How Mumford & Sons missed the point and lost a fan

ARTICLE: Camden in a positive light?

A little over a week ago, a music video of the song "Whispers in the Dark" by the British Isles folk group, Mumford & Sons, went public. An article praising it and its positive portrayal of Camden was in the news media right after. It was filmed at the Waterfront. The article states that "After a prime-time network feature, last week, focused on Camden's poverty and crime, Perno says the video sends a very different message. 'I'm hoping viewers will take a look at it and say there's something interesting about Camden City,' he says, 'and maybe it's a place I would like to go to."

For the last few months, I have known that I'm stressed out with wedding planning and thesis work only because my left eye has been twitching mercilessly, otherwise, I have been successfully repressing those feelings for the sake of "just get it done." But this music video ruined all of that. 

I had been able to handle the NBC Nightly News article and all of the horrid commentary, but I was unable repress the intense emotions that surfaced after watching this video. I retreated to the bathroom and cried my eyes out, furious with these musicians that I used to really enjoy and now cannot listen to without feelings of resentment and bitterness surfacing. For all of their lyrics which seem to have a somewhat Christian, social justice message, they totally missed the point and an opportunity to really say something important and meaningful about Camden to the rest of the outside world. Instead, they glorified the Camden Waterfront, a tourist attraction created by outsiders with millions and millions of dollars that the citizens still haven't received any benefit from. They even featured the Camden Aquarium which spent $25 million a few years ago so they could add hippos to the attraction. Let me just make sure I drive that point home: $25 Million Dollars on HIPPOS while over 50% of the houses in Camden have been declared unlivable. 

And here come Mumford & Sons glorifying all of that, probably without even meaning to, but these days I am less inclined to accept "ignorance" as a valid excuse. I don't care if you are British. Only days before this video went public the national NBC Nightly News story came out about how Camden is the poorest and most dangerous city in America and if you didn't bother to do your research before coming in and doing a huge concert and perpetuating the perspective that wealthy, white outsiders are the only people trying to do some good in the city that is not anyone's fault but your own. I'm angry and disappointed with this group, because not only did they perpetuate this perspective that is so dehumanizing and harmful for Camden's citizens, but they missed out on an opportunity to present an artistic piece that showed the REAL beauty of Camden. 

I mean, what impact could they have had on the outside world if they, instead of riding their motorcycles around Camden at night, walking around on the Battleship, showing footage of jellyfish, and getting ready for their sold-out concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center, they had spent time with community members? What if they had shown the way that the Camden people honor their dead and care for the grieving in the midst of the violence, the way they sit on the stoops and talk to each other, the way they work in community gardens, the way they throw summer block parties and children play in the fire hydrants, the way small business owners serve their customers, or the way they play loud Spanish music in the middle of the street while they are fixing their neighbor's car. Those are the real Whispers in the Dark, the whispers of the Divine working in a city that has great darkness, but also real moments of glorious light. Why didn't they show that Camden? 

Maybe because, like most outsiders, they might get close enough to look, but not close enough to see, touch, smell, taste, and hear.

You can read the full article about the music video here:http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/11/camden-goes-glam-as-location-for-hot-new-music-video/#respond

You can watch the music video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNaM-N1NdGo

These are some of the comments from the article:

i<3camden • 11 hours ago
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Although I agree with Perno's thought that through this video a good light is shone on Camden and people may decide Camden could be a place to potentially visit, I think that the NBC news broadcast on the city was incredibly important.
There's a lot that needs to be fixed before Camden will ever be a great place to visit (and I say this as one of Camden's biggest fans). There's nothing more that I want than people to know and love Camden, but it's just that, I want them to know and love the city- not the waterfront that was clearly developed without much of the people of Camden's involvement and input. It's barely Camden and is more of an extension of Penn's Landing in Philly (not saying that's a terribly horrible thing).
But with Coopers Ferry persistence in saying Camden's a great place to visit and live without addressing the major issues that are keeping the large majority of the city in utter poverty, there's going to be no real change and Camden will continue down the same path it's on right now.

word association • 9 hours ago

Cooper's Ferry is correct. Camden IS a great place to visit. I do it about once a week. Thousands of out-of-towners enjoy the city's artistic, musical, historic and educational venues. Thousands more miss out, because of comments like yours. Yes, Camden has "major issues". So do New York and Philadelphia. But tourism hasn't slowed down there. Perhaps you haven't visited Camden for a while. You are more than welcome.

i<3camden • 6 hours ago

I'm actually visiting in June, so will be coming very shortly!
I used to live in Camden for two years. To compare it to Philadelphia and New York is extremely off-base, unless you compare Camden directly to specific parts of North Philadelphia or the South Bronx in NYC. NYC and Philly both have a diverse population spanning all socio-economic classes, whereas Camden, not so much.
I'm a huge advocate for people to go and visit Camden. But I want them to visit Federal Street for Mexican food, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in South Camden, or 7th street right downtown to see the beautiful mural depicting the city.
Unfortunately, many people perceive those areas to be more dangerous than they actually are. Yes, you may need to be more careful than if at the Waterfront, but at least these places are true to Camden's identity as a city.
All I'm saying is that Cooper's Ferry is jumping ahead of what needs to happen first before true economic development can occur in Camden. Basic needs of the people need to be met, which would have a direct effect on crime in the city. Once that happens maybe we can go ahead and heavily promote the downtown waterfront tourism and living options.