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Running Head: POPULAR CULTURE AND POLITICAL CHANGE

Can Controversial Popular Culture Create Political Change?

Kelsey M. Briggs

Concordia University Chicago


INTRODUCTION:

Mathangi Arulpragasam’s music has been trying to spread awareness about the

political issues occurring in her home country, Sri Lanka (Hutnyk 2012: 555). However,

many would argue that the way she’s doing it is incorrect, while some others would say

she’s succeeding because she is now considered one of the top 100 most influential

people (Esquire 2008: 96). These views are rather contradictory. After all, How can a

person voted in the Top 100 Most Influential People, also be considered most

controversial and have their music blacklisted? This paper will explore the question of

whether controversial popular culture can create political change while using the

international star Mathangi Arulpragasam, also known, as M.I.A. as a case study. A more

in depth view will be provided about the background of political issues in Sri Lanka, the

political influence of pop culture seen there, and how media conglomeration has censored

globalized popular culture to halt these types of political influence.

POLITICAL BACKGROUND:

The singer’s portrayal of genocide was featured in her recently released album,

Born Free. Even though the music video does not portray the actual events occurring in

Sri Lanka, it is directly related. In order to understand how the recent video is correlated

to the harsh treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka, a brief history of ethnic cleansing must be

provided, then a brief summary of the video, and how it’s linked to globalization of

media.

Sri Lanka, is Mathangi’s home country, and she was born there as the ethnicity of

a Tamil (Weems 2014: 115). When she was younger, her elementary school was ‘shot

up,’ and after this horrific event, she was sent to school in Britain. There she grew up,

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and was educated in the British system. She is now a European citizen of British rule, and

trying to obtain dual citizenship to become an American citizen as well.

M.I.A. is not the only Tamil affected by these types of events in Sri Lanka.

Currently, the Tamils, which is an ethnicity, are experiencing racial discrimination that

many journalists argue is equivalent to ethnic cleansing. Some extremists, in the United

States have even used the word genocide in media such as newspapers and magazine

articles (Walton 2015: 959).

The issue of ethnic cleansing or even genocide began in 1949, when Tamils were

denied the right to vote, (Sivanandan 2009: 79). From this time period, until present,

Tamils were heavily discriminated against due to skin color and religion. The majority of

Tamils is Hindu, and can be identified by religious practices, (Roberts 2005: 493).

Employment was extremely difficult for all Tamils, and in order to gain any type of

social advancement, education was essential, (Sivanandan 2009: 79). However, these

were simply considered social issues, like the discrimination that is still seen in America.

It was not until recently, that a powerful social injustice occurred, and because of

this M.I.A. stepped up the influence of Tamils in her music. On…………. The Sri

Lankan government evicted almost 400 Tamils from the nation’s capital (Colombo)

(TCHR 2007: 11). These Tamils were bussed to the outskirts of the city where they were

told to go home to refugee territories, and they were being forced to leave the city. The

Sri Lankan government used both military and police personnel, to carry out the evictions

(TCHR 2007: 11).

Nearly 400 Tamils were forced to leave the city, without any belongings (TCHR

2007: 11). The reason why these Tamils were forced to leave is because they were under

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the accusation that they were assisting “ethnic separatists,” such as the Tamil Tigers plot

bombs in the parameters of the city (TCHR 2007: 11). Despite the accusation, criminal

charges were not filed against the Tamils. Many Tamils and journalists are reported to

have been abducted, and in some instances their bodies turn up (TCHR 2007: 3).

POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF POPULAR CULTURE:

The United States military has been a long-time ally of Sri Lanka and has offered

military training assistance in Colombo. However, the U.S. government does not approve

of the eviction of Tamils from Colombo, and a statement from the U.S. said “The United

States understand and supports Sri Lanka’s obligation to defend itself against terrorism,

but the action can only widen the ethnic divide at a time when important efforts are

underway to reach a national consensus to end Sri Lanka’s nearly quarter-century-old

conflict,” (TCHR 2007: 11).

Despite this statement, of the U.S. disapproval, the U.S. is still providing military

assistance and training to the Sri Lankan government. Due to events and ethnic cleansing

examples occurring in Colombo, singers such as M.I.A. are trying to influence the U.S.

government to stop providing military assistance to Sri Lanka. Her point is that the U.S.

government is supporting a so-called genocide.

In order to get her point across and stop military assistance going to the country of

Sri Lanka, M.I.A. released the music video to go with her recent album Born Free. This

video was extremely explicit, and targeted the Western American audience. With the help

of the French director, Mathangi Arulpragasam, became one of the most controversial

figures in the pop industry, (Itzkoff 2010: 2).

