This week, musician M.I.A erupted in the headlines for an unexpected display of her middle finger in front of more than 110 million viewers of the Super Bowl halftime show. She has also just released the video for her latest single, “Bad Girls," and it too has begun to stir controversy, generating a range of speculations on its true meaning.
Whatever one’s individual interpretation might be, the video clearly depicts hackneyed stereotypes of the Arab world, and perpetuating these can have a real impact on the way our society views others.
M.I.A is of course no stranger to controversy. The half-time incident pales in comparison to some of her much more overtly political commentary, which has included both bold statements and subtler overtones in support of contentious issues, like the armed liberation struggle of the Tamil Tigers in her native Sri Lanka. And most notably, she faced an onslaught of controversy for her politically-charged and highly graphic video for “Born Free,” which depicted a disturbing massacre of redheaded males (seen as a broader commentary on genocide) that caused YouTube to place a ban on it in the U.S. when it was first released in 2010.
Not unlike many of her earlier songs, the new video for "Bad Girls," which portrays lawless street racing set to the backdrop of a Moroccan desert, has also begun to generate lively debate.
Some argue that the message is a fundamentally empowering one, particularly for women, and that it is even an unequivocal and unabashed critique of Saudi Arabia's well-known ban against women driving (after all, the video does quite literally put women, or at least one woman, in the driver's seat). Yet others claim that the overarching impact of this video is a perpetuation of orientalized depictions of Arab culture.
Still others might see both these interpretations as reading too deeply, and instead argue that the video is simply an anthem of hedonism and rebellion (after all, M.I.A continually instructs us throughout the song to "live fast, die young"), and one which relies on the same type of vivid and sensational imagery that is so pervasive in the world of mainstream music videos today.
Some of the most distinctive elements of the video itself include depictions of veiled, cloaked, and occasionally armed Arabs who make up the background of the scenes, along with some burning oil fields in the distance, several car racing stunts, a few galloping desert horses, and M.I.A's hips gyrating throughout.
Even if the video is some attempt to reclaim these stereotypical images in some way, aren't we inundated enough with these kinds of caricatures of the Arab world, in both mainstream media and popular culture?
Despite her track record of weaving sharp social and political criticisms into her music, I can't help but feel that one of the primary impacts of M.I.A's latest video is indeed to perpetuate already pervasive images of Arab exoticism to at least some degree.
M.I.A may be known for representing marginalized and silenced populations, and perhaps even symbolizing (as she puts it in the song "Paper Planes") the movement for "third world democracy," but doesn't this video's heavy reliance on worn-out stereotypes and exploiting images of silent and mysterious-looking Arabs to serve as the backdrop for her performance undermine that in some way?
And isn't it somewhat ironic that M.I.A is an artist whose career has been fundamentally based on breaking from convention and shattering stereotypes, yet this latest video utilizes certain pervasive stereotypes of Arab culture?
In my opinion, the reason we should pay attention to the promotion of these kinds of stereotypes, regardless of the intentions behind this or any other work of pop culture, is because these images aren't simply innocuous; instead, they can have a real impact on justifying prejudice attitudes and even shaping foreign policy (as Jack Shaheen argues in his seminal work, Reel Bad Arabs).
Ultimately, viewers will continue to differ in their interpretations of this video (and this is a testament to M.I.A.’s continued ability to generate controversy), but the stereotypes in it give us good reason to pause and reflect on how such seemingly harmless depictions can, in fact, truly shape the way our society perceives and deals with others.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The Discussion
That video is where "Saudis in Audis" (see youtube) and Lawrence of Arabia meet.
While the men's clothing is accurate, the imagery drips of orientalism (see Edward Said).
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Every time MIA releases something, I find myself with many more questions than answers! I became a fan of hers after hearing the "Piracy Funds Terrorism" remix, and it's that kind of strange glorification/exoticism that really confuses me. Something must be wrong with her branding strategist...
You know what M.I.A proved, that all you people making comments are racist, including the ones who think this video promotes stereotypes. If M.I.A. made a video with a bunch of white suburban kids, racing cars, with guns, in some American city you wouldn't be saying anything, and it would be the exact same video. These are just people, who are wearing different clothes doing stuff that people do in every music video. Why is this not normal?
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Music videos aren't perpetuating Sharia law in the Muslim world.
Pop music isn't forcing women to wear veils, or making their husbands beat them.
Some teenager isn't responsible for the murder of heretics, nor the strapping of bombs to children.
I hope more people in Islamic societies see this music video, and other videos like it, and can see what the outside world thinks of them.
Hopefully some day the Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, tribal voodoo, and all other forms of magical thinking will stop being paid the undeserved respect they are given.
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This is nothing new. Rap videos started with depictions of Compton's gangs, guns and drug dealings. Typical stereotypes of the black minority. This has been imitated all over the world from South America, to Africa, to Europe, and now to the Middle East and Asia.
Main reason it has been imitated is because it's a thriving business. Just like cowboys/indians back in the day. If not MIA, someone else will take that share of the market.
So I would not truly blame the artist. I do agree Hip Hop has proven to unite people of all races and colors. No doubt there are some negatives but also some positives from hip hop.
My only concern with the article is why attack the artist? it's like attacking the clown for trying to be funny.
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I get the feeling she is trying to represent a rebellion against the established order, but is not really concerned about a reordering of it. The irony of her use of stereotypes may be more that she is trying to play around with them, rather than proposing some new vision of how things ought to be.
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The only thing that Nada Zohdy has shown in this article, is that she is stuck in a racist mentality. If you look at other hip-hop videos you see girls dancing and people driving cars, some dudes with guns, and people having fun. This is done by black, white, hispanic, basically every race of person you can think of. If you see this video as anything other than, a regular rap video, you are the one pushing the stereotype. (cont)
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