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M.I.A: "Born Free," the controversial new video

Quote:

M.I.A. video, featuring sex, violence and nudity, stirs up Internet storm

By Bart Jackson, Vancouver SunApril 28, 2010

VANCOUVER — The controversy over a new video by Sri Lankan-British rap star M.I.A. continues to erupt over the Internet a day after Born Free was banned from YouTube.

The nine-minute video, directed by Romain-Gavras, depicts the violent round-up of redheads by U.S. troop, and features brutality, nudity, obscenity and summary execution.

At one point a prisoner is shot through the head by a soldier at a concentration camp.

The video appears to make a statement about the injustice meted out to minorities by government imprimatur.

Typical of the comments about the Born Free video, which still can be found on video sites other than YouTube, is this one by _MissAlexandra_: "Woaahhhhh - anyone seen #MIA's new #BornFree #music #video?... I was speechless. Watch at your own risk..."

Tweeted alidrox: "MIA's video is actually shocking... what was she thinking?!"

Others found the piece made a valid statement. Wrote Indigosays: MIA "born free video" just did it for me, WOW I'm officially moved and surprised".

MTV reality TV personage Spencer Pratt was offended because the soldiers rounding up the redheads sported American flags on their uniforms: "The music artist MIA should be kicked out of America today for using the US flag on her Nazi like hit squad in her new music video!"

But kylemcinnes had a different reaction: "Banned from YouTube: MIA 'Born Free', directed by Romain-Gavras. Might just be the best music video of 2010."

M.I.A. (real name: Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) was born in England to Tamil parents. Rebellious Tamils in Sri Lanka have been beaten down by government forces controlled by the majority Sinhalese ethnic group. The Tamil fighting force, Tamil Eelam, was deemed a terrorist organization by most Western governments, including Canada and the U.S.

In 1975, when M.I.A. was six months old, her family returned to Sri Lanka, where her father worked to create an independent Tamil state, and went into hiding from the army.

A decade later M.I.A. returned to England. She has one child, born in 2009.

She is an accomplished singer, songwriter and visual artist whose work contains a decidedly political bent. Last year Time magazine called her one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertai...848/story.html

M.I.A has released a video, which was pulled from YouTube recently for being too violent and sexually explicit.

But further controversy surrounds the ultimate message, which can be taken from different angles.

Essentially what you have is government-sanctioned discriminatory violence, and in this case an interesting "race reversal."

Below is the Vimeo embed, since YouTube won't host it.

Warning: NSFW

M.I.A, Born Free on Vimeo

What do you make of it?
Does it go too far?
Does it miss the mark?

I appreciated it. A lot of people are mistaking the video for a commentary on American military. While that may play a role, I think the military is shown to be American so that we the viewers can more easily identify, in a "what if it happened here?" sense. Politically, most of her music relates to the situation in Sri Lanka, and I don't think this video is any different.

It's good to see someone finally taking decisive action against the ginger menace.

Seriously though, I think it's a great video. Perfect juxtaposition to point out the ludicrousness of militant discrimination. If the targets were black or middle-eastern or (these days in AZ) Mexican-looking, it would have had a whole different effect on a lot of viewers.

I seriously just thought this video was overreacting to the ginger sillyness, it's basically a more artful version of

YouTube - GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS!!

I really dislike when bands rely on controversy to sell their music, to the point that I won't even bother supporting them anymore. Same reason I refused to buy MW2 over the airport scene.If you can't get by on your own merit, then you're trying to appeal to some jerry springer loving mouthbreathers who get off on drama.

People trying to use this to paint the U.S. as a police state (maybe not M.I.A directly, but people who watch this) are just silly. There is no branch of military or police that is gathering up any racial profile to run across minefields. It's pure fantasy based hyperbole for shock value.

I'm sorry--much like the Erykah Badu video a month ago, this is trite.

The more I think about it, it's not the pop culture abominations like Jersey Shore that prove what an artistically bankrupt society we live in; the show is junk, it knows it's junk, it's whole raison d'etre is the fact that it's junk. It's when tired, clumsy, cliched metaphors are embraced as "groundbreaking" and "brilliant". Just because some social critique is attached to some piece does not make it "art". Hell, I could go take a dump in the confessional of a catholic church, and it's not a "profound statement"; it's just a turd.

GINGERS HAVE SOULS! FUCK YOU BITCHES! FOR REALS. YOU DON'T KNOW ME!!

funniest thing I've seen in ages.

Why does this song sound so damn familiar? I like the song, but the video is worthless.

Its like someone recorded one of Eric Cartman's wet dreams.