How “This is America” by Childish Gambino Became one of the Most Influential Songs and Videos of the Year By Devyn Ryan, Lauren Namovich, and Maggie Plotzke
The Music Video • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY This influential music video has many allusions to social justice issues in America, including massacres caused by lack of gun laws and the injustice the black community has faced. “This is America” was also the first rap song to win Song of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards. This was monumental because of the messages the song is about, and the fact that the song became so popular so quickly, shows that America is longing for the change that Childish Gambino raps about in the song.
Images from the Video
In this shot, this shows how we treat victims of violence, especially those of color, by forgetting about who they were after they’ve been murdered and moving onto the next violent massacre.
The many dance sequences shown in the video come after something violent just happened, like a shooting or a car on fire. This shows how America “sugarcoats” or moves on quickly after something traumatic, like a mass shooting happened.
More Images
This image represents the church shooting in Charleston that happened in 2015. Dylan Roof killed nine African Americans because of racist motives.
At the very end of the video, Childish Gambino is seen running from a group of white people, who could be seen as counter protestors of the Black Lives Matter movement. This conveys how a lot of fears black people have about their day to day lives stems from the violence white supremacy brings.
Childish Gambino is seen throughout the whole video making weird faces and putting his body in weird positions, but this shows how black people were portrayed in the media back when Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Black people were drawn as over exaggerated, ugly cartoons with awkward facial expressions and unnatural body positions.
Twitter Feed People of every color and every walk of life praised Childish Gambino for making such a brave song and video. It caused an uproar of tweets, from fans and celebrities alike, about how important the song is and how it’s one of those songs that makes you think deeply about the world we live in. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/donald-glover-this-is-america-reactions/ https://www.much.com/childish-gambino-video-this-is-america/
Article This article does a good job of breaking down the meaning of the music video. It mentions that when he shoots the choir and then looks at the camera and says “this is America�, he is referring to a massacre that happened in a church and how nothing drastic was done about gun laws after it. The article thinks the main idea of the song is that people are too concerned about the right to bear arms and not concerned enough with all the lives that have wrongfully been taken by police officers. Another theme in the music video is white supremacy because at the end he runs away from a lynch mob of white people. https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/05/the-real-meaning-behind-childish-gambino -this-is-america-video/
Conclusion In conclusion, Childish Gambino’ song and video for “This is America” made an impact on society by addressing so many racial injustices issues (both past and present) and how we as country are so forgiving and forgetful of gun violence. This song winning Song of the Year at the biggest award show for music is monumental because of the messages and issues our country has to the forefront. Music is about taking risks and maybe even singing about what people are too afraid to say, and that’s what Childish Gambino did here.
“What Gambino put together is a true picture of America, where so many of us get to dance and sing and laugh and create,” writes Isaac Bailey. “All the while others are largely ignored and trapped in the background, struggling and sometimes dying in a sea of ugliness that many of us would rather not acknowledge, knowing it would ruin the pretty pictures we’d rather focus on.” (quote from CNN)