ESC

Indian Cover of Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ Outs Unilever for Poisoning Their City

Wanna stay hip to the news and know how large corporations are screwing over humans and the planet with no regard, this time? Watch “Kodaikanal Won’t”, a parody / cover of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”Smart, citizens of Kodaikanal, India. Way to know that the best way to trick people into knowing about the plight of your home is to coat it with well-produced pop culture; that’s thinking.

As the video states in a short forward of text, Kodaikanal has been just completely screwed over by the corporate giant, Unilever, who dumped toxic mercury in Kodaikanal, poisoning its workers and forest. You know, mercury, the stuff that is odorless and non-irritating, but the small amount found in a broken thermometer can cause harm. The company has spent the last 14 years doing nothing about the contamination, including giving no compensation to workers and their families, despite sitting on their high horse of corporate social responsibility.

The video itself parodies Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and has so much participation that it seems it had nearly the same budget. This parody tells the story of Kodaikanal’s frustration with the corporate behemoth disregarding the safety and minimal living standards of the town. The mercury was necessary for a thermometer factory Unilever set up in the town and, according to the video, they claimed the factory was safe to the environment and plant workers.

Now, the song is maybe not the catchiest thing ever, but there is a lot of dancing and backflips, so that’s good. If you were thinking, “let’s all avoid their products!”, good freaking luck. Look on the back of pretty much any plastic bottle you own to see their happy little, we love to make money, “U” logo. Feel free to check out their little selection of brands here. Basically, hopefully you live off the grid so you can avoid the company, but since you are probably currently using the Internet, again, good luck.

Since an outright ban would present some difficulty, consider signing the petition at kodaimercury.org. As the song states, “Now that’s some toxic s**t.”

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
V
V
8 years ago

I come from that part of India. Thank you for covering this :). I have been a fan of this website for around 8 or so years. Makes me really happy!