Analysis: Breaking Down Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ Music Video
Brace for impact.
Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, dropped a new music video for his song, ‘This is America.’ In the span of ten days, the video racked up more than just 129 million views— it also racked up controversy.
After watching the music video, both long-time Gambino fans and newcomers looked past the singing and dancing and saw something else: a possible deeper meaning behind the music video. Here is the breakdown of the talk that has been trending on social media.
The music video begins with a man sitting in an empty warehouse, whom many viewers incorrectly suspected was Trayvon Martin’s father. The man was actually Calvin The II, a Los Angeles artist.
The camera then spins to Glover who holds a gun up to Calvin’s head that has been covered by a bag and proceeds to shoot him. Social media quickly recognized a striking similarity in Glover’s stance while holding the gun— it mimicked a photo of Jim Crow. In fact, many of Glover’s expressions and body movements connect back to the image of Jim Crow.
“Glover’s character, who appears to represent how white American culture oppresses black people, periodically kills innocent performers,” The Washington Post said.
The music video received some backlash for normalizing death and black violence in order to convey a message. Other representations in the music video include the 2015 Charleston church massacre, police brutality and blacks Americans’ “socioeconomic and political mobility.”
‘This is America’ has shaken viewers, making important commentary on the relationship between the black community and American culture, regardless of Glover’s specific intent.
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