In her new video, “Window Seat,” available for free at her website, Erykah Badu strips naked in public. But not just anywhere. She does it in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where JFK got shot. See, it’s not exploitation: It’s a political statement! You can read about it here, though you should wait until after you see the video to prevent spoilers.
The problem is that it’s boring. Excruciatingly boring. I’d rather watch Avatar a second time than this video. (I hated Avatar, if you couldn’t guess. Pretty images; brain-destroyingly stupid script.)
Does a political statement have to be mindless, boring, and shocking? Shouldn’t it be more?
Or do you think she said something sufficient to make her point?
Considering I had no idea what Dealey Plaza was, I certainly wasn’t expecting the ending of the video to occur as it did. It built tension over the course of the song (Would she go all the way? What if there were children around? A music video wouldn’t show that would it? for a few of the thoughts), and then explanations and then WHAM! Out of nowhere, stuff happened and talking.
It’s not an awesome video, but I think it did manage to hold my attention and make me think, as it basically used sex to send me one way, and then jerked me off the path and made me think about something else instead.
Would it make a difference if you knew that it is a shot for shot remake (until the ending) of “Lessons Learned” by Matt and Kim in which Matt and Kim get undressed in exactly the same way in the middle of Times Square? (The camera switches from front to back at the same point at well.) That’s from 2009 and it made MTV’s Craziest Concepts list so it’s not exactly obscure or forgotten.
Heh, never seen that video either (don’t have a TV).
Though I liked that video for the police grabbing them at the end though it did seem to be a bit over-aggressive which makes me wonder if it was planned or not (as they did let them both go), but thought the ending was a bit silly (the bus cliche.).
:shrug: It’s just art for me. I didn’t find either video boring (though I did skim the Matt and Kim Video), but it’s not like either video blew my mind but I’d say I enjoyed them both for what they did.
I think it was an interesting video in itself. However, I read that she had hoped to get arrested, to make the video more interesting. I consider that just plain trolling, so that really brings down my opinion of her as an artist. I hope she ends up paying that fine quietly with as little publicity for herself as possible.