POPSCREEN: M.I.A. - "Bird Flu"

Watching “Bird Flu,” the latest video from ineffable refugee-turned-pop-star, M.I.A., is a disorienting experience that leaves the viewer reeling and wondering when biological terrorism got to be so trendy.

Named for its lethal drumbeat and infectious lyrics, the video for “Bird Flu” sends the native Sri Lankan back to her roots for a low-budget production that could double as the M.I.A edition of MTV’s ‘Cribs.’

While prancing in a tie-dyed shirt and policeman’s badge, M.I.A. leads a gyrating pack of six-year-olds in a wild parade down the streets of a third world country (presumably Sri Lanka). The children and livestock egg her on, and she grinds back at them. They shout their approval, and she tosses chickens about like confetti while impishly spitting out salty one-liners like, “Bird flu gonna get you / Made it in my stable.”

Rapid-fire editing and hand-held footage amplify the disorienting effects of the video’s jarring music and absurd images. “Bird Flu” is one messy tumble toward chaos, and M.I.A seems completely at home in the fray. Her demeanor—spastic and aggressive yet nonchalant—is at once totally natural and totally badass. Dancing frantically in bare feet, she giggles about, “making bombs with rubber bands,” daring anyone to fuck with her, as she’s an “outlaw from the badland.”

What a trendsetter, what a role model. That M.I.A is too damn cool.

—Nayeli E. Rodriguez