12 Responses to “Are we too cynical a people?”

1. Moxie
   October 29th, 2006 at 9:44 pm

   

   And here I was thinking I was just being too much of a bitch in thinking that the whole adoption bit was all planned especially to be as scandalous as possible.

   If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck…

2. Lisa V
   October 29th, 2006 at 10:12 pm

   

   Wait, gettupgrrl?

   I don’t know, do we really think that Madonna would do this? Just to sell a kids book? I mean it’s not like she is Anna Nicole Smith. She has plenty of money and popularity, and I think this will have little impact on the sales of this book.

   But then again….

3. dawn
   October 29th, 2006 at 10:21 pm

   

   What was it Warren Beatty said about her and not being able to live off-camera? I don’t think she’s THAT insane and meglomaniac BUT I do think she’s somewhat insane and meglomaniac and even if it wasn’t her sole motivation, I don’t think her publicity ever happens by accident. It may be why she wanted him home NOW instead of waiting for the courts to finish up. Then again, maybe it’s coincidence.

4. Amy
   October 29th, 2006 at 10:43 pm

   

   I actually tend to believe Madonna when she says that she didn’t anticipate the controversy about this adoption. She seems clueless enough about the ethical issues involved to make that entirely plausible in my eyes. If she didn’t realize the ethical issues existed how could she anticipate people being so upset about them? I do think it is likely that her humanitarian effort was timed to coincide with the book as co-publicity (she gets interviewed about her book she can talk about the humanitarian stuff and vise versa) But while I’m about as cynical as they come, I do not believe that this adoption was a publicity stunt to promote a book. I think she didn’t anticipate how much this was going to blow up in her face because she and her husband probably surround themselves with “yes men” types who aren’t going to challenge her or her assumptions.

   I have a friend who is a (far, far, far more minor than Madonna) celebrity. He isn’t super famous but many people know who he is and he gets written about in the celebrity press enough for me to realize just how ridiculous and completely warped much of what is written really is. He was involved in very real relationship with an actress years ago that was called a publicity stunt by the press when she announced a pregnancy around the same time their movie was about to open. It was laughable. They were just a couple having a (not entirely planned) baby like millions of other couples. There was no stunt involved in any of it. I’m not saying that wild publicity stunts don’t happen, but that case it was made up. So while I am cynical in general, I guess I am just as cynical about the media and the connections they work very hard to draw as I am about the celebrities they cover.

5. Marsha
   October 30th, 2006 at 2:35 am

   

   If it’s true that there is any connection between the adoption and the book then she goes beyond insanity and megalomania and heads straight for Sociopathtown. I don’t think cynicism is required to believe there is a connection, more like a belief in the type of self-serving cruelty that no one wants to think really exists.

   The tone of the article read more just plain mean rather than illustrative. So Madonna is “older by the minute”? Who among us isn’t?

6. dawn
   October 30th, 2006 at 3:25 am

   

   I don’t think she expected the controversy either. And I don’t think she adopted FOR the publicity but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear she timed it to coincide with her book. I wonder if that’s why she pushed to get David to London before the adoption was legal.

7. Mel
   October 30th, 2006 at 3:37 am

   

   I was skeved out enough by this to interrupt my husband from doing work to have him hear the article too. And then we both got into another discussion about Madonna. Well, she has gotten her wish–we’re all talking about her.

8. kim.kim
   October 30th, 2006 at 8:13 am

   

   I believe Madonna’s motives were genuine. I think she like so many people just doesn’t know any better. I can’t understand adopting someone and calling it rescuing them/ saving their lives. I also can’t understand adopting someone and then saying they can go back to their country later and help others. Either you are a member of the family or you aren’t. You shouldn’t be the poor little black boy that they adopted who has to do what they want when he grows up.

   I’m sick of Madonna, I’m sick of adoption. I’m grumpy.

9. Leslie
   October 30th, 2006 at 12:44 pm

   

   Someone (PT Barnum?) said there was no such thing as bad publicity.

10. abebech
    October 30th, 2006 at 1:26 pm

    

    That’s way more cynical than I am, and I am no fan of Madonna or her adoption, and have a difficult time imagining her as a “writer.” (How does one adapt a fake British accent to the written page?)

    I think she’s clueless about adoption, clueless about international politics, postcoloniality and all those sorts of things, but that’s as far as I’ll go (and it’s far enough).

11. Jennifer
    October 30th, 2006 at 3:10 pm

    

    I’m going to wait this out before I draw any conclusions this severe. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did time the “adoption” with her most recent book release, but for her own conscience I hope that’s not true.

    Madonna is a woman who knows how to get what she wants, so I don’t like to underestimate her ability to comprehend the complexity of her actions.

    If anything, I think she probably thougt she might be seen as near saint-like like A. Jolie. The difference is Joile DOES have a consistent track record of being invested in humanitarian work and Madonna just doesn’t. So when she goes to Malawi and then grabs a child who she fell in love with in a video, it all seems put together and insincere to the world no matter how much she attempts to convince us otherwise.

    By the way, I thought this article was very, very interesing. I’d love to hear what you all think. I believe it bolsters the theory that this whole Madonna fiasco isn’t made up of a bunch of (un)lucky conincidences. I think Madonna knows full well what she’s doing.

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,221971,00.html

12. shannon
    October 30th, 2006 at 4:35 pm

    

    “Someone (PT Barnum?) said there was no such thing as bad publicity.”

    Andy Warhol–and that’s exactly what I keep thinking.

    I’m with others here who think it was more stupidity than planning that led to the controversy. I think she expected good PR. But I still think she did it for PR.