this post contains no serious spoilers (important story info about a tv episode that will spoil/ruin your viewing experience if u haven’t seen it yet).
but……if like me, u didn’t read about pussy riot‘s participation in season 3 of house of cards on-line, then actually the title of this post is a bit of a spoiler.
masha & nadya of pussy riot (star traks photo)
because i hadn’t read anything about it, i was surprised and juiced to see a pussy riot cameo (brief appearance by somebody recognizable) in episode 3. nadezhda tolokonnikova (nadya) and maria alyokhina (masha) were arrested for performing an interrupted punk prayer (the song mother of god–kick out putin) at the cathedral of christ the savior in moscow in 2012.
they served more than a year in prison before being granted amnesty in december of 2013.
the closing credits of the the house of cards episode includes a new song, don’t cry genocide written and performed with members of the american electronic punk band le tigre
the lyrics are heavy with the punk feminism pussy riot is known for…..
the fatherland is built on compliance
from the bedroom to global finance
women make the best traitors
strikers, refusers we’re bitches by nature
compliance means following the rules. traitors are people who betray; in the song, people who go against the fatherland.
tolokonnikova sees don’t cry genocide as
an international english-language song which is devoted to the militarization of society and to american drones in particular
a drone attack & its impact on the ground (pakistan.com.pk, cnn.com)
specifically, the lyrics talk about drones like this
fuck me with your big hard drone
kill my whole family, I don’t wanna die alone.
pick us off one at a time
so the u.n. won’t cry genocide
in this context, the idea of pick off is kill in the style of a sniper or with the precision that supporters of drone attacks claim. it contrasts with genocide, the systematic destruction of an entire ethnicity. the u.n. is the united nations.
and keeping it efl, nadya said this about singing in english
it was hard as hell to learn all these english phrases
click here to read le tigre member johanna fateman‘s account of the don’t cry genocide/house of cards experience with pussy riot. to read the complete lyrics of don’t cry genocide, click here.
fun english practice 
richyrocks english on youtube
have u seen house of cards? what did u think of pussy riot’s cameo? what is your opinion about drone strikes or the other issues that the lyrics to don’t cry genocide bring up? share your opinions under leave a reply
Comments
have fun, amigos.
