Paper Planes- M.I.A
M.I.A. often uses her music and art to address issues related to war, violence and political turmoil. Her interest in these issues is largely due to her father’s involvement in the political uprisings of his native Sri Lanka. Free Paper Planes takes this social awareness in a new direction by addressing issues of city life and urban violence. It offers stories of people working awful jobs for little money, only to be relegated to life in unsavory neighborhoods. It was a surprising move, because in the context of Paper Planes MP3, the gunshots aren’t meant to glorify violence. M.I.A. has reportedly stated that the song’s use of the sounds of guns (and cash registers) in the chorus can be interpreted as either the sounds common to a bad neighborhood or as an indictment of a political system based around the sale of arms both at home and abroad. In the video, M.I.A. stars as an immigrant who sells bread. There are also shots of M.I.A. and a group of her friends walking down a New York street. Gunshots make the song impossible to ignore and it is lyrically angry and world-weary at the same time. In the video, several paper planes fly over New York City. M.I.A. appears as an immigrant who sells sandwiches from a van to several other New Yorkers. At the sound of the gunshots, quick shots of street signs, people, and restaurant signs appear.
