Connor Vogt
Whether you’ve heard of Donald Glover a.k.a Childish Gambino through song or through his many roles in the art of television entertainment. You might also know him for his grammy nominated show Atlanta. But recently he came out with a music video titled “This is America.” Pulling out over a million views in just seven hours. Currently after nine days reaching a very impressive 100 million views. Which consisted of explicit images, gun violence, tropical dancing, choir singing, and touchy subjects. In this song Gambino travels through a chaos infested party dome where a lot and I mean A LOT is going on. Too much to try to recap in this blog post.
There had been, to be sure, an alternative vision embodied in the word “America,” one that placed an emphasis on ideals like universal liberty and equality of justice under the law, but this lofty mirage had never managed to shy away from the matter of its implication in the violence of American racism. Created by guns, overflowing with guns, America had always been a sort of rhetorical weapon.What the Trump campaign and election signaled was an abolition of all alternative Americas, the permanent reduction of the nation to a weapon directed at people whose skin is not pale. In the video, when Glover stages the murder of a black guitarist and a black church choir, it’s not a white policeman pulling the trigger, but Glover himself, and after each killing he resumes his dancing with the same uplifting energy and his rapping with the same assured flow, as if nothing had happened.
Also with his different flows, on particularly stands out as this new “wave” of hip hop’s Lil’s “mumble rap” which stands out as him possibly mocking the way rap is portrayed right now. Donald Glover coming from middle class and using lyrics like “gun you down” and talking about his mexican drug supplier is all intentional. Instead of talking about his personal life he’d rather get the audience to focus more on what he is saying and the many problems he is trying to reach and push.
Overall this gruesome and exciting/powerful video has indefinitely raised some eyebrows on current topics that most artist won’t touch on especially the creative way Childish Gambino layed out. With his creative mind and team Donald Glover in my opinion put together the most controversial and well put together work of art in a very long time and has grabbed people’s attention to some of the topics America wants to shy away from.
This video is so blatantly political. Recently, Donald Glover has shied away from his music making alias "Childish Gambino." He's been focusing on his show Atlanta, which is also about racism in America. This video has more political impact than economical, but I think that all this attention he's getting will bring more attention to his album. Childish Gambino isn't an underground artist, but he also isn't mainstream. He has one last album on the way, and I think, indirectly, making this music video puts him on the map for anyone that hasn't heard about him. With all the buzz about Childish Gambino and his music video, I think it opens up a lot more potential for profit with his new album.
ReplyDeleteThis video is something that not only kids are talking about but adults as well because of the meaning behind the video and lyrics. The purpose for this song is commonly missed by just listening to it but, by seeing the action portrayed in the video you can see the true meaning. Most artists are using music and videos as a distraction from what is actually happening in the world and this artist chose to instead of ignoring the problems focus solely on the issues in his lyrics and video. I think he is going to make tons of money off of this song because of the reality he presents which is making people talk about the problems and making sure people can clearly get the message he is trying to send.
ReplyDeleteI think that the video, and this article are well done. I am personally a Donald Glover fan and enjoyed the video and it got me thinking about some of the topics discussed in the blog. With that said I think that there is probably an economic tie that you could make with this but I do not perceive there to be one here. Maybe you could talk about what kind of money Childish Gambino is making on this video so far and if he plans on using any of that money to impact some of these causes that he is referring to in his video.
ReplyDeleteI love Childish Gambino's music and have been listening to it for the past few years. I've noticed in some other songs he talks about racism and other touchy subjects like that and I think that what he is doing is empowering by making great music and at the same time raising awareness for all of the flaws our country has.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with what Klaus was saying, Childish Gambino's new hit song has everyone listening and watching over and over again. He focuses on gun violence and the covered up racism in America. As the song progresses, every verse after a graphic scene begins with, "This is America". Overall, Donald Glover took a savvy approach at addressing modern day problems and it's caught the attention of millions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that Donald Glover is one of very few music artists who would be bold enough to bring up these issues in a song as he did. People would rather worry about "What did my co-worker say behind my back" or "I just got the newest iPhone but another came out so I need it" Instead of worrying about the massive amounts of shootings and senseless killing. We have become so accustomed to the headlines like "13 dead in yet another school shooting" that it doesn't even phase us anymore. We may say oh that's too bad but then just sit there like it never even happened.
ReplyDeleteIt is a really interesting take on "America" where we see these things but immediately turn back to our normal reality. Theres not much of a connection to economics that I can see from the blog post but it does open a curtain to what alot of people are shying away from recently.
ReplyDeleteI think you had a really good post about this video as a whole and were able to explain his motives well. This video is really interesting because everytime you watch it, you can see something new going on. Each scenario has a symbol associated with it which I think is really powerful. There is a scene in the video in which kids are sitting up on a balcony with their phones recording the madness occurring down below which personally hit me the hardest. We live in a era where instead of standing up for things happening around us, we would rather post about it and have an opinion rather than do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article, I would like to know more about the economic and political impact this song/video had on America. For example, is the Trump administration doing anything or commenting about this song and its messages. Also which political figures support this movement?
ReplyDeleteChildish Gambino’s new song is pretty bold for the music industry. Although I can definitely picture criticism coming his way because everyone finds something to complain about, I think his song is empowering and needed. His decision to address a touchy topic shows how change is starting to affect the minds of Americans. More and more artists are releasing songs that talk about topics of interest, influencing how listeners think.
ReplyDeleteI think that the video was very controversial, but it highlighted a lot of things that Americans need to focus on. This is America might have had a huge impact on Childish Gambino's fanbase and the demand for his merchandise. We might see a large increase or decrease in support for his music and ideals, which will likely effect the rest of the music industry. Artists that are similar might see more profit through concert ticket sales and songs through Itunes as more people listen to the more woke music
ReplyDeleteI think that this is the best article every written. I also think that the reason this is America got so much publicity and controversy because of the violence and the one liners he is speaking. Like "Get your money black man". With intense dancing and guns blazing this music video as a whole has raised some eyebrows. Will it be enough for Donald Trump to get involved? Probably.
ReplyDeleteParticularly the last line of your post is what caught my attention. America loves to be proud of ourselves for being free and the best, but we do have a dark past of racism and inequality that we like to pretend never happened. We like to believe times have changed so much, but when we need songs like these to draw the light onto such touchy topics we believe are past and gone.
ReplyDeleteI can see how this video has brought concern for some viewers but I find it empowering because it broadcasts what is still going on in the states. There is a lot of work that The United States to work on but hopefully this video has spoken out to the people that there is a need in change in human behavior. Music highly influences how others view or think of something and both the song and video will change listeners minds. "This is America" might have had a huge impact on Childish Gambino's fanbase and the demand for his merchandise and music. There might be a large increase or decrease in support for his music and ideals, which will likely effect the rest of the music industry and his income.
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