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Fifth Column
New Prince Video Rocks Terrorism
2004-10-12
EFL.
Prince,
formerly known as "the Artist Formerly Known as 'Prince,'"
now a Jehovah's witness, has toned down his mojo, but the Purple One can still pack a political punch. His new music video, "Cinnamon Girl," is a big-budget production that follows the hardships and confusions of a teenage Arab-American girl in a post 9-11 America.
Y'see, teenage Arab-American girls have it hardest. Teenage Khmer-American chicks have it easy. Teenage Hmong-American girls have it easy. And teenage Mexican-American girls. Indian-American babes? Pfeh! Piece o' cake! And we won't even mention teenage Irish-American, or African-American, or Italian-American girlies, or the garden variety Heinz 57 girls...
It stars hot babe Keisha Castle-Hughes ("Whale Rider") who concludes the video by imagining herself detonating a bomb in a crowded airport terminal. . . .
It'll happen eventually. We don't need to be reminded of the fact. No doubt the video wouldn't have "packed a political punch" if it had shown the girlie throwing off her headscarf and spurning marriage to her cousin Mahmoud to run off with a Knickerbocker Episcopalian named Brad to live in Nantucket. That artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince sure is a deeeeep thinker...
Prince sings, "Cinnamon girl mixed heritage/ Never knew the meaning of color lines/ 9-11 turned that all around/ When she got accused of this crime." Disillusioned and angered, Castle-Hughes' character detonates a bomb in an airport terminal, exploding herself and others. However, a reverse motion immediately following the explosion reveals that it is only a thought of hers.
Oh. That makes it OK, I guess.

Discuss:

1. Does a music video depicting suicide bombing make you more or less likely to buy the record?

2. Does the individual formerly known as "the Artist Formerly Known as 'Prince,'" truly think it will sell his records, or is he just making a "daring statement" to get in good with the cool kids and/or get in the newspapers?

3. Who at the record company is going to get fired for green-lighting something this sand-poundingly facile?
Posted by:Mike

#7  BH, LMAO. Very true.
Posted by: Matt   2004-10-12 1:39:07 PM  

#6  ... if they were midgets.
Posted by: tu3031   2004-10-12 1:38:08 PM  

#5  Oh, now I remember... this guy was Liberace and Little Richard's love child
Posted by: lex   2004-10-12 1:35:36 PM  

#4  Who at the record company is going to get fired for green-lighting something this sand-poundingly facile?

Except that Prince has his own record company now ... npgmusicclub.com

(Btw ... saw Prince in his most recent home-town concert series in the Twin Cities this past summer. He is extremely entertaining in concert. However, the new CD -- Musicology -- doesn't have much good to it. "Cinnamon Girl" is one of the more coherent/enjoyable *melodies* ... too bad the lyrics went astray.)
Posted by: ExtremeModerate   2004-10-12 1:22:58 PM  

#3  Who's "Prince"? Wasn't he a backup singer for Cyndi Boy George?
Posted by: lex   2004-10-12 1:07:11 PM  

#2  Matt: and vice versa. ;)
Posted by: BH   2004-10-12 1:04:37 PM  

#1  I think the less time I spend inside Prince's head the happier I'm going to be.
Posted by: Matt   2004-10-12 12:54:15 PM  

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