{"id":3636,"date":"2013-09-28T15:34:55","date_gmt":"2013-09-28T19:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arts.umich.edu\/ink\/?p=3636"},"modified":"2013-09-28T15:34:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T19:34:55","slug":"%e2%80%9cicona%e2%80%99s-ball%e2%80%9d-insight-or-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/2013\/09\/28\/%e2%80%9cicona%e2%80%99s-ball%e2%80%9d-insight-or-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Icona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ball\u00e2\u20ac\u009d: insight or violence?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

I know Icona Pop through frat party spectacle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, angsty\/mainstream dance parties, clubbing, working out–basically every occasion of my life can be narrated by, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T CARE, I LOVE IT.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or really just \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care . . . .\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n<\/span>Due to the nature of this song, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect much from Icona Pop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s newest song\/video combo, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All Night.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I was looking for another outlet for my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153poor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d angsty privileged self where I can thrive in my suburban ennui, hiding in my one bedroom apartment inside of my full-size bed. But I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued, and full of feelings. I love song-screaming and I love new anthems but there were just so many damn feelings, so little time. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched the video over and over and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell <\/span>how <\/span>exactly I feel.
\n<\/span>On one hand, the lyrics make my heart beat faster and I feel that it magically matches the video. Now while the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153official video edit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (<\/span>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0FWRT9C9XMQ<\/span><\/a>) is \u00c2\u00a0palatable for the average YouTube viewer estranged from queerness in general (coming in around 3 minutes), the better \u00e2\u20ac\u0153official extended video\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (<\/span>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LNuNJLlq8eQ<\/span><\/a>) is what really packs the punch–around 5 minutes of personal narratives, the names of the participants (NAMES! SUBJECTS! HUMANS!), and glimpses of people in and outside of the Ball. Lived experience oozes through the pop anthem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s video and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re being sprayed with a bottle of champagne. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty magical.<\/span>
\nBut is Icona Pop really paying tribute? And even if they intend to, are they really respecting and not exploiting the Ball scene, queer people, people of color, queer people of color, etc.? Is this trying to reach an audience (obviously) just to raise more profit and have more sales? DOES EVERYTHING STILL SUCK?<\/span>
\nI support the Ball scene getting publicity if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it wants. I support all of them having their shining moment for not only the people in the room but the 270,000+ people that have not and will probably never go to a Ball. I support Ball Culture.<\/span>
\nBut on the other hand, I feel guilting going into the space as a viewer without any real interaction with the humans whose lives depend on the Ball for happiness, community, and solidarity. My gaze is different from the average viewer because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m queer but my other salient, privileged identities still hold when viewing it. Part way through I feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m watching this beautifully orchestrated video that Capitalism has created: something that seems inclusive of Ball Culture in all of its queerness and diversity but something that is still a bit terrifying. I feel like this video is equating my life with those of the participants and say that I, too, can have this shining day. While this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a bad message I feel like a message of equality is not what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking for. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking for a respectful celebration of difference where I get to celebrate people. That often does not include me, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ok. <\/span>
\nThe extended cut makes the video purely magical. Although it is no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Paris is Burning\u00e2\u20ac\u009d nor is it intending to be, the video portrays the hope and joy found within Balls and I think Icona Pop really show that through their intense, repetitive lyrics and rhythms that there is no room for any option besides a constructed paradise, a better life.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know Icona Pop through frat party spectacle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, angsty\/mainstream dance parties, clubbing, working out–basically every occasion of my life can be narrated by, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T CARE, I LOVE IT.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or really just \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care . . . .\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Due to the nature of this song, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect much from Icona Pop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s newest song\/video […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[339,340,341,338,343,342],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3639,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions\/3639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}