Kaitlin Emmanuel | The Political and the Popular in the Era of M.I.A.

Fifteen years prior to her emergence on the global music scene in the early 2000s, the artist Maya Matangi Arulpragasam, otherwise known by her public persona M.I.A., fled Sri Lanka’s escalating war with her family. She arrived in London around 1985, the same year that Tamil asylum cases were being debated in British Parliament. The timing of her move offers perspective on discussions about the political context of her work, namely escalating violence in her family’s home in Jaffna between the Sri Lankan Army and Tamil militant groups, and the curtailment of Tamil asylum cases in the United Kingdom.

Music criticism often dissects her refugee biography to assess the success or authenticity of her politically-charged lyrics and visuals. Though her music generated significant praise for its innovative sound, the explicit references to Tamil militancy in Sri Lanka led to accusations that she is a terrorist sympathizer, politically naive, or an opportunist. Rather than clarify or reconcile M.I.A.’s individual political motivations, Kaitlin Emmanuel (Yale University), examines her categorization as a “political” artist in both criticisms and celebrations of her work. This approach requires attention to competing understandings of what constitutes the “political,” not only in the sphere of popular culture, but also under the conditions of an increasingly diminished public sphere in which the image of a universal liberal democracy so clearly superseded democratic practices.

Image caption: Molotov Coke bottles used in the Arular artwork. Stamp on canvas and linoleum, 2005. As published in Maya Mathangi Arulpragasam, M.I.A. (New York: Rizzoli, 2012), 24–25.

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Co-hosted with: Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies, Program in South Asian Studies (OWNER)

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