- Manal al-Sharif
BRITISH BORN with Sri Lankan Tamil decent, Maya also known as M.I.A (missing in action) is a singer/songwriter who's tunes are like world music mixed with hip-hop. It isn't until you see her videos and listen to her lyrics that you begin to realise it reflects heavy political movements. She isn't an artist who will ask you to align yourself with a particular political position like Yoko and Lennon but her music reminds you to reflect on all of the injustice in the world. Her Born Free music video (2010) was banned off Youtube due to the images of red haired adults and children being hunted down and shot at point blank by American militants.
Her newest video, "bad girls" incorporates the cultural rebellion of females in Saudi Arabia. even with such footage and ideas incorporated into her catchy music, there seems to be an underlining witty humour at work that helps lighten the message. Her latest clip presents a group of middle eastern females covered from head to toe, who are suppressed from driving due to religious laws but live it up in the dessert- westernised boy racer style. "Live fast, Die Young, Bad girls do it well" sings MIA empowering these woman to stand up for their rights and educating individuals like myself to spread awareness of the injustice. Unlike most musical artist these days, M.I.A hasn't allowed money to be the driving factor for her music videos and songs. I think if she wanted to, she could sell herself dancing in a bikini quite well, instead her uplifting tunes ironically illustrate the prejudices at work in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment