Music
M.I.A. ups the ante with intense refugee-themed video
by Richard Howard
November 27, 2015
The Sri Lankan artist joins boatloads of refugees in striking formations.
The creative force known as M.I.A already had people talking about her multimedia album Matahdatah earlier this year when she released the short film “Matahdatah Scroll 01: Broader Than A Border.”
Always looking for new ways present her music, “Scroll 01” is basically two videos: “Swords”, which was filmed in India, and the pre-existing “Warriors,” filmed in Africa. Unperturbed by the claims of cultural appropriation levelled against the latter, the Sri Lankan artist has now upped the ante with her newly released video “Borders.”
In the self-directed clip, M.I.A joins long lines and boatloads of refugees in stylized depictions of their journey. The refugees cling to what’s presumably a border fence in a formation that spells out the world “LIFE.”
The song itself tackles a number of current political issues, with a charged chorus that demands: “Politics / What’s up with that? / Police shots / What’s up with that? / Identities / What’s up with that? / Your privilege / What’s up with that? / Broke people / What’s up with that? / Boat people / What’s up with that?”
Us average folks don’t get away either – M.I.A. calls out society at large on our vapid obsessions with lines like: “Being Bae / What’s up with that? / Breaking the Internet / What’s up with that?”
Keep an eye out for more shots fired leading up to the official release of the full length album and video collection on Interscope.
