Controversial music video reveals America's true nature
Donald Glover, more famously known as Childish Gambino, released his winning MTV Video Music Award for the Best Video with a Social Message, “This is America”. A performer who raps and sings, Gambino’s hit is socially conscious of what is wrong with society and brings it to life in his music video.
In recent news and media, there have been many acts of racism and violence portrayed. Because people are very influenced by music, Gambino sent out messages in his song to express how the country reacts to concepts such as gun violence, and violence in general.
During the first few seconds in the video, as there is light-hearted music and dancing, there then occurs a ruthless murder by Gambino, which causes the mood to shift to seemingly perilous as the gun is gently handed off. It is as if to say firearms are handled with more care than humans, while normalizing the act of killing.
The center of everything is Gambino, and as the video focuses on him, the viewer’s attention is redirected from the violence and destruction in the background. The focal point is pinpointed more on the dances than the surroundings which depicts how people are oblivious to brutality.
Gambino being shirtless, with nothing on but casual pants, dances amid chaos to represent the “humane” act of people living amongst violence. The message being received overall is that today’s destructiveness toward people is a seen as a joke as it is overshadowed by entertainment. Using a cast of all black actors in the video allow for people to see a colored person’s perspective on life by performing acts that black people are misrepresented by.
The controversy in the media is that this video portrays an unrealistic image of America. Backlash against scenes in this video are due to some of the public feeling as if they are being targeted for acting as bystanders in regards to violence occurs in the real world. Not all people feel like gun violence should be downplayed and overshadowed by dancing and light music.
Music is very affluent over all. Artists have use their musical advantage to express their regards to today’s news and politics. Gambino defies the stereotype that all rap music is nonsense and instead uses his artistic ability to address important matters in our country in a way that some can relate to.
This music video portrays reality for a large percentage of our population, and involves matters that affect the people in America. The significance of the lyrics and visual display of the song is an overall accurate representation of our country today, though not all people realize it, and not all care much about how this affects others. The message of Gambino’s “This Is America” is captivating and allows you to question if this is really America, as it hits you with the reality that violence in any form has to change.