The Buzz: This is America

Odds are, you have seen Childish Gambino’s (aka Donald Glover) music video for his single “This is America”. If not, it can be found on YouTube (Warning: The song contains explicit language, and the video includes images of gun violence). Since he released the video, it has taken social media by storm. I originally did not watch it, but after seeing it shared repeatedly, I decided to press play. And I’m glad I did.

I was initially thrown off by Glover’s clothing choice and odd dance moves, but then I realized, that was the point—to be distracted. There’s plenty of imaging around race, gun violence and the entertainment industry in the background, but if you don’t pay attention beyond all the dancing happening in the front, you might miss it. All week, experts and fans alike have been dissecting the video and sharing their insight. It seems like every time I see a new theory surface, I find myself replaying the video and discovering something that I missed before, confirming that the video is truly creative genius regardless of whether you agree that this is America.

Ultimately, Donald Glover knows the true meaning of everything he displayed in his video, but there are some theories that have caught my attention.

The New Jim Crow         

Childish Gambino begins the video with shooting a black male in a chair as he takes a particular pose, which, as shown below, has been likened to an image of a posing Jim Crow.

Jim Crow was a minstrel character that was popular in the 1800s. Normally played by a Caucasian man in black face, the character was used to portray the white perception of the African American community or to make fun of black people and black culture. The name was used later as a label for laws of segregation. It’s not clear what Glover’s specific reasoning is for inserting this reference—or if it was even intentional. However, many are saying that he’s making a point to state that Jim Crow, or perhaps the mindset of exploitation and segregation behind Jim Crow, is still alive and well.

The Choir

The choir that was murdered in the middle of the video immediately made me think of the Charleston 9. In 2015, 9 church members died at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. They were shot and killed by a young white male while attending bible study. In the video, after he shoots the members of the choir singing behind him, Gambino quickly hands the gun to a bystander and walks off to continue with his dancing as more chaos erupts in the background. The abruptness and quickness with which he moves on in each moment in the video, particularly this one, matters. It shows how attention grabbing a tragedy can be for the moment. But as time passes, unfortunately, the event is somewhat forgotten until something just as tragic catches our attention. You can see this play out as you watch the full video.

In addition to the blatant shooting of the choir in the video, many have pointed out the care that is taken to handle the guns. Both in the shooting of the black male at the beginning of the video and the shooting of the choir, you can see the guns being wrapped in a red cloth. This treatment is in direct contrast to the way the black male body is seen being dragged away.

This imagery comes at a perfect time, as it relates to the heated debates in America around gun violence. On one side, you have those who are seeking stricter gun laws, such as the survivors of the Parkland shooting that took place in February. On the other, you have those who are part of the pro-gun movement that seeks to protect the second amendment, the right to bear arms. It looks as if Glover is making a clear statement that guns seem to be valued higher than the lives of people, particularly black and brown people.

The Dancing

Part of Glover’s creative genius in this video is the use of dancing and choosing to include dancing youth. As I mentioned earlier, the dancing in the video is distracting and rightfully so. It is put there to purposely distract you from all the disorder that is taking place in the background, similar to the ways that social media and the entertainment industry can distract us from what’s going on in America.

These days, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to the issues we see on the news, especially when it does not directly impact us. While Gambino and the dancing children could be symbolic of the distracting media and pop culture, they could also represent those who have the privilege to live their lives to the upbeat tune of life as others are being killed and struggling in the background. They do not notice the violence, and when they do, they simply move on with their lives without taking action. Did you notice the children on the balcony near the end of the video? They were simply recording all the mayhem taking place below on their phones – just observing but not taking action. In the lyrics, Gambino references the “celly” as a “tool”. I’m guessing he means a tool for distraction.

There are many other theories and images that have been circling the web about this video. I personally am waiting on a statement from Childish Gambino himself that may shine more light on his intent and thought behind his video and song. What have you noticed while watching the video? What other theories have you seen that intrigued you? What do you think this song and video has to say about who we are as Americans? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the video in the comments below. Is this really America?