Paper Planes

**Paper Planes**

**Background:**

M.I.A, whose birth name is Matangi, is the daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s Tamil armed resistance. Her family hid from the government during the civil war and eventually moved to London, where she changed her name to Maya. She created the stage name, M.I.A, when she presented herself as a global music artist. Passionate about how immigrants are seen and her own journey, M.I.A. protests against people’s preconceived notions about immigrants in this song, such as the belief that immigrants don’t contribute successfully to society. The goal of “Paper Planes” is to satirize Americans’ perceptions of Third World immigrants.

In writing "Paper Planes", M.I.A. and Diplo sampled "Straight to Hell" from The Clash. “Straight to Hell” aims to convey how the band felt regarding treatment of Third World immigrants in the United States and Great Britain. The lyrics begin with the shuttering of industrial North England’s steel mills - an economic crisis that lead locals to grow to dislike their immigrant coworkers. As a result, the locals told the immigrants "There ain't no need for ya / Go straight to hell boys." The song’s focus later shifts to Vietnam and how children born from American soldiers and Vietnamese mothers were denied the ability to emigrate to America. As the song continues, the focus shifts again to the run-down neighborhoods of New York City, referencing the city-born residents’ desires for the Puerto Rican immigrants to stop moving into the Lower East Side.

**Lyrics and Meaning:**

1) “All I wanna do is(gun shots)/ And(cash register ching)/ And take your money”

* These two lines serve as a main portion of the song’s chorus, making it the most memorable part of the song for a lot of listeners. Essentially, the first line conveys the message that many believe that immigrants coming into the U.S. are only there to stir up violence, which is why there are gun shots sounds included. Furthermore, the second line conveys the message that many might think that immigrants only come to take the jobs and money from the “hardworking” legal citizens that around these immigrants. This message is strengthened with the cash-register noises that are included.

2) “If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name”

* This line shows M.I.A’s frustration in obtaining a work visa in the U.S. Although there might be better resources that allow immigrants to obtain a work Visa, it is not enough, creating a waitlist, making it increasingly hard to obtain a Visa. Additionally, this could also reference how M.I.A’s character in the song is a Visa counterfeiter, having multiple Visas in “her name”.

3) “Being poor is a disease, gotta hustle up a cure”

* This showcases how in M.I.A’s eyes, living in poverty is something that is considered  a “disease”, something that is contagious and instills fear. Furthermore, as an immigrant, M.I.A. has pressure on her to better herself as well as those around her, which is why she feels as if she has to come up with a “cure” to the disease that is poverty.

4) “You the police and we is the robbers/ You need more than them helicopters to stop us”

* These lines showcase how the public is essentially enforcing this stereotype towards immigrants, making society turn against these immigrants more than ever. Essentially, immigrants are the “robbers” while the “police” represents the portion of society that is anti-immigrant. Furthermore, these lines represent how M.I.A. feels that there is a divide in society when thinking about immigrants. However, M.I.A. goes on to state that the immigrant community is so powerful that the anti-immigrant community will need a larger force to tear away the established immigrant community.

5) “We worldwide worried with the hunger and the thirst, From the third world countries to the second and the first”

* Here, M.I.A. conveys how there are people all around the world that are worried about having inadequate resources such as food and water. These people reside in all types of countries, from third world countries to even first world countries. Essentially, M.I.A. is trying to state that although she’s in the United States, she is still worried about not having food on the table or even water to provide her family or herself.

**Impact/significance:**

Paper Planes peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, spawning a mainstream hit that captured the general public due to its catchy tune and hard-hitting message. Although this song was a hit, it was met with

backlash due to its pro-immigrant message with many trying to essentially “boycott” the song. As the popularity of the song increased, the message of the song spread. Many began to realize the life that an immigrant might face in the United States such as a lack of government aid when trying to acquire a Visa, or lack of jobs that are available due to citizenship status. However, the popularity of the song only increased,

allowing for many to begin to comprehend the struggles that immigrants face regarding the stereotype that is associated with them. Now, this song has become a viral “TikTok” where people dance and lip-sync to the song. Although the “TikToks” that have been made with this song don’t convey the message that M.I.A. intended to convey, the viral “TikToks” allow for the song to reach a wider audience.

**Fun Facts:**

* M.I.A has a documentary about her life and this song in particular titled “Matangi, Maya, M.I.A”, which won the Sundance film festival and was nominated and won several other awards. The documentary follows her journey from Matangi, the daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s armed resistance, Maya, a girl who immigrated to London, and M.I.A, a global pop star.
* M.I.A. has produced other politically-centered music, such as her 2016 song “Borders” that was inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, and the song “Visa”, also released in 2016, which aims to target the American immigration policy.

**Modern-day Significance:**

Immigration, especially illegal immigration, is very prominent in society. Due to the influx of immigrants, many people try to find other ways of coming to the U.S. such as making fake Visas, overstaying Visas, or simply finding a way to cross the border. Additionally, the market for fake Visas is still prevalent, with many immigrants willing to pay thousands of dollars to find a way to leave their home country. Furthermore, the stereotype of immigrants coming to the U.S. and being violent, stealing, or simply causing trouble is still relevant. Our current president referred to Mexican immigrants as being “bad people”. Thus, the message of Paper Planes is still relevant in today’s society.

**Reasons we selected this song:**

This song is often misunderstood as something that perpetuates immigrant stereotypes when its goal is to do the opposite. Since this song came out when we were kids, we did not understand what the lyrics meant. With its revival of popularity through social media, we became interested in learning about a song from our childhood and wanted to spread awareness of its true meaning. Additionally, this song is recently going viral on multiple platforms such as TikTok, where people make videos lip-syncing to the song. Although these viral videos aren't trying to convey the message that M.I.A. is trying to convey, the song definitely stuck out to us.

**Sources:**

Henry, Dusty. “Straight to Hell on a Paper Plane: How MIA's Clash-Sampling Breakout Hit Became a Generational Anthem.” *KEXP*, 2 July 2019, https://kexp.org/read/2019/2/7/straight-hell-paper-plane-how-mias-clash-sampling-breakout-hit-became-generational-anthem/.

“M.I.A. - Paper Planes.” *Antiwar Songs (AWS)*, 5 Dec. 2013, https://www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?lang=en&id=46176.

“M.I.A. – Paper Planes.” *Genius*, 11 Feb. 2008, https://genius.com/Mia-paper-planes-lyrics.

“MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A.” *MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A.*, https://www.miadocumentary.com/.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “Paper Planes Meaning.” *Shmoop*, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, https://www.shmoop.com/mia-paper-planes/meaning.html.

Thompson, Ben. “MIA's Paper Planes Turns Globalisation inside Out.” *The Guardian*, Guardian News and Media, 15 June 2011, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/mia-paper-planes.