British Sri Lankan rapper, singer and producer M.I.A. is one of my favourite artists. Musical genius aside, I want to dig deeper into how two of M.I.A.’s music videos subvert stereotypes and challenge some of the music industry’s prevalent “hierarchical power relations” (Railton & Watson, 2011, p.88).

The first video, a poignant dig at the establishment, was written and recorded in response to the 2015 European migrant crisis (Feeney, 2015). The second is an empowering feminist anthem which depicts the artist racing cars in the desert alongside leopard print-clad burqa’d sisters.

One aspect moved me when watching both videos: the lack of exposed skin. As a woman, I found it refreshing to watch empowering, thought-provoking music videos which do not involve the hyper sexualization of women, and especially racialised sexualization all too prominent in the contemporary music industry (Railton & Watson, 2011). It is a much-needed shift to see women in hijab, or even M.I.A. herself wearing a simple long-sleeved black top in Bad Girls (2012) and a pair of jeans in Borders (2016), when the world of music videos glorifies the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce Knowles (Railton & Watson, 2011, p.95) for their sexualised performances. Of course I don’t condemn these female artists for their use of sexually charged imagery- rather, I’m stressing that this cannot be the only way women feel empowered. Patriarchal structures can be challenged through the refusal to do this as well.

It’s key here to note that Borders (2016) was directed by M.I.A. herself. I believe this is partly responsible for an alternative portrayal of powerful women, opening up the possibility of a less sexualised, female gaze (Mulvey, 1975).

In Borders (2016), M.I.A.’s gender remains irrelevant, in fact she is acting as a mouthpiece for hundreds of male migrants. In Bad Girls (2012), the women are the star of the show, without being sexually objectified. Rather, they own their femininity whilst actively partaking in a traditionally male-dominated activity: “tafheet or hagwalah, in which Saudi men “drift” their cars across an empty road” (García Durazo, 2017). The Arab women in this video are presented as all the more revolutionary considering that Saudi women were not permitted to drive when this clip was released (García Durazo, 2017).

I am inspired by how both Borders (2016) and Bad Girls (2012) serve as bold challengers to racial and gendered conventions of the wider music video genre and the societal norms it perpetuates.

Author: Cerys Jones, student ID: 33695258

References:

Carmen García Durazo (2017). M.I.A.’s Controversial ‘Bad Girls’ Video Will Do Nothing For Saudi Women. [online] Guernica. Available at: https://www.guernicamag.com/carmen_garcia/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2024].

Feeney, N. (2015). Why M.I.A. Made a Video About the Migrant Crisis and Put It on Apple Music. [online] TIME. Available at: https://time.com/4160294/mia-borders-apple-music-migrant-crisis-interview/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2024].

M.I.A (2012). M.I.A. – Bad Girls (Official Music Video). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yuqxl284cg [Accessed 21 Nov. 2024].

M.I.A. (2016). M.I.A. – Borders (Official Music Video). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Nw7HbaeWY [Accessed 21 Nov. 2024].

Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), pp.6–18. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6.

Railton, D. and Watson, P. (2011) Music video and the politics of representation. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Author: Cerys Jones, student ID: 33695258