I like M.I.A as much as the next brown girl (OK, that’s probably a lie), but I thought that her new video was a little bit problematic. I don’t know. Am I the only one who saw the covered up back up dancers and was reminded of Gwen Stefani’s silent Harajuku girls? While she looked pretty cool, the video just felt like lazy orientalist shorthand. Arab people backdrop = wild, dangerous, political brown. BUT WITH A TWIST. Because the women do the sexy swagger dancing and they drive! SO SUBVERSIVE. Except, not? I don’t know…maybe I’m over thinking this.


  1. numasays posted this