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M.I.A.’s extremely controversial video was directly related to the harsh treatment

of Tamils in Sri Lanka, despite what some may argue. The video depicted U.S. soldiers’

participating/creating mass genocide against redheaded children, men, and women. The

video had portrayed the graphic scenes of genocide, including stripping the women and

killing the children.

Due to such graphic images, Western audiences did not accept the video. Even

though Westerners/Americans were the target audience. Since, the audience of this form

of popular culture, did not accept it, the correlation to explicit events occurring in Sri

Lanka was not created.

M.I.A. wanted the U.S. population to understand that our troops were directly

linked to a ‘genocide’ occurring halfway around the world. The singer did this by using

U.S. troops as the antagonists/murderers of the music video (Itzkoff 2010: 2). This is

because the U.S. troops are currently assisting and providing military training to soldiers

in Sri Lanka. Instead of using actual Tamils in the video, M.I.A. and French director,

Romain Garvas, chose to use redheads, because they are a ‘dying-breed,’ (Itzkoff 2010:

2). It is a long-held rumor that in fifty years all redheads will be extinct. It’s also possible

that if the singer chose to use darker-skinned victims in her video, a Western audience

would not take it as seriously, because the U.S. is typically accused of racial

discrimination against Middle-Easterners (or any other dark-skinned race). Using

redheads as the victim was something that would attract quite a bit of controversial

awareness, because it was something that had never been done before.

It is not typical of American media to portray the U.S. attacking an ethnicity that

belonged to a Caucasian race, such as Irish. Using U.S. soldiers and redheads, was an

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action plan that M.I.A. and her director used to help with the globalization of the video.

This would shock the targeted Western audience, and also help them relate more to the

content. The video was released in Britain, and since it used U.S. Soldiers, the video

would travel much quicker to its target audience, which was Americans. Globalization of

media is a very quick process thanks to the internet; however, in order for music to

extend beyond its home-parameters, it must first be accepted by another country.

This is not the first time that M.I.A. has made a controversial appearance in the

media. The hip-hop star has frequently been criticized and accused of ‘hipster

imperialism,’ (Chang 2007: 50). Primarily male critics have stimulated the majority of

M.I.A.’s backlash, (Chang 2007: 50). The majority of her criticism is from the singer’s

view on violence and politics, particularly with warfare, (Saucier & Silva 2014: 295).

M.I.A. has frequently referred to the violence occurring in Sri Lanka towards Tamils;

however, many journalists state the violence has yet to reach a massive proportion, (Bass

2008: 269). Mathangi Arulpragasam’s influence is from her father and her own

background, which inspired her to create politically, affiliated songs, such as “Paper

Planes”.

Critics believe her political influence is from her father, who has been classified

as a “wanted revolutionary leader,” (George 2009: 44). Her father was once a major

leader of the Tamil Tigers, the political refugee group in Sri Lanka. His revolutionary

views were beginning to make headway, while Mathangi lived in London and continued

studying. When being interviewed about the political affiliation of her father, Mathangi

seems rather incredulous.

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The singer states that she has no current connection with her father, even though

the majority of her music is politically influenced from warfare occurring in Sri Lanka.

She states that her father was making major success in the revolutionary era, and was on

the path to making a final contract with the Sri-Lankan government to end the national

warfare. However, this deal fell through, and Arul Arulpragasam, (her father) was facing

utter defeat. In his discouragement he left the rebel group and ended up in London. He

currently resides there, and writes politically affiliated books about the issues occurring

in Sri Lanka. It’s interesting that both father and daughter are using different forms of

popular culture to spread awareness about social issues and political movements

occurring in their home country.

However, Mathangi would argue that her own revolutionary views were not as

inspired by her father as some believe. M.I.A. states that he own political stance began

while attending a college in London, (Wheaton 2006: 36). Upon arriving in London,

M.I.A. tried to forget the violence that occurred in Sri Lanka. This is common of many

post-war refugees. However, this is especially true of Mathangi. When she was only 7

years old, the singer was shot during a violent school shooting, from a political refugee

group. Even though Mathangi repressed the memory, she began to settle in with a

political community of Sri-Lankans in London. However, she became unsettled by their

viewpoints, and felt it was time to speak up for Tamils, stating "The ’needy’ deserve a

voice of their own,” (George 2009: 44).

