The purpose of the video is to contribute to Madonna's music campaign by raising awareness and demand for its merchandise. The video address the issues of racism, sexism and the radical religious views of the American population in 1980s. It shows Madonna witnessing murder of a young woman by white supremacists and a black man being arrested for the murder. She then runs to a church for protection and to seek strength to perform as a witness, where the black man is depicted as a martyr, the God is shown as a black woman and the religious ecstasy is compared to the sexual ecstasy. The overall mood of the video remains happy as the black people are shown dancing and singing in the church and in the end the innocent man is released by the police.
It is considered the most controversial music video ever made due to the way it challenged the common social beliefs of the time. The video attacked three of the most widespread ideologies at the time: superiority of the white race, domination of society by men and inviolability of the religion. The public reaction was two sided. It received widespread acclaim by critics, journalists and academics, while the Vatican condemned the video and religious groups and families protested its broadcasts and boycotted products of Pepsi that used the song for a commercial that have only aired twice in the US. Pepsi had to cancel the sponsorship contract with Madonna, but allowed her to keep the initial fee.
High ratio of American population are still very religious individuals, with the main religion being Christianity either under the Protestant or the Catholic church, and they were the target audience the video was provoking a reaction from. Most of the video is shot in a Catholic church where Madonna dances barefoot in a revealing outfit of a short, semi-transparent dress which doesn't cover her shoulders and the upper part of her breast. For further controversy, she wears a crucifix on her neck, which connotes that she herself is religious. These semiotics connote the absurdity of religious strictness and avoidance of sex. The lyrics of the song have the same purpose by having either sexual or religious interpretations, an example would be the first line of the verse: "I'm down on my knees I wanna take you there". The point is further developed in the scene where Madonna supposedly has sexual intercourse with the black representation of Jesus and when she sees stigmata appearing on her hands, connoting that saints were humans too and thus had human desires of the flesh. The video also accuses the use of religion as a cover for immoral actions of organisations and individuals in the scenes of Madonna dancing in front of the burning crosses which are symbols of Ku Klux Klan and putting an American flag in the church, connoting that religion is not separated from the state and is used as a justification to introduce policies.
However, the overall representation of religion constructed with symbolic and technical conventions is positive. There is a contrast in lighting used for the church scenes and the scenes in the outside world. It presents the church as a safe haven with brighter, warm coloured lighting, and the streets as dangerous and hostile with the use of low key, pale lighting. There are more shots inside the church where people are singing and dancing, rather than of the outside where cameras capture suffering and injustice. The church is then transformed into a police station where the innocent man is released, representing the church as a symbol for justice and good will. Props, costumes and locations have the same purpose of making the church more appealing. While scenes of the street feature fire, knives and police sirens, the church's interior contains flowers and expensive, beautiful items for worshipping. Although the burning crosses are relate to religion, they are located outside of the church, which considers the Ku Klux Klan and racism being unworthy to associate themselves with religion and claim support for it. People outside are dressed in dark coloured costumes, while people in the church wear colourful, bright clothes. The church seems a cosy location, while the street looks cold, wet and uncomfortable.
Racist views were already regarded as asocial and more legally restricted in USA, however it was evident that many American citizens still shared them. A historical proof would be Rodney King beating by the police officers in 1991 and the long reputation of the American police being especially violent towards the African-American citizens, as well as crimes of the Ku Klux Klan and the white American nationalists against different races. Depicting Jesus and God the Father as black figures connotes the equality of different races in the eyes of God and points out that characters of Judeo-Christian bible were not white. Showing white men as criminals who shift their responsibility on a black man and him being released from the police station after a submission by a white witness are symbolic conventions of abuse and discrimination towards different ethnicities by the white race and the law. The shot of the statue of black Jesus crying with blood connotes the victimisation of the white race by this prejudice. Madonna's intimate relationship with a black man promotes the message for equality further.
Sexism also became much less widespread than it used to be in the West, however women were still inferior which reflected in the male domination of higher posts in carriers and politics. This discrimination is addressed in the scenes of a woman being attacked by three men, with a possible intention of rape. The female representation of God and appearance of stigmata on Madonna's hands are semiotics connoting equality of women and men; the gender doesn't matter for the God and women are able to reach spiritual enlightenment as well as men. The message of gender equality is also developed in the real, "mortal" world. The suspect is released after a report by a female witness which shows the equality of gender under the law, and Madonna's revealing costume symbolises the freedom of expression that women have.
The video played a big role in construction of Madonna's star image. She appeared as a rebellious individual, daring to oppose the popular opinions and challenge highly influential institutes such as the Vatican to stand for her morals. Madonna's core target audience was growing up with her, so these new album and music video she addressed concerns and topics related to people in their early thirties. The rebellious image would also appear to young people who are willing to question the system of a society they live in. Approval of the video by critics and academics in popular magazines such as The New York Times gave the star great publicity, increasing the awareness and demand for her texts. The controversy was used as a method to attract attention to Madonna's music campaign and promote consumption of its merchandise such as the albums and concert tickets.
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