‘This Is America’ Brilliantly Wraps History and Sociology in the Garb of Pop Culture
By: Matthew John
Tags: Politics, Race, Childish Gambino, BlackLivesMatter, Music

While watching the popular music video for Childish Gambino’s new track “This is America”, I was completely captivated by the immaculately crafted cinematography, choreography, composition, and other aesthetic aspects of director Hiro Murai’s production. The first three minutes are comprised of a continuous shot, which moves throughout a vast warehouse, keeping our attention on the star and narrator — a shirtless and constantly contorting and gyrating Donald Glover, with an entourage of sometimes synchronized dancers behind him.

It was for this reason — the presence of pleasant visual elements — that I found myself completely caught off guard by the two acts of extreme violence that were later depicted. The song and dance continued, and I did not have a chance to react to what I had witnessed. But this technique was deliberately employed to enhance a specific message; the cycle of American violence occurs so quickly (and within the context of sound-bite and meme culture), that we barely have enough time to process a tragedy before the next one strikes.

The opening scene features a seated Black man playing an acoustic guitar accompanied by the mellow yet cheerful vocal harmonies, “We just wanna party, party just for you. We just want the money, money just for you.” The tone dramatically shifts when our star dances into view, casually pulls out a pistol, holds it to a hooded prisoner’s head (the man who was previously playing acoustic guitar), and brutally executes him. The first deep, dark, bass-driven verse is introduced as Glover proclaims, “This is America,” mere seconds after pulling the trigger.

The gun is then delicately handed to man who protects it with a red cloth, symbolizing the fact that, in American discourse and policy alike, firearms themselves are often more highly regarded than actual human lives. Another important message in the first scene is the very specific posture Glover assumes before shooting the hooded man. He is referencing a prominent historical Jim Crow poster by imitating the pose of the man in the illustration (see image below). Due to the additional juxtaposition of gun violence and prison, this could be a nod to Michelle Alexander’s groundbreaking book “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”

The hooded prisoner, which is an unmistakable reference to the gut-wrenching images of Abu Ghraib, represents American violence abroad. But the execution itself represents the scourge of racist police violence domestically. This scene may also contain symbolism regarding America’s barbaric practice of capital punishment (the U.S. is one of the last holdouts in the developed world).

The second act of violence occurs when Glover’s character enters another room where an all-black gospel choir is singing the chorus. Our star is handed what appears to be a fully automatic AK-47 and riddles the choir with bullets as they immediately fall to the ground. This is a clear allusion to white supremacist Dylan Roof, who, in a disgusting act of domestic terrorism, murdered nine Black Americans during a church service in 2015. At this point, the school children who accompany Glover call to mind our nation’s epidemic of horrific mass shootings, many of which have taken place in schools.

And all the while, during this shocking violence and the chaos that ensues, Glover and his crew continue their elaborate dance routine, as if to distract the audience from the deeply unsettling aspects of the unfolding scene.

There is a distinct possibility that Glover is including an element of self deprication, or hyper self-awareness, as he has personally participated in the vast spectacle of American consumer culture (through his career in television, film, music, and comedy) which distracts from more urgent social issues.

Within the context of the American racial landscape, this notion calls to mind a scene from the second season of the Netflix series Dear White People, which I recently binge-watched during the two days following its release. To avoid spoilers, I’ll be as vague as possible: Two characters discuss the grotesque history of minstrel shows, and how, even in modern times, the work of Black Americans can be exploited for the purpose of entertaining white audiences. Based on the reference to the Jim Crow minstrel poster juxtaposed with lines like, “I’m so pretty,” and “Watch me move,” it’s possible that Glover is expressing a similar sentiment here.