The opening scene features diagetic sounds of police sirens, and Madonna appearing to run away from them. The scene doesn’t have much lighting as night is setting in, however there is a bin alight which Madonna runs past. Fire is a connotation for danger and warning, which relates back to the sirens which can be heard. In the bible, fire represents the Holy Spirit and light. A guitar intro begins as Madonna falls to the ground, before looking up into the distance.
Next, what appears to be a cell door is closed shut, which implies there is a prisoner. The lighting in this scene is very dim which adds to the grim reality of prison life. The song begins with a choir, and the image of a burning cross is present. This is controversial, as burning crosses are used to intimidate black people. This has textual reference to real life events (Ku Klux Klan.)
In the next scene, Madonna witnesses an attack on a woman which relates back to the sirens heard at the beginning of the video, and is possibly what Madonna was running from. It then cuts to the image of a church, where the lighting is still dark as its night time, but the lights from behind the church door are on, which almost slightly resemble a set of eyes.
Following the image of the church, the video cuts to a shot of a man. There’s a spot light circling him, and he’s being lead away by a police officer. This again links back to the sirens and the cell door from the previous clips. Madonna enters a church, looking worried and in need of help – like she’s seeking help from Christ. The church is full of candles, representing the light of Christ. A ‘statue’ is behind bars in the corner of the church, also surrounded by lit candles. Madonna stands before it and the video quick cuts to images of crosses and Christ. This relates back to the religious element of the video.
Madonna sings before the black Jesus, and is noticeably wearing a crucifix necklace, which again ties in with the religious theme of the video. There are metal bars separating her from Jesus, which she clings on to whilst singing the lines ‘I have no choice, I hear your voice’, which relates back to the need she felt to seek help from Christ after witnessing the crime. She rests on a bench, where she falls asleep and begins to dream she is in heaven.
In her dream, she is falling through heaven, until she is caught by a woman. The woman tells her to do the right thing and throws her back to earth. The background is made up of only sky and clouds, to clearly represent Madonna is in heaven. The lighting is a lot brighter than in previous scenes, representing she has ‘seen the light’ on what is the right thing to do after this brief encounter.
Madonna, whilst still dreaming, revisits the church and kisses the foot of the saint, before pulling back the bars which had previously separated them from each other. This shows her erotic feelings towards him, as she begins to caress his face, bringing the saint to human form.
The saint whispers into Madonna’s ears, before kissing her on her forehead and exiting the church. He is wearing white, a sign of purity, with a red sash across, which can indicate warning or danger, but is likely to represent the erotic feelings between himself and Madonna in this particular scene.
Madonna picks up a knife off the floor, which is lay next to red roses. These have connotations of love and beauty, and contrast with the knife which is a known danger. She cuts her hands with the knife, resulting in blood. This relates to the age old saying ‘blood on your hands’, but also to followers of Catholicism, who believe that if you do something that feels good, you will be punished. This shows the guilt of her exchange with the black saint.
In the next scene, it cuts across to an all black choir, who begin to sing. Light from outside is shining in on the choir leader, dressed all in white, and the table behind him which has Candelabra’s and what appears to be the Bible on it. Madonna is seen witnessing the crime where white men attack a white woman before fleeing the scene, and the black man rushes over to help the woman. The police arrive just as the man is helping, and arrest him for the crime based on the colour of his skin. The man who committed the crime gives Madonna a threatening look, and she looks on as the black man is arrested.
The next scene is very controversial, as we see Madonna dancing and singing in front of a field of burning crosses. Crosses symbolize Christianity and all it stands for. Madonna is directly facing and looking into the camera during these scenes. The burning of crosses is used to intimidate others. In the next scene Madonna has joined the gospel choir, where they are all celebrating her.
Whilst still dreaming, another controversial scene follows, where Madonna is seen getting intimate with the black saint. This physical connection between her and the saint gives her the encouragement and inspiration to get the falsely accused man released from jail. She wakes up to find the choir leaving the church and the saint back behind the bars. She is next seen assisting in the release of the man after revealing the details of what she saw to a police station, whilst curtains come down as he is being released, to give the impression this was all a play. Madonna herself said “everybody takes a bow as if to say we all play a part in this little scenario."
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