In order to create that voice, she decided to produce politically influential music

and began to spread awareness about the social and political issues of Sri Lanka. The

singer argued that Sri-Lankan Tamils do not have a voice in international politics;

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therefore she would become the voice and speak out about the politics occurring in Sri

Lanka. The singer personally states, “This is the only opportunity I have had to do

something about the genocide in Sri Lanka and I’m seizing that opportunity,” (George

2009: 44). Since then, M.I.A. has been producing politically influential popular culture,

such as the song “Paper Planes”.

The song “Paper Planes” is an example of how popular culture has created

political influence in the world. It pertains to the frustrations of post-war refugee and

other immigrants like M.I.A. The ‘dark-toned’ lyrics of the song spread light on issues

such as the Iraqi War. Both of these political issues led the American audience to accept

the song, and even nominate it for Record of the Year, (Nekesa Mumbi n.d.).

“Paper Planes,” was featured in Slumdog Millionaire and made the Top Ten,

(Nekesa Mumbi n.d.). At that time, it was Mathangi’s most politically influential song.

The singer stated, “I came out on some sort of political edge, and I was inspired by the

politics that were going on at the time,” (Nekesa Mumbi n.d.). Some of the politics that

were going on at the time included the war in Iraq and the song “Paper Planes” also

pertained to the frustrations of immigrants and post-war refugees, (Nekesa Mumbi n.d.).

It was inspired from M.I.A.’s personal struggle of receiving a long-term work visa

in the United States (Nekesa Mumbi n.d.: n.p.). Her visa application was denied due to

her father’s affiliation with the Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers. This made Mathangi believe

that the American audience would not accept the song “Paper Planes”. However, the song

influenced politics in the United States, and Mathangi believes this is because the general

worldwide audience is becoming “more conscious,” about the political violence

occurring throughout the world, (Nekesa Mumbi n.d.: n.p.). When questioned about the

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acceptance of the song, M.I.A. stated that she believed the audience would say ‘Oh my

God, this song is so violent,’ however, she was surprised to see the song had actually

sparked political influence due to the war overseas.

Popular culture is influencing general audiences every day. This is especially true

of the younger audiences who listen to the revolutionary music from international pop

stars, such as M.I.A. This has created a more ‘conscious’ audience aware of the social

inequality caused by war and moral injustice. Her father and her own background

inspired Mathangi’s personal political affiliation, which allowed her to create music such

as “Paper Planes”. These forms of popular culture have been accepted by the American

audience, and even led to political influence during the Iraqi war.

CENSORSHIP WITHIN THE MEDIA:

It’s possible that these forms of popular culture are too influencing on general

audiences, which is why they have, in some cases, been removed from social media and

other forms of Web 2.0. For example, M.I.A.’s video from her album Born Free was

removed from many broadcasting sites like YouTube, and M.I.A. has been censored from

the press and then considered as a terrorist. Web 2.0 and printed media are forms of

popular culture that the media can use to censor what the audience is viewing. It is also a

way to sway the public’s view of a particular artist and the message trying to be received.

Censorship of popular culture occurs within Web 2.0 and the press, which can be

considered a threat to democracy.

“The Internet and social media enable activists and others to challenge myths and

stereotypes,” (Easteal, Keziah, & Holland. 2015: pp.103). It is a benefit that some forms

of Web 2.0 have enabled audiences to challenge the stereotypes seen in the American

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media. Singers and other artists of popular culture are attempting to spread the word

about moral injustices. One way that M.I.A. attempted to spread the word about moral

injustice was through broadcasting the video portrayed in her album, Born Free, This

album was considered highly controversial and ended up being removed from the major

broadcasting site YouTube. By censoring the video, the American audience is unable to

gain awareness about the issues occurring in Sri Lanka. Another issue is that by

censoring the video, the media is exposing M.I.A. as a much more controversial character

than she really is. Censorship over the internet also leads the press’s opinion to be

swayed, which leads to even more articles to be published about the subject.

Since this video is so explicit, it was actually censored or in some cases removed

by its target audience. Popular cultural forms, such as YouTube removed the video from

its website. YouTube is the most viewed form of broadcasting on the Internet. By

removing the video, the media-broadcasting conglomeration is actually censoring what

the audience is seeing. It’s true that YouTube will remove a video if it displays violence

or nudity.

However, it’s possible that the video was also removed, because it portrayed the

true situation of our military and political affiliation. The U.S. military is assisting with

’genocide’, granted it’s not genocide of redheads, but it is an ethnic cleansing of Tamils.

