DISGRASIAN™

M.I.A.’s “Born Free” Vid: Is Ginger-Hate The New Black?

Have you seen M.I.A.’s much talked-about “Born Free” video yet?

It’s violent! It’s NSFW! It’s been censored by YouTube! It’s about GENOCIDE, people!

It’s also, frankly, a little silly.

The video depicts an American police state in which Gingers are rounded up and brutally exterminated, and by “brutally” I mean, in that beautiful cinematic way–replete with slow motion effects, big budget explosions, and a pastel desert sky–that filmmakers tend to favor, paradoxically, when they’re supposed to be showing you that killing is anything but beautiful.

And, YES, it’s a metaphor, but it’s also–as people have already pointed out–a South Park episode from 2005. A very funny South Park episode that made me giggle. Is that the desired effect of “Born Free,” to make people giggle at genocide? No? Then pick a better metaphor. Besides, Ginger-Hate is too trendy for M.I.A., it’s too cute.

But where this video really goes awry is with the song itself. “Born Free” sounds a whole lot like 9 minutes of you sitting on your bedroom floor, playing your records backwards. In other words, it’s kinda terrible. Especially for someone like M.I.A., who’s genius at delivering a message with a mean hook (see: “Paper Planes”).

About her music, M.I.A. has been quoted in the past as saying:

“Nobody wants to be dancing to political songs. Every bit of music out there that’s making it into the mainstream is really about nothing. I wanted to see if I could write songs about something important and make it sound like nothing. And it kind of worked.”

And therein lies the problem: “Born Free” sounds like nothing alright…but can you dance to it?

[miauk.com]

Filed under: But Can You Dance To It?, Censorship, Controversy, Dance Music, Fake Controversy, Genocide, Ginger Hate, Ginger Kids, Gingers, Graphic Violence, M.I.A., M.I.A. Born Free Video, Maya Arulpragasam, Music Videos, Political Songs, South Park Ginger Kids, Sri Lankans, Violence, YouTube Censorship