Warning: The music video reviewed below is extremely graphic and not suitable for teens. However, it has raised a discussion and around age-sensitive censorship (see this Wired post for more on measures taken by YouTube) and is most definitely floating around campuses and high schools regardless of restricted viewing… if not because of it. All that said, when twentysomething Youth Advisory Board member Chase Straight offered to weigh in on the video, the controversy and the artist behind it, we gave him the stage.

YAB Review: 'Born Free' By M.I.A.

What was the biggest draw?

The biggest draw for me was a new video from M.I.A. I think what would draw most people in though was the way it was marketed and the online commentary. “NSFW” was the general description of tweets and links I saw to the video. Still, with all the Lady Gaga’s and Ke$ha’s – something fresh from a revolutionary-minded pop (sorry, M.I.A.) artist like her is always a draw.

How much did you know beforehand?

Nothing, other than it being described as “extremely graphic” and “NSFW.”

Describe your video experience

Well, the marketing and word-of-mouth didn’t lie. It was by far one of the most gruesome, unnerving music video experiences I’ve ever had. So bad, in fact, that YouTube pulled it from the website (Ed. note: Not exactly. See above)

The video matches the intensity of the song and rightly so; “Born Free” couldn’t have been filmed in any traditional sense of the music video. But geez, could it have been just a little less disturbing? Every few seconds I found myself cringing and ignoring the song completely.

Sum it up

A gang of what appears to be a SWAT team breaks into an apartment building to apprehend a "ginger." In the process, they break into other residents' apartment, some of whom are having sex, and beat the ever living crap out of them. The ginger is taken to a bus of other redheads and carted off. Visual elements portray this alternate dystopian universe as being some kind of political struggle between some authoritative force and the redheads.

The gingers are taken to a field where a small child is executed on-screen while the rest proceed to run through a field of mines. Everyone dies… violently.

So, what’d you think?

I came away from this video feeling extremely uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable in a way that made me think about the message, just unsatisfied and wishing I could go to bed and forget about it.

M.I.A. is not your average artist. The daughter of a Sri Lankan revolutionary, politics are a central theme of her art. Unfortunately, she’s been picked up by the frat boy scene and listened to in the same trendy fashion one would wear a Che Guevara t-shirt. The video seems to be her attempt to say “Listen to what I’m trying to say!”

It doesn’t do that though because the message is obscured by the shock of having to watch something that horrific. For a moment it looked like the SWAT guys could be gingers too, but you only see their eyebrows. Is the message that all the war in the world is really just human on human oppression? That we’re all the same so why do we hurt each other? I don’t know.

The song on its own does enough to convey a message of independence and strength and I’ve listened to it many times while trying to forget about the video.

Would you tell a friend? How many?

Honestly, I wouldn’t share this video with anyone. Did not tweet it, did not share it on Facebook. I’m one of the more desensitized people out there and that video just isn’t necessary. Unfortunately, readers, teens and college students who hear all this buzz around it will still probably attempt to find the video out of curiosity and walk away from it the same way I did – “Well, that sucked.”

About Chase

Chase works for a online community management and moderation company. He recently moved to Dallas, TX and serves as Head of Community for an online virtual world for kids. A former journalism major at the University of Utah, he wrote feature articles and album reviews for a music and art magazine. He is fascinated and constantly amazed with how children create and interact online. Aside from his work, Chase is an avid gamer, blogger, live music lover and audiophile who is obsessed with discovering new music and building his already extensive collection. Oh, and he really likes pandas. (You can also find him blogging about virtual worlds on his company's blog at metaversemodsquad.com/blog)

Categorized under: Movies & Music, Youth Advisory Board

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