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"This Is America," song and video, were released by popular rapper, Childish Gambino, on May 6th, 2018. Immediately, the video created immense amounts of talk on all social media outlets. His video is seen as art, creatively displaying the stereotypes of blacks in America, while also showing everything wrong with America and gun violence. Gambino's video tastefully uses symbolism to highlight problems in America today.
-Gambino takes on the persona of Jim Crow while displaying through lyrics and through the music video the stereotypes and contradictions of black people in America. Although he has mannerisms similar to Jim Crow, his outfit choice is very specific and thought out. The two chains around his neck represent slavery, while his unsual looking pants are actually part of a confederate soldiers uniform.
-After Gambino shoots the man in the chair, someone runs over to grab his gun with a red cloth and take care of it, while no one pays any attention to the victim. This can symbolize the republicans in America having more care for guns that peoples’ lives.
-The video background shows outrageous amounts of gun violence and riots, while Gambino in the foreground continues to do popular dance moves as he makes his way through the scenes all in one take.
-In one short scene a man in the background is riding across the screen on a white horse. This is a biblical reference that is used to symbolizes the apocalypse.
-Gambino begins with lighthearted choral/gospel music that, after the first gunshot goes off, is immediatelly juxtaposed to trap music and the first rap lyrics of the song: “This is America/ Dont catch you slippin’ up”. Showing two very different styles of music that seem to be stereotypically associated with blacks in America.
- The massacre of 10 choir singers in the music video is most likely comparing to the Charleston shooting in 2015 where Dylann Roof killed nine black people in the basement of their church.
-The dancing, riots, and teens on their phones throughout the video represents the different ways the people have dealt with the gun violence issue. These coping mechanism can be considered distractions towards the problem, redirecting the focus towards entertainment instead of coming face to face with the reality of America today.
-At the end of the video, Gambino runs for his life through the darkness as the lyrics “You’re just a black man in this world/ you’re just a barcode” continues to play. Most simply, this has been compared to the commmon theme of African Americans having to run for their lives and for their freedom.
-This ending scene has also been compared to the “sunken place” in the horror film “Get Out.” The darkness symbolizes their opression and the feeling that they can’t move, do, or say anything about it for the fear of being ridiculed, attacked, or misunderstood. Gambino is fiercely trying to escape the sunken place.
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