M.I.A. Takes the Cake
April 29th, 2010 • Commentary, Electronic, Video
Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for (mthfl), and was published in that publication on April 29, 2010. The video below contains scenes of nudity and violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
The webs are aflitter with talk of the new M.I.A music video, “Born Free,” and all MTHFL has to say is “bravo, m’lady.”
I think I have found the second candidate for the “futurevisions” series.
Treading a tender line between blatant outraged social commentary and dark science-fiction future-drama, this artist has made something that feels uncomfortably close to the truth, and yet remarkably and violently foreign. The tune is great, sampling a late 70′s punk song by a band called Suicide. Some people are saying this plays special significance to those who lived through that era of music and can remember the time and place that song came out. I cannot be counted among those poeple, so I cannot attest to this fact. i suggest you read more about that if you are interested.
So what is this video about? That is up to you readers to tell. I cannot pinpoint where the message of this video begins and ends, but it is clear that it orbits certain large themes: the abuse of Civil Liberties, bigotry, the inhumanity of war and violence, perhaps even hints of the Southpark-induced rash of “ginger” bashing that has ravaged our country of late. Aside, I suggest you look into some of the atrocious bullying that has come as a result of Parker and Stone’s seemingly benign redhead joke.
Needless to say this is a “sign of our times” video, and I think they hit this nail on its big, red, freckly, head. (too soon?)
-Bradley Gee