In the "Window Seat" by Erykah Badu
Apr. 5th, 2010 03:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kitewithfishErykah Badu's concept for this video is thoughtful and visually stunning. It was an uncomfortable watch, primarily because I kept being distracted by the reactions of the people caught in the one-take public shot. Ms. Badu, however, was stunning, poised, and powerful, just walking down the street alone.
My favorite description of a small woman of incredible personality and poise is that "she made everyone else in the room feel like gangly giants," and that's the kind of reality-altering power that this woman has as she walked down the street removing her clothes. Everyone else around her looked uncomfortable and out of place, while she looked like a queen.
This is not really a blog where I talk about popular issues or public debate- mostly I'm in it for the analysis, the art, and the random moments where I can just really let my brains pour out. But Window Seat is, in both song and visuals, a stunning project, and I really do think that this is excellent work. This makes me want to look up the rest of Erykah Badu's works and music and see what I've been missing.
The end of the video is shocking and, in my opinion, does not seem to garner the attention it deserves. Yes, there is a naked Black woman walking down the street, but what Badu uses her nudity to symbolize here (inner strength and honesty to the world about her beliefs) is commendable- the actions of the unseen gunman are not. The parallels to JFK are obvious but never the less still striking.
My favorite description of a small woman of incredible personality and poise is that "she made everyone else in the room feel like gangly giants," and that's the kind of reality-altering power that this woman has as she walked down the street removing her clothes. Everyone else around her looked uncomfortable and out of place, while she looked like a queen.
This is not really a blog where I talk about popular issues or public debate- mostly I'm in it for the analysis, the art, and the random moments where I can just really let my brains pour out. But Window Seat is, in both song and visuals, a stunning project, and I really do think that this is excellent work. This makes me want to look up the rest of Erykah Badu's works and music and see what I've been missing.
The end of the video is shocking and, in my opinion, does not seem to garner the attention it deserves. Yes, there is a naked Black woman walking down the street, but what Badu uses her nudity to symbolize here (inner strength and honesty to the world about her beliefs) is commendable- the actions of the unseen gunman are not. The parallels to JFK are obvious but never the less still striking.
