The music video begins with Madonna running away from something and falling over. We're not sure what she's running from yet, but this becomes clear later, and she starts to lip sync the song. Images of a burning cross briefly flash on the screen, as does the slamming of a jail cell door.

A flashback in slow-motion shows the reason why she's running. A woman that looks a little bit like Madonna is being surrounded and attacked by 5 men, who are portrayed as stereotypical males as they have slicked back hair, wear dark leather jackets, are aggressive, and are dominating the situation. The woman is seen to be weak and vulnerable, and cannot outmatch the men that attack her.


We then see a black man, who gets arrested after trying to help the woman, as the police think he's the one that did it. This is a hegemonic ideology of an African-American man in the time that the music video was set because he's immediately guilty unless proven innocent, and the police don't even question him before they arrest him.


When Madonna enter the church she's surrounded by a golden light that looks almost like a halo, which portrays her as innocent and almost like a saviour, however, her rather provocative outfit is atypical of what one would wear to church, and, paired with her sexual dancing, would further anger catholics because it's seen as disrespectful to god. The black saint behind bars would be very controversial at the time of release because devout catholics would never think of saint as black, so this would shock and perhaps even anger them because it goes against their beliefs. After being released, he kisses Madonna on the head, which makes it seem as though she's disregarding the religion as she's supportive of the black saint.



In Madonna's 'dream' she appears to be flying, and is caught by the black female gospel singer, who sends her on her way but in a different direction, almost as if being guided on the right path.


The burning crosses are involved in intertextuality as they're a reference to the KKK, who believe in white supremacy, so the contrast between the crosses and race hint at the injustice happening in society at the time. Madonna's dancing in front of them - and apparent enjoyment of it- would be considered disrespectful, but it further emphasises her support of the black community.


The lines between legality and religious beliefs is blurred when the bars of the court room replace those of the saint in the church. This reflects the constraint and powerlessness that black people had, and their lack of freedom. Madonna's freeing of the saint, and freeing of the man who came to the stabbed girl's aid shows her willingness to change the opinions of society. His imprisonment is unfair, so Madonna does not shy away from the threat of the attacker, and makes amends.

Intertextuality is shown again at the end with the curtain call. One of the reasons as to why this was created is to show that it was all an act, and not real, so people take it only as a representation of a situation, and not exactly how it is.  It sends the message to not run away when someone needs help or is wrongly accused, no matter what their race is, and that it's a team effort to change minds.


This music video presents Madonna and race in a positive way because even though her promiscuity and actions are controversial, she's fighting against the miscarriage of justice against black people and is a spokesperson for those who don't have a voice in society. Race is portrayed in a positive way because whereas they're normally unrepresented and repressed in media, they aren't in this music video, and have the support of Madonna, who is an icon for representing minorities such as the LGBT+ community.