Rhetorical Analysis

The Bigger Picture by Lil Baby

First off, I would Like to say that the video or song I chose was “The Bigger Picture”. A song written by Dominique Jones or also known as American rapper “Lil Baby”. This song is mainly about George Floyd and the issues with police brutality in the year 2020. It also supports the Black Lives Matter movement. The visual elements in this video are all over the place but it is so useful and supportive of the point the of the video. In the video it shows clips of African Americans getting abused by the police, shows clips of people rioting, also shows clips of people having peaceful marches to prove their and get it across. In video it also, goes back in fourth to black and white and then color to put more emphasis on the topic Black Lives Matter. What I see in a visual statement of a person with a lot of clout and fame behind their name, fighting for what he believes and what he stands for. The visuals are of real high quality and very realistic with the clips and videos they show of people getting abused and harmed also, with them fighting back and standing on what they believe by marching and protesting. Well, the history or providence of this video was basically made because of what was happening in our world. In the year police brutality was a big topic in the news all through the year. The main topic being George Floyd who was killed by a police officer by having his knee in his throat and not giving him the chance to breathe. The video was produced by Noah Pettigrew and Section 8. I could not find who the videographer was of the video, but the video was produced by a company of the name Keemotion. Logos was presented in this video by stating the logic of doing the right thing. George Floyd was treated the wrong way, and the video underlies what should have been the solution. Pathos was introduced by using videos and clips of disturbing scenes of what happened to George Floyd, these images were used for people to feel bad and feel the emotion behind the song. Ethos was used in this song by using emotion and passion with the lyrics. The lyrics are very powerful and if you listen to them, they will hit your heart and you will feel the pain behind the song. What does the video mean to me? Well, this video represents what people like me are being treated. Me being an African American Male I have a burden on my back already. This video just shows me how this world will treat me and how they look at me. This video also makes me look at reality in a different perspective. It makes me think, hey some people just don’t like me just because of my skin color and in my opinion that is just not right at all.  So, to just bundle up my point. This video just lets me know how people like me are treated in some places of the world. “The Bigger Picture.” What ‘s going on in the video? The perspective of the rapper in the video will be described in this paper.  He sees everyone in anger and tears fighting for the right thing and to be treated equally. There are tons of people marching and holding signs reading “Black Lives Matter”. Most of the people around him are from the African American descent. Everyone in the video around him has a role to play. Some are holding signs with encouraging words on them, others have words and phrases to attempt to make a point across to the Police community. When you look around you will see plenty of people rioting or breaking into stores, you will see people marching down the street, see people riding bikes or hanging their heads out the window with signs in their hands. You will also see people with cameras taking pictures and videos to capture the moment in history that they are making. Other aspects in the video you will is family members and police officers arguing and fighting. You also will see signs made from cardboard that read the names of people that were killed by police officers. The signs also had messages of things that the people wanted in their life like equality and better healthcare. If you watch the video, you will notice all the people always around the person I am describing, he always has a supporting cast around. What else would you see in this video and their perspective? You would also see people that are not black but are white supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.  My opinion about this topic is that People of the African American descent is automatically looked at differently by certain police officers not all but certain. And when those certain officers' approach African Americans, they seem to have the need to be extra precautions and feel the need to do extra steps to being protected without even being in any harm or danger. In an article I found about George Floyd it talks about how he was killed, the ethics of Minneapolis Police Department and how they are taught to make an arrest. It also talks about the tactics and training they were taught and the correct way they are supposed to make an arrest. It also shares a 45-minute video talking and explaining the incident. With all the details and the insides of the Minneapolis Police Department and what they went through. Some opinions throughout the scene would be different from others. But my opinion is that the police officer is wrong and was out of character for his actions. He had no reason to have his knee placed on George Floyd’s neck without him even breathing or showing responses to him. And I feel like lots of other people would agree with my statement. But at the end of the day this act was not ethical, and he should be paying his dues for his actions, behavior, and the problems he caused in the African American Community.

  Death of George Floyd/The Response That Might Have Been. In the Line of Duty,, 2022.

Lil Baby - The Bigger Picture (Official Music Video)

Works Cited

Death of George Floyd/The Response That Might Have Been. In the Line of Duty,, 2022.  

Page Description: This page is my Rhetorical Analysis and it is a writing we had to complete about a song we thought was very meaningful and important into something we believed.