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CULTURE

‘Land Of The Free’, New Border Wall Anthem by The Killers and Spike Lee

“I love my country, these are complicated issues” but that regardless of political affiliation, “you’ve gotta believe we can do better,” – Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers.

Acclaimed film director Spike Lee joined forces with rock band the Killers to create a music video that comments on the current border control crisis between U.S. and Mexico.

Filmed late last year at the U.S.-Mexico border, it includes footage of migrant families being tear-gassed by U.S. border patrol agents during an incident in late November.

Other images captured in the video are a migrant caravan, a tent city for asylum seekers, and rubber bullets that were used against civilians. Finally, the video ends with an image of an upside-down American flag hanging on the current border wall.

Director Spike Lee is no stranger to socially-conscious projects throughout his illustrious film career: last year’s BlacKkKlansman was a critical smash, earning accolades for its depiction of a true story of a black detective who posed as a Ku Klux Klan member.

The Killers’ lead singer Brandon Flowers revealed that he asked Lee to direct their new music video after watching BlacKkKlansman and Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing.

Having directed music videos for artists such as Public Enemy, Lee returns to the format with the Killers’ new song, “Land of the Free.”

It is the multi-platinum-selling band’s first new music since their 2017 album Wonderful Wonderful.

On the track, lead singer Brandon Flowers sings about mass incarceration (“We got more people locked up than the rest of the world/Right here in red, white, and blue/Incarcerations become big business,”) gun control (“So how many daughters?/Tell me how many sons/Do we have to put in the ground/Before we just break down and face it?/We’ve got a problem with guns,”) and Trump’s proposed border wall.

The Killers have mostly stayed away from politics since becoming superstars in the music scene over a decade ago, but Flowers explained why he felt compelled to make a stand artistically.

In an Instagram post this week, Flowers explained his motivation behind the new song—referencing the epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S. and racial injustice.

“We dishonor our values, our ancestors, and our heritage when we tear gas our brothers and sisters seeking asylum,” he wrote. “I see my family in the faces of these vulnerable people. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that my grandmother and her family immigrated from Lithuania to escape the U.S.S.R.’s oppression.”

“I love my country,” Flowers ended his post with, saying that he knows “these are complicated issues” but that regardless of political affiliation, “you’ve gotta believe we can do better.”

Screenshot of migrant caravan from The Killers Land Of The Free music video

Screenshot of migrant caravan from The Killers Land Of The Free music video

 

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