When Viktoria Modesta's video for "Prototype" asks viewers to "forget what [they] know about disability," they best take heed. For what unfolds is totally and completely badass.
Modesta is a Latvian/British singer/songwriter and model who, in 2007, opted for voluntary below-the-knee amputation to safeguard her health after years in and out of doctors offices. After making waves in the music and fashion industries across the pond, Modesta is ready to bring her influence stateside, with "Prototype" acting as her introduction.
Some may find broadcasting company Channel 4's decision to package her as the "world's first amputee pop artist" problematic. Why use her disability as a gimmick and not let her music speak for itself? That argument is valid, but if we're going to question Modesta's packaging, we can not not question other pop artists who use their sizable, erm, assets to get noticed — no matter how good their actual music may be.
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Modesta could choose to hide her disability, deny a certain part of her, and continue to produce music and music videos. Instead, she has opted to embrace her disability and disrupt pop's status quo. Not only does she make her prosthetic leg visible, she draws attention to it by wearing prosthetics that are bedazzled, glow in the dark, and sports a fiercely metallic one that comes to a point. She has made it her signature asset — much like Nicki Minaj did with her booty.
In doing so, Modesta has set an example for those with a disability; she has shown you can be a star with or without the ideal the pop mainstream bows to. There is no "disability" here — just a pure, badass talent that's not taking no for an answer.