Superbowl Halftime Show - M.I.A. Flips the Bird

[Saurian Tail]

Discuss.

[Saurian Tail]

The Show ...

[82_28]

Hmmm. I was working, so didn't really get a chance to see the whole show, but I was wondering what would come out of the spectacle this time, akin to the obvious intentional "wardrobe malfunction". And there it is. Haven't checked Goro or secretsun for their "bullshit" yet about the meanings of the symbols used in the show, but something was in play and I defer to them.

What I really, really fucking hate is that the Superbowl is nothing more than spectacle combined with very little "game". There's something about it that feels "dirty" and this is coming from someone who is able to parse the warrior/war/propaganda/evil marketing aspects of the NFL and just the game in general from himself, being a total anti-war rigorous intuition dweller.

[Saurian Tail]

Haven't checked Goro or secretsun for their "bullshit" yet about the meanings of the symbols used in the show, but something was in play and I defer to them.

Probably going to have a field day with stuff like this:

[82_28]

Haven't checked Goro or secretsun for their "bullshit" yet about the meanings of the symbols used in the show, but something was in play and I defer to them.

Probably going to have a field day with stuff like this:

Oh, fuck yeah they will. Holy shit. I didn't see that!

[Bruce Dazzling]

Christopher Knowles is calling it Madonna NeFiLim 2012.

[Jeff]

Christopher Knowles is calling it Madonna NeFiLim 2012.

But here again we're seeing ancient ritual motifs taken not from the "Mystery Schools" as some historical illiterates might have you believe, but from their opposites; the elite cults of state, with their pomp and circumstance and their regimentation and militarism. This is straight out of the Temples of Jupiter and Juno on Vatican Hill, and the meaning, message and desired outcome behind it is exactly the same. "World Peace," indeed. More like "Pax Romana."

[Stephen Morgan]

[Stephen Morgan]

Christopher Knowles is calling it Madonna NeFiLim 2012.

But here again we're seeing ancient ritual motifs taken not from the "Mystery Schools" as some historical illiterates might have you believe, but from their opposites; the elite cults of state, with their pomp and circumstance and their regimentation and militarism. This is straight out of the Temples of Jupiter and Juno on Vatican Hill, and the meaning, message and desired outcome behind it is exactly the same. "World Peace," indeed. More like "Pax Romana."

The most prominent mystery cult was the Eleusinian mysteries, a cult comprising the elite of Athens and entirely a "state" cult, in that it was associated with Athenian nationalism. Only the cults to the murdered Populares Caesar and Marius really stood in opposition to the state in the ancient world. Barring the Jews, who the Romans had a few problems with.

[kelley]

the iconography is utter kitsch and devoid reference to or involvement with elite magick, in the sense that it's nothing but illegible pastiche. there's no message here; it's just the cladding of an empty spectacular edifice. madonna made no effort to disguise her performance as anything but fake, which i thought endearingly honest. she teetered around on her heels looking like she feared a fall would break her hip. harmless and quite charming actually, and i'll say it-- 'vogue' is an absolutely monster jam.

i recognized MIA only in a fleeting instance, and thought she was a lookalike instead of the genuine article. i suppose this might be interesting.

i actually thought the entire program from pre-game to post-game was completely empty, not in the typical denigrating way 'empty' is used, but in at each move was reflected nothing but the exhaustion of a very, very tired and admittedly unimaginative culture. the domed stadium prohibited the typical flyover. the ads all sucked. the cuts to the bewildered jarheads watching in an afghan camp were pathetic. i hate football, but the game itself was actually good, and the pats got their comeuppance. not the expected narrative, so that's a letdown too, at least for the MSM sports commentators. last night was easily the most ignominious picture of american might presented as entertainment in the forty-five years of super bowls. this is all quite apropos, of course.

[NeonLX]

Wow. I didn't even know who M.I.A. was until I read this thread and did some googling.

Now I think I'm in love...

Didn't watch the game (I hate football) but caught a little of the half-time show. Missed this part of it apparently.

[wordspeak2]

Embarrassed that I hadn't heard of her either.

M.I.A. has become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos and her cover art. Her politically inspired art became recognized while she exhibited and published several of her brightly coloured stencils and paintings portraying the tiger, a symbol of Tamil nationalism, ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and urban Britain in the early 2000s. Lyrics on Arular regarding her experiences of identity politics, poverty, revolution, gender and sexual stereotypes, war, and the conditions of working class in London were hailed as new and unorthodox, setting her apart from previous artists.[28][38] The album references the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Tamil independence movements and features culture jamming, multi-lingual slang, strident and subtle imagery. Her albums' social commentary and storytelling have incited debate on the "invigoratingly complex" politics of the issues she highlighted in the album, breaking taboos while the West was engaged in the 2003 Iraq War in the Middle East during the Presidency of George W. Bush.[6][43][135][136] Government visits to her official website following her debut album's release in 2005, and a US refusal to grant M.I.A. a travel visa coupled with her brief presence on the U.S. Homeland Security Risk List in 2006 due to her politically charged lyrics led to her second album Kala being recorded in a variety of locations around the world.[7][129][137][138

M.I.A.'s consistent addressing of several conflicts and oppressed peoples around the world, including the Tamils, Palestinians and African Americans has been both heralded and criticized.[158] M.I.A. notes that the voicelessness she felt as a child dictated her role as a refugee advocate and voice lender to civilians in war during her care

So what's with the middle finger? A little shot at the evil empire spectacle of it all? I'll just take it that way.

[Simulist]

Discuss.

Wait a minute. How is this not a "wardrobe malfunction"?

(In fact, it's so bad, I hadn't even noticed the finger.)

[wordspeak2]

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=15521243
While M.I.A. has offered no official comment on why she threw up a middle finger during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, a source close to the rapper told ABC News Radio that her actions were caused by "adrenaline and nerves," a result of getting "caught up in the moment," and "weren't an attempt to make any kind of statement."

Not sure I'm buying it, though. Fingers don't flip themselves.

[Simulist]

But who cares?!