{"id":1552,"date":"2019-04-02T02:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T02:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2019-04-02T02:00:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T02:00:51","slug":"childish-gambinos-this-is-america-an-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/assignments\/music-power-politics\/childish-gambinos-this-is-america-an-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Childish Gambino&#8217;s This is America: An Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I still remember the first time I watched the music video of <em>This is America. <\/em>It was sometime last year; I was getting ready for bed and decided, foolishly, to watch this trending video on Youtube. I stayed up an hour later than I wanted to because of how disturbed and uncomfortable I was after watching the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Warning: This video contains graphic content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video)\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VYOjWnS4cMY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donald Glover (otherwise known by his stage name Childish Gambino<em>) <\/em>released the <em>This is America <\/em>and the accompanying music video early May last year. Known for its political stance on gun violence, police brutality and racism in America, the song debuted at number one on <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/8455823\/childish-gambino-this-is-america-no-1-hot-100\">Billboard <\/a><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/8455823\/childish-gambino-this-is-america-no-1-hot-100\">Hot 100 chart<\/a>, won four prestigious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jasonbisnoff\/2019\/02\/11\/this-is-america-wins-grammy-award-for-record-of-the-year\/#6ae55d44561a\">Grammy<\/a> awards, and has nearly 520 million Youtube views today. The one-take music video, directed by Japanese-American filmmaker Hiro Murai, generated so much attention that <em>TIME <\/em>magazine even released an <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5267890\/childish-gambino-this-is-america-meaning\/\">article<\/a> analyzing the different strands of symbolism found over the short four minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the sake of research (and a solid thesis), I decided to experience <em>This is America <\/em>two different times:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1) Listening to <em>This is America <\/em>on its own while reading the lyrics <strong>without the music video<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2) Listening to <em>This is America <\/em><strong>with the music video<\/strong><em>while reading the lyrics <\/em>(some would call it multitasking)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon my experiment, I can wholeheartedly say that the accompanying music video certainly increases the impact of the political message embedded in the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SHOTS FIRED: THE PLAY BETWEEN TEXTURES<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This is America\u2019s <\/em>most recognizable feature is arguably the stark textural contrast between different textures of the song. The song opens with inviting \u201cyeah-yeah-yeahs\u201d by the choir, some fun guitar accompaniment, and the catchy use of call-and-response. This cheerful introduction is immediately interrupted by an invasive bass (rooted in <a href=\"https:\/\/rateyourmusic.com\/genre\/Trap+Rap\/\">Trap<\/a> music) and Childish Gambino\u2019s \u201cThis is America, Don\u2019t catch you slippin\u2019 up\u2026\u201d. The juxtaposition of musical genres provide a jarring, uneasy feeling that perhaps mirror the disjointed American society that we live in today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"418\" height=\"262\" src=\"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-1.png 418w, https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-1-300x188.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murai utilizes this discomfort and elevates it on a whole new level: the video begins with a man playing the guitar in a warehouse and Glover dancing to the (deceivingly) joyful song\u2026before he pulls out a gun and shoots the man wearing a head cover and hand cuffs to open the trap section of the song. Perhaps the man is a reflection of those who are wrongfully accused of a crime due to the color of their skin. Perhaps it\u2019s a statement on how easy it is for people to access a gun. Regardless, <em>what a statement<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DANCING AND VIOLENCE: ENTERTAINMENT AND IGNORANCE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout the music video, Childish Gambino is seen dancing with school children (smiling in a way that sends shivers down your spine) throughout the warehouse as violence and gang activity break out around them. Fires, people running, police cars and horses\u2026 you name it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"545\" src=\"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-3-1024x545.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-3-1024x545.png 1024w, https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-3-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-3-768x409.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These shots send an incredibly powerful strong message about entertainment and how the majority of society approach racism, police brutality and gun violence today. The fact that Childish Gambino and the children are dancing in the midst of violence without a sense of reality is incredibly oblivious, almost as if they are choosing to ignore issues that affect millions of African-Americans everyday. Not only does such visuals draw viewers in, but it further accentuates the song\u2019s political innuendos.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WAIT, THERE\u2019S MORE: WHAT IS WITH THIS ENDING?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"542\" src=\"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-4-1024x542.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-4-1024x542.png 1024w, https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-4-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image-4-768x406.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The video ends with Childish Gambino running away from a dark room (with <a href=\"http:\/\/ https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/arts-and-entertainment\/wp\/2018\/05\/07\/this-is-america-breaking-down-childish-gambinos-powerful-new-music-video\/?utm_term=.a92c20e3e348\">some<\/a> recognizing it as the mental prison that black people get sent to in <em>Get Out<\/em>) from a group of authoritative figures. Wide-eyed and scared, Glover is running into an abyss with no light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\">You just a black man in this world, You just a barcode, ayy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\"><em>You just a black man in this world, Drivin&#8217; expensive foreigns, ayy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The declaration of the video to African-Americans is clear: <em>You can, and never will, escape America.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I still remember the first time I watched the music video of This is America. It was sometime last year; I was getting ready for bed and decided, foolishly, to watch this trending video on Youtube. I stayed up an hour later than I wanted to because of how disturbed and uncomfortable I was after &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/assignments\/music-power-politics\/childish-gambinos-this-is-america-an-analysis\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Childish Gambino&#8217;s This is America: An Analysis&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[466,271,469,112,470,467],"class_list":["post-1552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-power-politics","tag-childish-gambino","tag-music-video","tag-police-brutality","tag-politics","tag-racism","tag-this-is-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1552"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1558,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions\/1558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}