Protest Song: M.I.A: A controversial Artist

Protest Song: M.I.A: A controversial

 Artist

Song: Paper Planes

 

      Singer: M.I.A.

The personal history of M.I.A:

Mathangi Arulpragasam alias M.I.A was born in London, England, in 1975. But her parents were Sri Lankan. At the age of 6 months, Maya and her family moved back in Sri Lanka.She has to face difficult living conditions: She undergoes the civil war and the poverty.

Further to bombardments, the primary school of Maya is destroyed. Her family decides to return finally in London in 1986.

They are welcomed there as taken refuge, and live in social housing. Throughout its youth, Maya and her family are victims of racial discrimination,

Her route inspired her to write its songs and to denounce what live the people who are confronted with this kind of situation. M.I.A is a controversial artist because of these ideas an his outspokenness that disturb many people.

Video clip : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y

Lyrics:

I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name

 

If you come around here, I make 'em all day
I get one down in a second if you wait
I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name
If you come around here, I make 'em all day
I get one down in a second if you wait
Sometimes I think sitting on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clicking my gun
Everyone's a winner we're making that fame
Bonafide hustler making my name
Sometimes I think sitting on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner now we're making that fame
Bonafide hustler making my name
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
Pirate skulls and bones
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs
Running when we hit 'em
Lethal poison through their system
Pirate skulls and bones
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs
Running when we hit 'em
Lethal poison through their system
No one on the corner has swag like us
Hit me on my burner prepaid wireless
We pack and deliver like UPS trucks
Already going to hell, just pumping that gas
No one on the corner has swag like us
Hit me on my burner prepaid wireless
We pack and deliver like UPS trucks
Already going to hell, just pumping that gas
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
M.I.A.
Third world democracy
Yeah, I got more records than the K.G.B.
So, uh, no funny business
Some some some I some I murder
Some I some I let go
Some some some I some I murder
Some I some I let go
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money
All I wanna do is
And
And take your money

In this song, she wants to denounce the corruption, police violence, manufacturing fake visas, selling crack. The whole punctuated by the sounds of echoing gunshots and ka-chinging cash registers. Even more unsettling, this is a song that features a choir of children singing that all they wanna do is shoot you and take your money. It shows that even the youth is affected by this violence. The noise of the till which we hear in the tune symbolizes the people who without any scruple "sell weapons and kill people "Mia admits the violence of the words of her song but justifies herself : “people can well say that this song is aggressive but at the same time, there was a war in Iraq”.

Further, the song has for objective to satirize widespread negative stereotypes about immigrants.

Context :

According to the 1978 constitution, the Sri Lanka is a democracy. The tensions between Sinhaleses and Tamils, increasing since the 1960s, succeeded at the beginning of 1980s in an armed conflict setting the Sri Lankan government against the Tigers of Liberation of Eelam Tamoul (LTTE).

This civil war lasted more than 25 years and made 50 000 victims.

Song's meaning:

The title of the song symbolizes fragility, volatility, freedom and movement of the immigrants.

The second line shows us that the immigrants obtain easily false visas and that to arrest them and to lock them is not a solution. It is only a consequence of a corrupt society (“Lethal poison through their system.”) When we listen this song, we feel all the violence that M.I.A wanted to express. To hear innocent voices of children declaring who want to kill for money is profoundly shocking. All this violence and this poverty would have influenced to even the children. While they should represent the hope of a better future, we can only note that it is the whole generation which was reached by this war. 

 

“Third world democracy” make a reference to the states of the third world, what means that the democracy is not respected and that the corruption comes to override all the laws.

The passage : “Pirate skulls and bones, sticks and stones and weed and bombs, running when we hit 'em” prove that it is the leaders of the traffics that hold most power. (Particularly the traffickers of narcotics and weapons) And it denounces the fact that thanks to this illegal business they always get richer without caring about Sri Lankan which live in absolute poverty. (“funny business”)

The song was a huge success, it was the trailer of Slumdog millionaire, the movie is based on a true story. The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Kaun Banega crorepati? (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. This shows the effects of discrimination. 

http://www.shmoop.com/mia-paper-planes/meaning.html

Link with the actuality:

The song is directly related to current events.

In America, the illegal immigration into the United States is massive. There are nearly 10 million strangers on the territory. This massive immigration show the attractiveness of America but this situation revealed many border security issues.

Principally the immigrants come to America for better jobs and for better living conditions. Three out of hundred people in America are undocumented, while the immigrants does not pose directly problems but the presence of millions of undocumented migrants distorts the law, distract resources. In brief, the real problem about illegal immigration is security. The undocumented immigrant workers is that they not respect the law which makes the job of terrorists and drug traffickers infinitely easier.

In conclusion, America is a multicultural nation, is a "nation of immigrants" but the daily life of immigrants is not easy even those legal because they are subject to several discrimination.

For more informations:

 The Real Problem with Immigration... and the Real Solution

March 1, 2006 by Tim Kane, Kirk A. Jhonson
  http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/03/the-real-problem-with-immigration-and-the-real-solution

Article by Elsa Mérieux and Alice Ali