license every renewal.
Joan Rivers: "Am I smiling?"
She knew how to make fun of herself--and everybody else.
She and Michelle Pfeiffer are the same age. What a difference bone structure makes.
Family dynamics 2023 finds us in relations with a girl who grew up woman, and at 32 changed her name and did whatever she needed to grow a decent enough red beard, and pass, I would say, as a small guy, a delicate gay fellow. "He" goes around publicly with a sailor-sort of knit cap, that shows shaved/short haircut, and hides his lovely cap of curls that he only reveals when he feels safe with friends.
Intellectually, I can accept "Him", laugh and talk and share. But every instinct in my reflexes say, "oh my darling, oh my dear, I am so sorry for you." It's that uncanny valley thing that runs deep in our human psyches.
I saw Madonna's response to the critiques, accusing cameramen of choosing the most exagerating of angles. And, knowing how she loves all her fellow pioneers, I can imagine this fearless creator enjoying the shock, forcing all of us to deal our Uncanny Valley syndrome, and plowing the culture to normalize and subdue it. It isn't nothing.
Another attention whore. Never understood the attraction. Could say the same for Hanoi Jane.
I thank God regularly for not making me rich and famous.
Well, famous anyway.
I thank God regularly for not making me rich and famous.
Well, famous anyway.
"The Empress's New Face."
Wiener and her pals will say anything to satisfy their inner child.
Madonna’s music isn’t even enjoyable nostalgia.
Hopefully Taylor Swift ages gracefully. Her music won’t be enjoyable nostalgia in 30 years either.
Madonna has always been shallow. Always.
She thought she was David Bowie. She was trash.
Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs:
"I used to like her early stuff. Borderline - but once she got off with that Papa Don't Preach phase, I tuned out."
Madonna should have consulted Michelle Pfeiffer on who use for cosmetic surgery. She should just have retired gracefully and not made herself into a joke.
No one sees the irony of Maddona claiming ageism, and misogyny, contrasted by Bonnie Raitt winning Best Song?
“Earlier in the evening, [Raitt] earned two additional trophies: best American roots song for ‘Just Like That’ and best Americana performance for another song, ‘Made Up Mind
There are a host of female actors that have aged through the system. Bette Davis, and Dame Denche come to mind.
I personally hate the fake face of Renee Witherspoon. But to each their own.
Bonnie Raitt just kept doing what she loved and regardless of awards, she is the obvious winner of life. Isn't that the real metric to use?
My daughter says she looks like Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland lol.
This is just the Rich White Woman version of a face tattoo.
Like A Sturgeon!
Rita Coolidge has aged beautifully1
I am amused by the idea that whatever Madonna is doing, there must be some profound meaning to be drawn from it. Maybe the better message is being delivered by others, women like Belinda Carlisle or Annie Lennox or Gloria Estefan or Pat Benatar or (the goddess of them all) Emmylou Harris. But then Madonna never had even half the talent of any of those women.
She couldn't turn forty gracefully. She has always had zero chance of growing old gracefully. Still, she's rich and famous and whatever fantasy she pursues, she will find many supportive followers. "Please, give more close ups."....You're only old once. You've got to make the most of it I recommend putting on a few pounds and knocking off the obsessive exercise, but that's not what made her rich and famous. And you can't say that her life has not been without its rewards.
People on the internet just like to shit on celebrities.
Now its Madonna's face: everybody wants to shit on Madonna's face.
At least when Dennis Rodman did that in the early Nineties it was probably consensual.
I am Laslo.
"I am amused by the idea that whatever Madonna is doing, there must be some profound meaning to be drawn from it."
Yep. Looks like defensive deflection from here. But I doubt she sees in the mirror what I see on the screen.
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