Feanne here, writing on behalf of Anne. We are both fans of Madonna, a brave and beautiful woman who is wielding her provocative persona and powerful influence in the world to create good change.

Madonna, through the stark lens of Terry Richardson, and styled as a modern warrior queen by B Åkerlund, sets the pages of Harper’s Bazaar US November 2013 issue aflame with her strong words and iconic image. The feature, titled Truth or Dare?, is accompanied by her story, telling us in her own words about starting out as a struggling young artist and her harrowing experiences of being mugged at gunpoint and raped at knifepoint in her first few years in New York. She says Frida Kahlo helped her get through those tough times:

And I wondered if it was all worth it, but then I would pull myself together and look at a postcard of Frida Kahlo taped to my wall, and the sight of her mustache consoled me. Because she was an artist who didn’t care what people thought. I admired her. She was daring. People gave her a hard time. Life gave her a hard time. If she could do it, then so could I.

She talks about her creative work through the decades, and how her creativity is tied to her spiritual beliefs, with Kabbalah being the core. Despite this being a peaceful and intellectual ideology, she says:

For some reason, that made people nervous. It made people mad. Was I doing something dangerous? It forced me to ask myself, Is trying to have a relationship with God daring? Maybe it is.

The idea that artists are dangerous is as old as art itself. Throughout history, creative people— especially creative women— have been ostracized and oppressed for thinking and behaving differently. Society is afraid of the unknown, the strange, the “other”. Freethinkers and artists are harbringers of change, which is perceived to be disruptive and dangerous to the status quo.

In Madonna’s new short film, secretprojectrevolution, sensuous choreography and striking visuals are used to present an intense narrative about the ongoing war for freedom and creativity. This war happens physically all over the world, but it also happens internally, as each of us must face our own internal demons. Madonna warns artists that they need to be able to “swim upstream in shark-infested waters”. She gives voice to the victims of fear, hatred, and human rights violations. Dark glamour is juxtaposed with the foreboding images of oppression and persecution. She calls for the destruction of walls and labels. Violence and apathy must be displaced with love and creativity. In a scene close to the ending, she brings back to life those she killed earlier on. I found this to be a powerful metaphor for what many of us do every day— we kill the creative voices within ourselves when we succumb to insecurity and apathy. However, we always have the power to revive and nurture them. It is the same with the world around us. Madonna reminds us that we have the power to change things.