This music video by M.I.A ia based highly controversial concept which can be interpreted in a number of ways. One interpretation can be that M.I.A wanted the video to reflect the lyrics 'Live fast, die young' by showing rebellion and how people of culture's that seem 'oppressed' such as the arab one, can be seen in a different light. The first thing I noticed about this music video, having previously watched her other videos is that as much as she's trying to stand out, she's actually following stereotypes and using them as a sort of 'back drop' to her video. For example, having women wearing bright, bold outfits whilst also complying by the arab religious dress (niqab, fully covered) in a controversial way has already been done as well as showing people have fun in the deserts of Arabia (this video was shot in Morocco). One could argue that this concept based video does actually follow many conventions of hip hop videos as they seek to have that shock factor whilst including props such as gold jewellery (better known as bling) and fast cars.
However, despite the fact that cars have been shown racing which is not something which is foreign to music videos, the actual cars used are reasonably priced cars rather than the typical sports cars shown to represent wealth and success. Whilst most videos use cars to 'show off', this video uses cars as a source of fun, unwinding and rebellion. This could also have been done to make the stunts easier or less risky as they're not working with expensive cars or simply because the director wanted to show some sort of normality against the crazy backdrop. In relation to this, the desert horse's shown galloping through the sands could have been used to show the last/older generation of Arab's ways e.g. on horse or camel back opposed to how people are now. This represents how things can change, even cultural norms.
In relation to the effects used within this video, a vast amount of the shots seem to have minor edits such as lighting tweaks making the orange tinted, slightly dim and calm atmosphere consistent throughout the video. In addition to this, the image below showing a man on a dessert horse is shown in slow motion which signifies the contrast between the traditional view of a dominant, independent man and the modern Arab men and women who just want to have fun and live in a lively, fast-paced environment. The fact that the cars are racing and are shown from different angles such as from the floor looking up and full length shots works well with and is completely different to the slow, smooth one take shot of the horse and man often shown in between the racing clips.
Another part of the mise-en-scene I noticed in this music video was the costume. The costume used within this video is something that is fairly self explainatory in terms that the men are wearing the traditional arab cultural dress (all white and scarf on head) whilst there have been some alterations to what the women wear. The women are shown wearing leapord prints and polka dots which are bold in comparison to the dark colours usually worn by arab woman. Despite this, the outfit is still regonisable as the arab dress because they are fully covered and are also wearing hijabs. M.I.A is often described as a feminist and shows these women in what could be described as a western scenario of a woman wearing make up sitting in the front seat of a car. Make-up makes people look better or enhances their features, something which is not permissible in Islam and therefore arab countries as they follow the shariah law however these women are represented as being beautiful and independent in their ways. Even their facial expressions along with M.I.A's are often chin up and exute confidence.
The music video starts with an establishing shot which straight away signifies that the video is set in the desert. There are multiple mid range shots used which show people going about their daily lives such as men socialising and smoking and a long shot to show others travelling, and clinging onto a small minivan. The music video generally starts off showing a slightly normal landscape of a moroccan dessert but as the music starts to build up, more abstract shots are shown. For example, the women in their animal print clothing. Going back to people going about their daily lives, the image below shows older Arab men in comparison to the younger generation shown later however they are still in the same environment as each other. The camera angle shows the men not acknowledging each other and minding their own business with the sun shining through them, making their facial expressions hard to see.
In regards to M.I.A herself, we must remember that as an artist, one of the main aims of a music video is to further establish and promote an artist and their music. As someone who is a part of the hip hop industry, she follows the conventions of hip hop video with her costumes. She wears 5 different outfits throughout the music video, and only in one does she not wear heavy gold jewellery, also known as 'bling'. The hooded jacket she is wearing is often part of the style of clothing worn my male hip hop artists whilst women tend to wear revealing and/or tight clothing to show off their 'assets'. M.I.A stands out as a unique artist who is defying certain conventions to perhaps portray her distinguishable sense of style and personality.
In this shot, and throughout the video, M.I.A is seen gyrating her hips which is something which would be frowned upon in an Islamic state and the culture she is trying to represent. This style of dance however is a conventional trait of her style of music and adds some 'normality' of the western style of living.
Again, in regards to the mise en scene, there were several shots included within this music video which represented chaos and destruction but in a slighty positive or carefree manner. For example, the fire behind the artist when she's dancing is simply a part of the scenery rather than something which is seen as out of the norm. In the print screen below, you can see the street racers with smoke around their cars which is something they're hardly taking notice of. The rebellious theme of this music video is further represented by creating a chaotic environment and although when the music video has been broken down, the shots may seem random, they actually work well and have possibly been used to add to the unconventional and slightly crazy environment.
The portrayal of Arab women and womens rights in the middle east is a dominant ideology which has been incorperated within this video. The shot below shows women driving, which is something women cannot legaly do in countries such as Saudi Arabia. After doing some background research, I found out that M.I.A supports a movement which aims to make it legal for women to drive in these countries. In the print screen, not only can you see women driving, but you can also see them putting their heads and arms out of the car and almost cheering. The background shows them in an empty desert and what is interesting about this particular shot is that when the men are driving, you see the male onlookers cheering them on whilst this shot focus's solely on the women and how they may be equal to the men or have been set free with no eyes on them.
The transitions used are in sync with the beat of the music, and shots are shown for the the duration of each beat throughout most of the song. In general however, the music video uses simple transitions such as blackout and whiteout which we can hardly notice as the video has more emphasis on the mise en scene used.
In the screen shot below, you can see a shot I found particularly interesting. The camera goes through the cars in the opposite direction which creates an almost 3D effect, making it look like the cars are coming towards the audience. A dolly can be used to create a similar effect, however a car with a camera attatched to it has been used driving in the opposite direction which is a simple but effective way to create the same effect.
Stuart Hall's Reception Theory
This music video is a particularly controversial one, and whilst the lyrics aren't exactly insightful, the video represents the middle eastern/Arab culture in a less than stereotypical way.
The preferred reading would be to portray a different side of the west opposed to what is usually shown on the news or in documentories for example as they usually show the more serious, shariah law ruled stated of saudi arabia and how they live this supposed 'sheltered' life. This video shows a more rebellious, underground side of the Arab way of life which puts more focus on their culture as opposed to their religion. I believe that the preferred readin that the producers were trying to encode was to show a more vibrant, unique Arab culture and open people's minds up to show that they just like having fun (the men) and dressing up (the women) just like people in the west do.
The negotiated reading could be that the controversy of this video makes it slighly politically incorrect due to the fact that they show the women in hijab trying to look astheatically appealing which defeats the whole point of the hijab or because there's a fire in the background which could relate to bombs and the stereotypes behind Islam/Arabs. However, people might also be in the middle because despite all of this, there are elements of truth behind what is represented in the music video therefore what's so wrong with showing it to the rest of the world?
The oppositional reading would most likely be Muslims claiming that the music video is insensitive towards Islam and the ruling behind it regarding guarding a womans modesty and even being associated with music and free mixing which is clearly shown in the video. People may say that it gives the wrong impression and makes it look like this is what modern day muslims/Arabs may be like when it may only be a minority. Also, the lyrics include 'blow you with a bang' which could be referring to bombs and again, offend people of a more traditional Arab culture.
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