It is difficult for me to know how I should interpret a film such as Truth or Dare· Obviously, the participants can't ignore the omnipresent cameras nor the crew which are doing the filming· Nor should we· At times it is very obvious that "Blond Ambition" cast are playing to the camera· We are not really a fly on the wall· Madonna obviously encouraged the film; and while Director Keshishian has stated the she gave him free rein with the final cut, she apparently also provided the financing· So, at one level, Truth or Dare presents Madonna as she wanted herself to be presented· It's skillful propaganda· On the other hand, I sense that the image the film presents is largely true, at least as Madonna perceived "truth" at the time, which is the point· Much of Truth or Dare is validated in the sequel film documentary Strike a Pose (see) made twenty five years later about the lives of the "Blond Ambition" dancers, who were mostly gay·
Truth or Dare seems to have become something of a gay cult film, at least among gaymen of a certain age· I suppose this is because queer folk are presented fairly normally, at least in the context of the bubble that was the "Blond Ambition"concert tour·