Madonna Transcendentalism

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Transcendentalism is a powerful philosophical movement that happened in the 19th century. Transcendentalism focuses on the intuition from the individual and appreciates the independence of each person and nature. There are many famous transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Madonna. Well Madonna is not exactly a transcendentalist of the time but she follows the basic principles of living that the other authors preached about. Madonna Ciccone is an American artist made popular by her 80’s pop music, movie appearances, clothing line, and her bold personality as a public figure. Madonna has always been cutting edge and pushing boundaries for her time, she exemplifies the characteristics of a transcendentalist …show more content…
She has expressed through many forms her idea of man's place compared to the government. Furthermore she shares many values about the individual's importance with writers of the time such as nature helping the individual, and originality. Madonna also is transcendental in her thoughts on conformity and how people evolve throughout their lives. Overall Madonna executes her life in a transcendentalist fashion through her thought and actions.
Transcendentalists such as Thoreau makes it very clear in their work that they believe if man sees something wrong with their government they need to do something about it. Thoreau writes, “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail
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Emerson says that the problem with routines is people do not experience new things or live life to its potential. Madonna embodies this ideal because she changes her music and style and life around so often she even said “I'm always looking for something new: a new inspiration, a new philosophy, a new way to look at something, new talent.” when reflecting on her career. Furthermore, Madonna has always been an advocate for not changing because of other people, and doing what makes her happy, she says “I refuse to act the way someone expects me to”. Similarly Emeron preaches about how people should never conform to society's standards in Self-Reliance saying, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness." (Self reliance page number here). Both Madonna and Emerson exemplify the idea of staying true to yourself and not conforming. Madonna changes her hair, clothes, style, voice, dancing and all around personality as career continues, in an interview she said “I suppose I sometimes used to act like I wasn't a human being... Sometimes I look back at myself and remember things I used to say, or my hairstyle, and I cringe”. Yet Madonna continues to make bold choices about herself. This is an example of how she follows the standards set by Emerson in

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