Rhetoric of Protest Rough Draft

Anna Stone

Dr. Brown

ENG 306

23 February 2016

Saudi Arabian Protest through Western Pop Culture

        Music is an art form that transcends borders and can carry a message simply through sound waves. An artist that frequently uses her music to make protests and political statements is M.I.A, the stage name for British/ Sri Lanka singer Mathangi Arulpragasam, also known as Maya (Hirschberg). M.I.A. is known for the controversial political statements made in her music. In 2012 M.I.A. released a music video for her song “Bad Girls” that sparked various conversations through her use of Saudi Arabian culture and protest of the Saudi Arabian ban on women driving. The Women to Drive movement was sparked by Wajeha Al-Huwaider in 2008 when she posted a video of herself driving, and encouraged other women to do the same (Al-Huwaider). Saudi Arabia is the only Islamic country that does not allow women to drive, frustrating women in Saudi Arabia (Zuberi). Al-Huwaider explains her reasoning for standing up to the ban “there is nothing in the Koran that forbids driving. No, the reason we are not allowed to drive is that the power to transport ourselves would give men much less control over us” (Al-Huwaider). The “Bad Girls” music video shows empowered Saudi Arabian women driving cars, protesting against the driving ban. M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” music video utilizes pop culture in order to make a statement for the Women to Drive campaign in Saudi Arabia. 

The purpose of the “Bad Girls” music video is to champion Saudi Arabian culture and women. The director of the music video Romain Gavras discussed the intentions behind the depiction of Saudi Arabian culture in the video “The idea was to compile Arabic references fantasized or not, into a pop video” (Noisey). By doing this it is deviating away from the American pop image of white people and fashions, and introducing the idea of Saudi Arabian culture as equally acceptable and cool. The video also gives a platform to bring awareness to the Women to Drive movement. “Bad Girls” is a hip hop song about a woman driving a car and doing stunts, which is seen as a specifically male activity in Saudi Arabian culture. The song lyrics automatically connect with the movement and showing women in cars in the video is a reiteration of this.

The “Bad Girls” music video portrays Saudi Arabian dress, culture, practices, and protests, such as the Women to Drive movement. The music video is set heavily in a Saudi Arabian context, which is needed to be able to see its connection to the movement. In the video men are portrayed in traditional thobes, white ankle length tunics, and traditional headdresses with red and white checked cloths called a gutra (“Traditional”). The video begins showing a group of men in traditional dress hanging out of a van. This image is shown before the name of the music video, the artist, or the director. In doing this it immediately establishes a Saudi Arabian identity with the viewer. The context of this culture is needed to interpret the next few images of women in traditional dress sitting in the passenger seats of cars. Without this context it is unknown that a woman should not be driving a car, and the connection to the protest would be lost.

            The “Bad Girls” music video had the ability to be spread to countries around the world through the use of YouTube, and reached many different audiences. The intended audience that would understand the reference to the women-driving ban in Saudi Arabia is most likely people in Saudi Arabia and other closely linked Middle Eastern countries. Women in this country watching the video would be able to see a powerful artist making a statement about empowering women, and be given confidence to join the movement as well. However M.I.A. is able to bring this culture and movement to a secondary audience, her fans around the globe and tell them the protest behind the video. The implicit message is one of the non traditional ways this video conveys protest.

            The “Bad Girls” music video is an unconventional form of protest that utilizes imagery in order to convey its message, along with the traditional protest forms of pathos and kairos. Pathos is used through the hip-hop aspect to the song and the fun activities portrayed in the video. The Saudi Arabian traditions of drifting, driving a car on two wheels, and skating, hanging onto a car door and putting your feet on the ground while the car is moving, are both portrayed in this video (MIAVEVO). These images convey rebellious dangerous and fun activities that make the video entertaining to watch. These images use pathos by appealing to the audience’s excitement to make them interested in the material, and subsequently the movement.

            The use of kairos is the most prevalent protest imagery conveyed through this music video. The image sequence is placed precisely in order to convey the message for the Women to Drive campaign. The video begins without the song “bad girls” in the background, but with an instrumental, and at the 15 second mark shows a car surrounded and filled with women, including a woman in the drivers seat (MIAVEVO). This initial start to the video is the opportune time to portray women in cars, establishing a connection with the campaign. Another important factor to this image is the body language of the women, they have their arms crossed, and all are facing the camera. The body language conveyed here is one of power and intimidation. At 17 seconds the camera then zooms in to the faces of individual women standing outside the car, staring directly at the viewer (MIAVEVO). This image is a powerful portrayal of Saudi Arabian women, not the typical victim stance that is given by Western media. These women are strong and determined, emphasizing they will have their own impact, no one has to do it for them.

However the use of protest in the video may not have been the most effective. Many people in Western countries such as Britain and the United States may be unaware of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and the movement that was active at the time to repeal it. Even those who were aware of the affiliation with the Women2Drive movement, dismissed it in favor of the culture depicted in the video “‘Bad Girls’ also championed the “Women to drive movement” in Saudi Arabia….But the real draw of the behind-the-scenes video is the car tricks themselves” (Kreps). This blatant dismissal of a profound political statement may be due to the celebratory nature of Saudi Arabian culture in the video. For specific audiences the context behind the “Bad Girls” music videos message is clear, however for others it may not convey the same message. In 2012 many viewers believed that M.I.A. was appropriating stereotypes of Saudi Arabian culture through the images of desert and guns, and others saw it is as an empowered female artist pushing pop culture boundaries by celebrating a Middle Eastern culture.

   “Bad Girls” won music video of the year at the British MTV Music Video Awards, which gave it an immense amount of exposure, along with the women to drive movement. This award proves the music video achieved its purpose of making a profound statement in pop culture. The videos depiction of female drivers worked with the Women to Drive movement in Saudi Arabia to empower women to take a stand against the law. The imagery used in the music video was used as a protest against the law that prohibits women from driving. Although the message may not have effectively reached a secondary audience, it broke barriers with the portrayal of Saudi Arabian culture in mainstream media.

 

Works Cited

Al-Huwaider, Wajeha. "Fighting for Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

Hirschberg, Lynn. "M.I.A.’s Agitprop Pop." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 May 2010. Web. 2

Kreps, Daniel. "How M.I.A. Captured the Wild Car Tricks in ‘Bad Girls’ Video | SPIN." Spin. SpinMedia, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

MIAVEVO. "M.I.A. - Bad Girls." YouTube. YouTube, 5 Feb. 2012. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yuqxl284cg>.

Noisey. "M.I.A. - "Bad Girls" (Official Behind the Scenes)." YouTube. YouTube, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6-sNTOhYnU>.

"Traditional Dress of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The Lovely Planet. The Lovely Planet, 22 July 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

Zuberi, Hena. "The Rosa Parks of Saudi Arabia: Women Challenging the Ban by Driving." MuslimMattersorg. MuslimMatters, 22 May 2011. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.