Wow! When I first heard this song on the radio, I hated it. Watching the video has not changed my mind. As a music video, the whole point would be to illustrate the song. In turn, the artist hopes this would make more people go buy the album. Judging by the language in the song and the people she has in the video, I would assume her target audience is urban youths and young adults who like to make money. Being that money is a very strong motivator for most people, her audience can be pretty widely dispersed. She constantly displayed a cash register filling and refilling with money. That, in addition to the “cha-ching” sounds embedded in the chorus, seals in the money-hungry aspect of the song.
I don’t include myself as part of the target audience because the thought of chasing money has ZERO appeal to me. I understand that money is necessary for survival in this day and age, but it is NOT my single motivating factor in life. The video, as well as the song, repulses me. I don’t like to see other people loving money and needing it, the way MIA and the other people in the video seem to do. However, I do like the metaphor of “flying high like paper, getting high like planes”. The content is trash, but, in a sense, it’s clever trash.
As I mentioned, money is not the driving force in my life, so the song does not appeal to me. I actually think it’s childish and immature. This is also the main reason I don’t consider myself as a part of the target audience. The beat and music of the song also irritates me, plus I don’t generally listen to that type of music. I was not even impressed by the outfits in the video. She completely lost me as a target, in all aspects of her message.
Before hearing the song and viewing the music video, I had not read MIA’s biography. After reading it and gaining insight into her background, I now understand the motives behind her songs. She fled her native country, Sri Lanka, during its civil war and has experienced many prejudices as a result. Coming to America, she probably expected to have a better life, but found that most of American society is governed by the amount of money on possesses. So, she decided to sing about what most Americans think anyway. I must commend her for capitalizing off of what it common thought among her peers.
One of the most common ways to reach the general audience with music, besides being on the radio, is through a music video. Once it gets out there, there is almost a guarantee that someone will share it with their friend, who in turn will share it with someone, etc. I believe it is very effective; being that the video is on YouTube, has been on various music video shows and has been generally publicized by word-of-mouth. Since the concept of money is widely acknowledged, I don’t see how this particular video could damage that viewpoint. If anything, it strengthens the argument that everyone needs money. The more you acquire, the better. People are so obsessed with having more than the next person, anyone with a music video or song about getting paid is sure to reinforce these desires.
India Arie is one of my FAVORITE artists. She is a free spirit, whose music betrays that exuberant quality in her personality. She isn’t the traditional Black artist that sticks to hip hop or rap music. I like that she goes against the grain. I think, in her own way, through her music, clothes and hair, she implies that everyone does not have to conform to the norms set up by the hip hop industry. Since I was raised as a nerd among people who thought it was cool to be ignorant, I really like that she makes it okay to stand out in the crowd.
Wow! i really liked your approach toward the video. By including your strong perspective your blog post is very interesting and catched the attention of your readers. Good job!!!