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Music Videos That Matter
Posted on October 28, 2004
Here at the Media That Matters Film Festival we celebrate shorts that inspire action and debate. We also know that powerful media can take many forms — documentary is a great genre for making an argument for social change, but a comedy, video game or music video can pack an equally mighty punch and potentially reach audiences who would usually tune out.
In this year's Festival, we highlight Martina Radwan and Moira Demos' Spring in Awe. Straddling the genres of experimental film and music video, the short juxtaposes the mesmerizing displays of Times Square with a unique version of the song I Put a Spell on You performed by singer/belly dancer Natacha Atlas. The song, layered with the stunning lights and the messages of war displayed by the digital tickers, convey a slew of new ideas about war and peace, globalism, commerce, and capitalism.
"I have begun to believe in myself." An Indian woman takes control of her life in Mann Ke Manjeere: An Album of Women's Dreams.
In previous years we have featured the Lower East Side Girls Club's amazing Rebel, which combines whimsical stop-frame animation by young women with a thumping soundtrack. And some of you may remember Mann Ke Manjeere: An Album of Women's Dreams, a music video about women's liberation in India produced by Breakthrough.
Music has itself been an unstoppable force in countless movements for social change, but in this multimedia day and age with Web streaming and MTV in so many US homes, more and more music videos are being used as instruments for reform. Here are a few high profile examples:
Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network (producers of Copwatch from last year's Festival) recently directed a music video for Eminem's song Mosh. Using innovative animation techniques, the piece is a searing indictment of the US war in Iraq and a call for young people and all people to storm the polls this November.
At the center of some controversy is a new music video for Prince's song Cinnamon Girl. Directed by Phil Harder, the video features the struggles of an Arab-American teenager dealing with bias in a post 9/11 world. The controversy stems from the videos depiction of a terrorist act. But defenders point out that this happens within a dream sequence and that it underscores the girl's confusion and frustration. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee applauds the piece:
Eminem's animated alterego registers to vote in Mosh.
Prince's video may be misinterpreted by some as either rationalizing violence, or promoting dangerous stereotypes about Arabs and Arab Americans, but the artist should be credited with raising serious and difficult issues. Although a music video may not be the ideal format for exploring these sensitive and complex themes due to the time length, this video should be fairly clear to those who watch it carefully. Much like the many media treatments of youth and violence following the Columbine massacre and other violence in American schools, Prince's Cinnamon Girl video is a laudable effort to confront a number of very serious issues, many of which go ignored by the rest of the entertainment industry.
Another recent music video of note is Sarah McLachlan's World on Fire. While the song's lyrics are not overtly political, the video is a refreshingly self-reflexive exercise that asks "What would happen if the standard $150,000 production budget of a music video was used to help people around the world?" The answer: a whole lot of good including the building of wells, delivery of medicines, education and training and much more. While Sarah plays guitar and sings her song in a modest room, the video shows us how the budget was spent to help children and adults in communities of need around the world. In this case, the impact of the video was ingrained in its making.
With their popular appeal and numerous outlets for distribution, music videos are a great way to shake things up. And with so many music superstars focused on record sales and image, it is comforting to know that some of the biggest names in hip-hop, folk and R&B are not afraid to mix entertainment and politics.
The budget of Sarah McLachlan's World on Fire music video went to charities in developing countries.
We encourage you to watch these films and channel your emotional responses into action. Follow the Take Action links on the Festival site and, of course, GET OUT AND VOTE!
Do you have a music video of your own to share with the world? Submit your short film with a message to the fifth annual Media That Matters Film Festival today!
Watch, Listen and Take Action...
Music videos mentioned in this article:
Martina Radwan's Spring in Awe
Lower East Side Girls Club's Rebel
Breakthrough's Mann Ke Manjeere: An Album of Women's Dreams
Eminem's Mosh
Prince's Cinnamon Girl
Sarah McLachlan's World on Fire
More music videos with a message:
Jay Z's 99 Problems
Nas' I Can
Christina Aguilera's Beautiful
TLC's Unpretty
Goldfinger's Free Me
Moby's That's When I Reach for My Revolver