‘Notorious’ Madonna

Regarding “It’s Not Easy Being Notorious,” by Patrick Goldstein, May 5:

There is a widely held perception that Madonna and other entertainers like her are boldly going where no artists have gone before. Far from it. In fact, they are slowly and timidly crawling along the sleazy trail that was blazed by the porno industry many years ago. For that reason, I am always surprised when their so-called outrageous behavior provokes so much controversy. Any run-of-the-mill porno video easily exceeds their feeble and ersatz attempts to shock.

It must be the voyeuristic titillation of seeing the rich and infamous do it that is so fascinating. By resorting to simulation and other artifices, Madonna tacitly admits that her shows are pornographic; otherwise, she would do what she only pretends to do. If she thinks that showing her breasts is “a more powerful statement,” she obviously has not read the Gettysburg Address.

Hey, being an enfant terrible is a dirty job, and I know that someone has to do it, but rationalizing the use of obscenity as a vehicle for social protest gives hypocrisy a bad name.

ROGER E. GOULET

Los Angeles