Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, released the music video for his new song "This Is America" on May 5, 2018. The music video, directed by Hiro Muria, blew up the internet for the complex themes and subtle messages throughout the video. Currently, the music video has over 112 million views on YouTube. Here is a list of seven hidden messages from "This Is America" that everyone has been talking about.
1. Movements made by Glover in the beginning of the video are eerily similar to "original Jim Crow" poses.
Twitter user @NalyaDuckett is quick to notice the strange movements shown by Glover have striking similarities to cartoons of the "original Jim Crow" which was a form of oppression black men and women had to face throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Perhaps Glover is trying to allude to the oppression that people of color continuously face 100 years later.
2. Glover's pants closely resemble uniforms worn by Confederate soldiers.
Another Twitter user, @boolin_metro, draws comparisons between the pants worn by Glover and the traditional uniforms of Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. More underlying themes of racism within our society? I think so.
3. The first man who was shot's face is not shown again after being killed.
At the start of the video, a man walks over and sits to play the guitar, this is the only time we see the man's face. When Glover walks over to the man who no longer has his guitar but has a bag over his head and shoots him in the head. The man is shown again toward the end of the video with the bag still on his head. This as a metaphor for how people in the black community are treated after being a victim of gun violence. This man is shown faceless similar to how victims become statistics.
4. Repeated references to gun violence within America.
There is a huge focus on gun violence within the music video. The video starts with a man being shot in the head, however, if you look closer you can see that the gun Glover used is taken away with a red cloth. Later on in the video, Glover walks over to a church choir singing who are all then killed when Glover is thrown a semi-automatic weapon. Once again the gun is taken away with red cloth. A lot of people have correlated the murdering of the choir to the Charleston Massacre in 2015. The care he is given to the guns can symbolize how people tend to protect the weapons rather than the people. It is also worth noting that Glover is able to obtain these weapons pretty easily showing how sensible gun control like universal background checks is needed.
5. A group of teenagers dancing used as a form of distraction.
6. The hooded figure riding a white horse is a symbol of Death.
Throughout all the chaos and dancing, at one part of the video, you can see a dark figure riding a white horse in the background. A lot of people have taken this figure to symbolize death because of the Bible quote from the book of Revelations. In the quote "Hell" follows Death as they ride on the "pale horse. In this case, the only thing chasing the figure are police cars. Assuming the reference is accurate, this could be a jab at police brutality and the history of issues that law enforcement and members of the black community have.
7. Glover showing what it means to be a black man in today's society.
At the end of the video, all the chaos seems to disappear as Glover pretends to hold a gun before lighting up what seems to be a joint. There is then a shot of him dancing on a car. The last scene in the music video consists of Glover running in darkness with white figures, presumed to be police officers, chasing him. The entire video Glover has been murdering people and has been surrounded by violence, but people start running after him when he doesn't have a weapon. According to the Bureau of Prisons, roughly 46.2% of people incarcerated in a federal prison are in for drug offenses. The justice system has continually fail minorities and drug laws can contribute to mass incarceration rates. The entire video people were running away from Glover but when he is unarmed, that is when the police are after him. Is this what it means to be a black man in America?
"This Is America" contains a ton of hidden layers and details which made it so popular. About a week after it's release and people are still trying to decode the themes presented by Glover. The best part in all of this is Glover refuses to give an explanation for any aspect of the video. This music video's purpose is to start a conversation about racism, gun violence, and our justice system. Glover laid out the puzzle pieces for the American jigsaw puzzle, it's our turn to put it all together.
