Music Video theory

 


 1) How does the This Is America video meet the key conventions of a music video?
Firstly, there is lip syncing throughout the video which is the most common convention of a music video. There is then the performance element that uses narrative ad intertextuality to speak tot he audience.
 2) What comment is the video making on American culture, racism and gun violence?
He is highlighting the different racial injustices in the US by refering t different occurances of police brutality on black people. He also refers to differnt 'shoot-outs' and how loose the gun control is.

3) Write an analysis of the video applying the theories we have learned: Gilroy, Hall, Rose and Dyson. 
In this video, Childish Gambino plays various different roles there are in American society today. The role he plays in the throughout the video which is consistent is 'the entertainer' which reflects how black people are always represented to be the clown or innately funny- we see this throughout the video while he dances and raps for the audience. The scene where he shoots an anonymous being he poses the same way Jim Crow does to reflect the way America treats black people. 

Read this Guardian feature on This Is America - including the comments below.

4) What are the three interpretations suggested in the article?
-Jim Crow: he acts out sly interpretations of how black people were represented 
-Black codes: during the song he speaks out black codes through lyrical puns and the character in the chair represents the black people wrongly held in prison
-His dancing and entertainment hides the brutality occurring behind him which seems to be a reflection of our society. 

5) What alternative interpretations of the video are offered in the comments 'below the line'? 
'It's just music'
"Great video and music. I think it's quite obvious what the song means. Not much 'satirical' about it. Pretty literal to me. Being black in America is deadly."

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