BAD GIRLS
BOYZ
SUNSHOWERS
I find M.I.A. immensely inspirational. The crafting of a successful, consumable, yet inherently radical identity as both an artist and an activist is something I admire and want to emulate--the consciousness of what it means to be an artist with regards to one's specific identity and within a larger (globalized) context. M.I.A. fled Sri Lanka when she was a child because of the civil war. Her experiences with poverty, violence, and displacement have shaped her artistic craft in terms of her aesthetic, content, and message. It is the way in which she subverts consumerism and capitalism that I find so impressive: her music is easy to dance to and is innovative and unique sounding; her style is fantastic and incredibly influential; she at first appears to be the "cool eclectic ethnic girl"; yet when you listen to her message and what she is saying through that aesthetic, a sharp critique of capitalism, retaliation against women of color's sexualization, Othering, and silencing, and aggressive advocacy of Third World unity emerges and punches you in the face. It radicalizes you, the listener. And even if you're unaware of the music's message and implications, that you are dancing and singing along to it means that she has succeeded as an artist; you have become an unwitting neophyte of her call for transnational Third World revolution. Additionally, M.I.A. distorts and confuses the space between performing one's identity for the sake of capitulation and acting out in defiance of the industry of cultural production: massively successful yet still under censorship, M.I.A. practices her politics as an art form without losing its relevancy or significance. Her identity is truly revolutionary. She complicates the discussion of "authenticity" yet still has the last laugh--she knows what she's doing all along.
No comments:
Post a Comment