Madonnathon Reviews: "4 Minutes" Video

"What would you do, if you only had 4 minutes left?". That is the question Madonna is asking you in her latest video and new single, "4 minutes". Even though the song's chorus repeats the line "4 minutes to save the world", the song really isn't about saving the world - or is it?

The video has many layers, it doesn't open up immediately, you need to think about the symbolism before you make your final judgement. While the song may not be an anthem to save the world in a way that "Hey You" was, showing you straight forward footage of what people are doing to this planet, to themselves and to others - it approaches the subject of saving the world from another angle and through artistic methods. The point of view is the same, we need to save ourselves - but instead of showing cruelty and disaster in a realistic way the video shows it through innuendos and hints. Even if at first glance it might seem like a dance video with no proper storyline, in closer observation it all changes. The video is about saving ourselves through and especially with another person, it's about coming together and connecting - and yes, dancing our asses off while doing so.

The video starts rather ackwardly, with Timbaland opening the track with his rap lines. He seems a bit out of place and there isn't really a meaning for his presence in the video. He doesn't really add anything to the story line, he is there in the role of an extra.

The video then goes on showing how Madonna and Justin get ready for the "last 4 minutes" they've got. They run from set to set, escaping "the faceless" black glass/iron wall that surrounds them everywhere. The mass of the wall pushes them from one set to another and in every set they declare the same thing, "grab a girl, grab a boy, we only got 4 minutes to save the world". Even though the song also features them "making love" in a car, in a very brief scene and innuendo kind of way, Madonna whispering into his ear "I'm gonna give you what you want" while sitting in his lap, the line about grabbing someone obviously isn't meant to encourage us to get into bed and f**k our brains out. The line has a deeper meaning, about connecting to other human beings and helping them - and in that way, the song is really about saving the world. Just think about how change comes about in the first place? Through understanding and acting out accordingly to your new knowledge.

In the video, Madonna and Justin jump out of windows, on cars, with track-suited guys dancing around and for a brief moment, memories from Madonna's "Jump" video emerge but mostly it is something new from the Queen of Pop. In many of her videos there is a distinctive storyline, a beginning, a middle section and an ending, in a very planned and flowing way - usually the scenes are very photographic, static and beautiful. The video for four minutes is everything but static, it's a race, constant run through that evolves and evolves towards the inevitable - time running out.

Throughout the video there are people whose skin is partially taken off. They seem almost robotic. Maybe it's a statement about people living their lives like robots, doing what they are told to do, instead of thinking for themselves and being open and bare to the truth. Or maybe it's about people distracting themselves with things in a robotic way without giving much thought to the reality of life elsewhere, and that underneath our skin we are all vulnerable to the same things. Madonna's skin-coloured corset also reflects the bareness of human race.

In terms of sets and visual appearance, "4 Minutes" is a combination of European and American influences. The grittiness, the English home with flower-patterned wallpaper are obviously very English. When Madonna and Justin jump out of the English house, they enter a street area with cars. The building behind them seems New Yorkish. The hip hop styled beginning of the video, with bouncing speakers and water cup jumping on one of them, car tire close-ups... they all belong closely to the hip hop scene. All of these essentially reflect United States because the hip hop scene being much bigger there, and a fancy car is one of those "trophies" that belong to that culture.

The car scene that follows the intro, can also be viewed in a different light. Cars and traffic are one of greatest man-made innovations that pollute this world. So you can look at the scene as a simple dance scene with cars - or you can also see it as a reference point to something much more profoud. When people jump on cars, escaping, the vehicles become more significant and they're no longer just an aesthetic prop. Same goes for the crocery store scene. We shop till we die and in doing so, we create massive amounts of waste all around the world.

The haunting black glass/iron wall cathes both Madonna and Justin at the end of the video; they stand body to body,looking into each others eyes as parts of their inner organs, bones and muscle tissue comes to show - the faceless blackness has gotten them. It's not a very happy ending. It's not done in a way Robbie Williams did it in "Let Me Entertain You" where he showcased himself pealing of layers; first clothes, then muscles. But on the other hand, is there a happy ending to this planet and for human race if we continue to live the way we've been living and valuing the things we've valued - disregarding the most important things, focusing on satisfying our material needs, our ego and in that way contributing to our own downfall?

So in fact, at first glance the video doesn't seem to have that much saving going on - but when you look at it more closely, there are lot of hints about things that definitely don't save the world. It's a video about coming together and doing something while we can.

Madonna has never looked better - she looks absolutely fantastic and outshines her younger rivals tenfold. Watch out you bitches, the Queen is back!