What does M.I.A., worldwide superstar, do with all that “Paper Planes” money and fame? She makes a nine-minute ultra-violent music video epic is what she does. We talked a little while ago about the art of the music video, and if MGMT’s “Flash Delirium” was the weirdo surrealist of the pack, M.I.A.’s “Born Free” is the horrifying futurist. The NSFW video shows a future that won’t happen and isn’t of any real concern today, but I think it does say something about the paranoia that surrounds government in a world where many people are not, in fact, born free.
M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.
Just wondering where you think the Romain-Garvas video for Justice’s “Stress” falls into this conversation. IMO it’s a much more successful video. Much more interesting (and effective) cinematography, more compelling audio (both the music and, for lack of a better word, “real” sound), and a clearer message with a cleverer delivery. The violence, although less bloody, is more realistic and unsettling than what I saw in the “Born Free” vid, which seems to have borrowed from Rambo V and/or Apocalypto for its climax, but fallen short of both of those movies’ realism (sad, but true.)
I’m not sure what the “Born Free” video is trying to do. It’s seems to be almost recognizable enough to be commentary, almost satirical enough to be worrying, almost violent enough to be horrific, but almost absurd enough to be funny. If it’s supposed to be a message about where our country/world is headed, it touches me about as closely as “I-Robot.” Maybe less, ’cause robots are terrifying.
Jamie Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
I think neither video is terribly realistic, both aiming to portray more of an exaggerated world that serves as a warning against the direction in which our society is moving, rather than an accurate look at what exists today. That said, I think you’re absolutely right when you say the M.I.A. video suffers from an identity crisis (am I supposed to find it a little funny?). The message in the Justice video is much more unsettling and it does so without the gratuitous gore.
So I would definitely agree with you that the Justice video is much more successful, but it’s still nice to see at least some attempt at an artistic and political message from Garvas again. Even if his message falls short of making me feel that awful, horrible feeling I get every time I watch the “Stress” video.
Noah Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
I agree. It’s heartening that we are even discussing music videos in these terms. Any other vids besides the MGMT one I should be looking at?
Oh, and yea, I thought “Born Free” verged on funny simply because of the whole ginger thing. See: http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/103645 for some context.