Madonna, Material Mother

Karen Finley, professor in Art and Public Policy, Tisch School for the Arts, New York University, commented on news that Madonna had adopted a 13-month old Malawi boy whose still living father could not care for after the mother died of complications from childbirth. “Our public knowing of Madonna and the loss of her mother from breast cancer in 1963 is the same year that Malawi finally gained independence from British Rule,” she explained in a posting at The Huffington Post. “Perhaps this global, extreme, mothering makeover is more indicative of her personal quest of reliving her own mother loss and own need of rescue. Imagine if Madonna’s father could not have supported his children after the death of the mother? And a wealthy African family appeared in Detroit with entourage and took away little 5 year old Ciccone to adopt? Americans, white Americans would go nuts.” Finley added, “America needs to take into consideration the global impact of adopting other continent’s children because of presuming we can provide for them better. The presumption and cultural elitism suggests, why would a child want to be on the dark continent?” Read more.