WHO’S THAT GIRL?

Regarding Sheryl Garratt’s article “The Madonna Complex” (Oct. 23):

I thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Madonna, although I personally believe that bad-mouthing Madonna is the tired subject, not the superstar herself.

Madonna was passed off as a “one-hit wonder” during the time of “Like a Virgin,” and 10 years later she’s still here. Throughout her career Madonna has always been questioned and has always answered with confidence and class. The idea that her career is in turmoil is ridiculous. Madonna is currently enjoying the success of her 27th Top 10 single, “Secret,” a feat no other female singer or Michael Jackson or Prince has reached. It seems that expectations of Madonna have been higher than for any other artist, dead or alive.

Of course, it’s more convenient to talk about the “scandal” and rumored personal life of Madonna, rather than to praise her for the many achievements she has made or the millions of dollars she has given to charities.

The bottom line is that the public and critics expect perfection from Madonna. And if she doesn’t deliver, she’s considered a failure. Everyone must realize that Madonna sings and dances. She doesn’t walk on water.

BRETT MACABEO

Torrance

Madonna’s career is over. Gee , where have I heard that before? I think the first time was with the release of her second album many, many years ago.

When will the critics give up and just accept that she is the artist of our times and concentrate on her art ? Having a best-selling book, albums that spend weeks on the Billboard charts, her best acting to date in “A League of Their Own,” breaking and exploring cultural taboos, helping fight AIDS and promoting women’s rights--these are hardly the signs of an artist in decline.

I’m glad that in art history, we remember the artists--and not the critics.

MICHAEL PESINA

Bakersfield

Madonna makes the illicit correlation commonly used by celebrities in their reflections on publicity injustices: Artistic vision is synonymous with entertainment.

Madonna feels that her artistic potential is always undermined by the ignorance of those interpreting it. Her cinematic colleagues continually double-cross her; her contemporaries deny their debt to her; the press twists her personal life into a sordid fantasy that no one could want, no matter how uninhibited (I’ll buy that one--leave the woman alone).

I enjoy her subverting the self-righteous, puritanical fear that America seems to harbor toward healthy sex. I also suggest that the tremendous power and wealth that Madonna has amassed is rooted much more firmly in sex appeal than in artistic vision or cultural insight. Madonna seems to have a keen appreciation of art, but on this count, I would say she is more of an informed admirer than a maverick participant.

I would go to a Madonna show or movie for fun, not intellectual or cultural enlightenment. Until she realizes that her contributions thus far have been somewhat limited to playful entertainment, I’m afraid she can expect more frustration in the future.

STEVE BROACH

Carlsbad

Get a grip, Madonna, you’re not being punished, you’re being ignored. That is what happens when you go for the short, cheap shots. Let’s put it this way: We’ve all been fooled by lust. It feels good for a while, and on some occasions it may even turn into love. In your case, it didn’t.

Lust grabs one by the crotch and goes straight to the pleasure center where it can survive for a short time. Love, on the other hand, goes to the heart and stays longer. It’s a fundamental thing, Madonna, sort of the difference between going to the bachelor party and going to the wedding. It was a great party; let it go at that. You just aren’t marriage material, metaphorically speaking, that is.

ROBERT J. LANZ

Los Angeles

Does the name Marie Antoinette mean anything to Madonna?

She’s no “mother of the younger generation” who has made the way for younger people who now want to get rid of her in order to gain their independence from her.

Deborah Harry is older, and I believe that more younger people identify with her than with Madonna. She’s got more of Marilyn Monroe in her finger than Madonna has in her whole body.

Madonna for years was able to get more attention than anybody, at the very serious and high cost to many; in the previous decade, dominated by women of substance such as Patti Smith and Harry, she never would have gotten such notice.

Her monumental ego disturbs and angers me. She’s as detached from reality as anyone I can even imagine (even more than I thought she was). People have good reason to be bored by her--she is boring.

Johnny Rotten said it best of all: “We’re pretty, pretty vacant, and we don’t care.”

ALEX MORGAN

Los Angeles

So Madonna bemoans the fact that women in the public eye aren’t allowed to age. I agree. But then why aren’t there any recent untouched photos of her published with this fawning article, which states that she is very pretty with minimal makeup and has fewer lines on her face than most in their 30s?

Sound catty? Hey, this is Madonna we’re talking about. Her self-promotion is legendary. She’s a product of her time, the Reagan era, where the end justifies the means.

So some women don’t want to credit Madonna for their success. What Madonna promotes is Madonna, and it’s just too late to believe that her goal is to raise our social consciousness.

Is she successful in a man’s world? Yes. Is she lauded for her outspokenness? Yes. But what does she speak about? Madonna, Madonna and more Madonna.

JODY GRANT-GRAY

Santa Monica

Contrary to Madonna’s complaints, other artists have spoken positively of her and her influence.

When asked, “What do you owe to Madonna?” Liz Phair answered (in the July issue of Details): “A lot. I think she kicked a huge rough-hewn path through the jungle and we’re all tiptoeing behind her saying, ‘Look at the pretty flowers.’ Madonna made it possible for me to be interpreted correctly.”

ROLAND PEREZ

Pico Rivera