Perhaps, the media conglomeration does not approve of exposing the truth; therefore, the

video has been removed by all websites. Since the video has been removed by most

websites, it has caused Manthangi Arulpragasam to be considered one of the most

controversial characters of the hip-hop industry.

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The American company, Google, is used by most of the American population as a

reliable international search engine. However, Google currently owns the broadcasting

site YouTube. This is another form of the media conglomerating, which leads to less

options for the audience to view forms of popular culture. When YouTube censors

videos, it typically means that the video is considered inappropriate due to being either

high violence or high nudity content. Even though the album Born Free fell under both

categories, it was no different than that of the majority of hip-hop videos featured on

YouTube. By removing the video, M.I.A. gained even more negative attention. This led

the target audience to misunderstand the video even more. The audience was not able to

receive the true message the video was trying to portray, because of media censorship.

Perhaps, the media was too concerned that controversial videos like these would spark a

social movement here in the United States.

The censorship of media online, can lead to more censorship within the press. The

press, such as newspapers is only releasing articles and photographs. These articles can,

at times, state their own opinion, and portray a story in a certain way. This is another way

that forms of popular culture are being censored. Audiences are only being told one side

of the story, which will influence their opinion. By using M.I.A. as a case study, the press

released two mainstream articles that seemed to sway the public’s view of the

international pop star. The first article was released by a Canadian newspaper, which

stated that M.I.A. was attempting to “incite violence,” which could create political

change, (George 2009: 44). The second article was by the New York Times, and accused

the artist of terrorism, (George 2009: 44). This is a way that the press is attempting to

sway the public opinion. This was directly post 9/11, when the US was in a state of sheer

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anti-terrorism. By considering a singer in popular culture as a terrorist, the audience

would be immediately turned off by any political change that singer was trying to

influence.

Censoring media within Web 2.0 and the press can undermine political change.

Some extremists argue that this is considered a threat to democracy, because it is

violating the right of freedom of speech. “For mediated communication, free speech

involves the promotion off diversity in speakers, topics, audiences, and modes of

address,” (Kenyon 2014: 155). When Web 2.0 is being censored, which includes

broadcasting sites such as YouTube, it is violating the ‘mode of address’. Some videos

may be removed due to the topics being addressed. If other users feel the topic is

offensive, they may report the video to have it removed.

When Mathangi Arulpragasam’s video was featured in the album Born Free, it

was removed from the website YouTube. Many believed this violated the diversity in

speakers, because M.I.A. is not an American pop star. It also violated the diversity in

topics, because the video was attempting to spread awareness of the ‘genocide’ occurring

in Sri Lanka. However, instead of the video being able to promote awareness about the

topic, the staff of YouTube, which is also staffed by the company Google, deleted it. The

message was exploited through the press, and misinterpreted by the audience.

By using censorship in a combination of both Web 2.0 broadcasting sites and the

press, the media is conglomerating to ensure that a targeted audience only sees one side

of the story. This ensures that the general public does not influence political change that

interferes with the conglomeration’s media agenda. This is because the audience’s

opinion has either been swayed about a particular incident or character, which

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demotivates the audience to influence political change. For example, the international star

M.I.A. was censored from broadcasting sites such as YouTube. She was also portrayed as

a terrorist in several articles found within the press. This type of censorship shows only

one side of a controversial character, causing the targeted audience to misinterpret the

message and have less of an impact on the political change being influenced by popular

culture.

CONCLUSION:

Although some companies may try to censor popular culture, it will still have an

impact on the audience to influence political change. These political changes may come

in the form of a social movement, as seen with the background of Sri Lanka. This

analysis of popular culture and it’s influence on politics was able to provide a better view

of the issues in Sri Lanka, the political influences seen there through pop culture, and the

actual censorship of these political subjects within the media. The struggle of ethnic

cleansing has been a part of the history of Sri Lanka, and has greatly affected many

Tamils there. By using international pop star Mathangi Arulpragasam as a case study; a

correlation between pop culture and political influence was made.

Even though activists such as M.I.A. have attempted to spread awareness of these

issues, they are still censored in the media. Media censorship has been considered a threat

to democracy, and it occurs due to media conglomeration. It’s crucial for international

audiences to analyze the messages that various forms of popular culture host. This way

other forms of media cannot distort or censor it before the viewer manages to interpret

the true message. Even though the United States has ideals such as freedom of speech,

some speeches can be very influential and at times deceiving. This is why some activists

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are attempting to spread awareness through popular culture, because it is one of the most

influential forms of communication and can spark global international change.

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