If you watched Madonna’s VMA opening and immediately thought, why are we in a bathroom?, congratulations: you were paying attention.
The bathroom is not random. It comes straight out of the visual world Madonna built around Confessions II, and specifically the section tied to “Danceteria.”
The bathroom is part of the Confessions II story
Madonna’s Confessions II – The Film premiered at the Tribeca Festival earlier this year. The surreal short film moves through six songs from the album, including “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter and “Danceteria.”
One of its most memorable sequences happens inside a grimy nightclub bathroom. Madonna moves through the room while a truly ridiculous number of famous people drift in and out, including longtime friend Debi Mazar, Kate Moss, Benedict Cumberbatch, Odessa A’zion and others.
Entertainment Weekly described the “Danceteria” sequence as a nod to Madonna’s formative years in the early New York nightlife scene. PEOPLE also noted that the bathroom dance party is specifically connected to Danceteria, the now-closed New York club that helped shape Madonna’s early career.
So what was Danceteria?
Danceteria was one of the clubs at the center of the downtown New York art and music world Madonna came up in. Her song “Danceteria” is basically a roll call of that scene: Debi Mazar, DJ Mark Kamins, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and a whole pile of people whose names make the song feel like somebody handed you the coolest guest list in 1982.
That is why the dirty bathroom makes more sense than it first appears to. It is not supposed to look glamorous in the traditional awards-show way. It is supposed to feel like you wandered through the wrong door at an extremely good downtown club at 2 a.m.
And yes, the weirdness is intentional
Warner Records describes the Confessions II film as an interconnected fever dream built around nightlife, freedom, desire, connection and the transcendent power of dance.
Which is a much fancier way of saying: the bathroom, the club people, the strange choreography and the feeling that you have absolutely no idea what room Madonna is about to roll into next are the point.
So no, your television did not accidentally cut to an especially fabulous public restroom. Madonna brought the entire Confessions II universe with her.
