Media Studies A-level Lesson 3

Component 1 Is Beyonce anti-feminist?: Written Response

Section A
Music Video

What messages does Childish Gambino convey in the video ‘This is America’?

Childish Gambino’s music video for ‘This is America’

explores issues relating to race with a view to promoting the
message that America is not free and that the American
Dream cannot be achieved by everyone. One clear message
the video conveys is the idea that people of colour,
particularly black people, no longer have a safe space. This
message is constructed through visuals of a gospel choir
being gunned down by Glover himself. There is a suggestion
here that Glover is in fact embodying America and that black
people are not protected by the same rights as white
people. This visual is an intertextual reference to the 2015 massacre at Emmanuel African
Methodist Church in Charleston by a white supremacist. Even in church, which symbolises
freedom and safety, black people cannot be safe. This suggests that America is not a safe
space for black people; there is nowhere to run. Glover shoots them in one swift
movement, hands over the gun, and then walks off screen without emotion and as if
nothing has happened. This connotes the way America responds to violence towards people
of colour; it is unworthy of notice.

Another message is that young people are so distracted by social media and entertainment
that they are missing what is really happening in and to America. As the camera pans
around the room there are men throwing themselves from platforms (seemingly falling to
their death), and on the floor we see police battling with black men and women, as if in riot.
The police cars are positioned there to suggest the authority of the police as well as the
flashing siren suggesting the colours of the American flag. Through the narrative we do not
see what these people have done that means the police are now chasing them; the message
being they have done nothing at all. Glover is stating that young black men and women are
being persecuted by the police; we can clearly see the police chasing these young people
around the set indiscriminately. At the same time, we see young people leaning over the
railings filming the actions below. There are a number of potential readings here. Firstly,
that they are desensitised to what they are seeing below and are in fact not filming but
looking at social media on their phones. An acceptance of the situation is happening here,
as if nothing can be done about it. People consume social media while the world burns
around them. Secondly, it could be that actually they are using their phones as weapons in
the fight against the police; in this sense the phone is likened to a gun, used to point and
shoot. This is the most important weapon because it can film what the police are doing and
either record events and maybe even protect black people from being mistreated.

What intertextual references are used to create meaning?

Throughout the video Glover performs to the camera with a dance troupe behind him. The
exaggerated movements and engaging performance distracts the viewer from the violence

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Media Studies A-level Lesson 3
Component 1 Is Beyonce anti-feminist?: Written Response
Section A
Music Video
and real problems that are happening in the background. Again this is a metaphor for
America; people are distracted, passive, and are happy to be. As Glover performs his
costume is grey trousers which are a reference to the Confederate Army uniform. This
signifies again the he is America, and that America continues to be racist and that black

people are still treated as second class citizens. The Guara Guara dance performed by
Glover and the troupe originates from South Africa and so could suggest similarities
between America now and South African Apartheid; Apartheid literally means ‘apart hate’.

For Glover all of this points to the end of the world, or at least the end of the American
Dream. This is represented by a white horse being ridden across the stage by a man in a
hooded black uniform. This is an intertextual reference to the bible, suggesting that this is
the first horseman of the apocalypse. The horse rides through all the chaos, a visual which
clearly suggests the end of America.

What binary oppositions are used to create meaning?

The juxtaposition of serious and jovial through the video also drives home this message of a
divided America. The choir juxtaposes happy and positive aspects of African American
culture with the violence that surrounds it. Glover quickly jumps between jovial
performance to extreme violent acts throughout the video. Again this symbolises America
today where people are being distracted by celebrities, and are
more concerned with creating media to gain followers, than the
violence that surrounds them.

In the opening of the video Glover shoots a man who has a cloth
bag over his head. Initially the man is playing the guitar, but as
we pan back to him we see the guitar is gone and his head is
covered. This symbolises the two ways America sees black
people – as entertainers or as criminals. These stereotypical
traits are followed throughout the video and demonstrate the
way that black people are underrepresented and
misrepresented in the media. The gun is then taken away
carefully wrapped in a red cloth. This connotes that guns are
prized above people, as in juxtaposition the man’s body is
dragged off screen. The binary opposition of people versus property is explored throughout
the video with the message being that property is more valuable than people. When Glover
shoots the choir, again the gun is wrapped in red cloth and
carefully taken away.

The socioeconomic mobility of black Americans is also

explored in the video through set design and props. The
message is that black people have not been afforded the
same opportunities as white people and that this has been

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Media Studies A-level Lesson 3
Component 1 Is Beyonce anti-feminist?: Written Response
Section A
Music Video
due to systematic institutional racism. This is evidenced in the use of old cars which
juxtaposes with the new luxury cars we typically see in Rap and Hip Hop music videos. This
also connotes the idea that black people’s socioeconomic
mobility has stalled. The intertextual reference to the closure
of car factories in Detroit can also be a reading here,
suggesting that black people have had opportunity taken from
them and have ended up living in cities where there is little
work opportunity. Again this visual is contrasting the
oppositions of reality versus the fantasy that we see conjured
in Rap and Hip Hop videos.

In what ways does the video challenge or reinforce stereotypes?

Glover uses stereotypes of black people that have historically been constructed by white
producers in the media industry. By creating a parody Glover is reminding the audience that
these stereotypes are false and offensive, but are also still used. The first time we see
Glover in this video he walks over to the guitarist and shoots him in the head. As he does
this he uses a ‘Jim Crow’ pose: a racist stereotypical character who was created by a white
man dressed up in ‘black face’ who would dance to entertain audiences. The character Jim
Crow came to symbolise the way white Americans viewed black people: as lazy, foolish, and
lacking intelligence. By satirising this pose Glover is also
saying that black people are still required to perform for
white audiences and have to perform in a way that is
palatable to white audiences. This means that black
representations have remained narrow and problematic.

Glover explores many different black stereotypes

throughout the video including the black entertainer, the
violent criminal, and the hunted. In the closing scene of
the video we see Glover running towards the camera
down a dark tunnel. In the background of the frame we
can see white police officers chasing him. Glover’s wide
eyed facial expression and tilted back head are haunting. There is a reference here to the
underground railroad and slaves running for their lives from their owners in dangerous
circumstances to gain freedom. There is also a parallel being drawn to the lack of freedom
black people have in America today, the message being that black people are still hunted by
white people, weather that be supremacists or the police.

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