This video an example of how art (here, music and dance) can be used for social movements
With respect to the art shown here, it’s an example of how traditional art forms like karnatic music and bharathanatyam, which traditionally are performed in unique venues with exclusive access, can be democratized.
It illustrates how words that are used in a derogatory way (Poramboke in this case) can be reclaimed by a community.
It’s an example of how change can happen from a grassroots level with messaging about how It’s all of our responsibility, versus large organizations coming down to “save” communities
It addresses how we tend to value certain types of landscapes over others
It directly illustrates how poor communities are at the front lines of environmental degradation.
From the creators: “Poromboke is an old Tamil word meaning shared-use community resources like water bodies, seashore and grazing lands that are not assessed for tax purposes. Today, it has become a bad word used to describe worthless people or places. Chennai Poromboke Paadal is part of a campaign to reclaim the word and restore its worth.”