Donald Glover is a man that has been on the entertainment scene for ten years now. He already has some impressive accolades for a guy who is only 33 years old. Glover has been nominated for 35 different awards throughout his entertainment career; some for his writing and directing, some for his acting, and some for his music that he makes under the rapper name Childish Gambino. Donald Glover has actually won 11 of these awards, including 2 Golden Globes for the show Atlanta which he executive produced, wrote, directed, and starred in. (If you haven't seen Atlanta stop reading this and go watch it immediately) But today I wanted to write about something else Donald Glover has already received a lot of praise over, the music video that he directed for his Childish Gambino song, Sober.
The song itself is something to write about. A catchy chorus that's easy on the ears and a simple beat behind some bouncy e. piano make the song instantly draw you in. And at first listen it might just seem like another song about getting messed up and chasing another girl. The truth is that the song is about being so hurt that you decide to get high instead of facing your problems.The song drops into the verse and it seems like Childish Gambino is having a conversation with the girl that messed him up so bad in the first place. However it could also be interpreted as Gambino trying to forget about the heartbreak and chasing another girl, maybe in the same way that he chased the last one. He acknowledges that "I know it's hard sometimes" but through work and honest communication couples can overcome their problems. Although Gambino complicates these lyrics when he says he can free her mind quoting the old classic This Little Light of Mine, asking her to "let it shine." This could mean two things. Gambino could either be quoting the original meaning of the song in which the light that shines is the light of love. It could also mean the light of a match or lighter, suggesting that the two should get high and forget about their problems, going back into the same loop of avoidance like the chorus would have them do.
The second verse comes in and it's obvious that Childish Gambino is trying to convince this girl to have sex with him. He tells her to "just give it one night" and that "loving you is not my plan." Gambino admits that "one day you'll see / All the things that we could be." When he says all the things we could be it again shows that a relationship is a complicated thing. There are ups and downs and in this particular instance all the things that they could be might turn out to be more bad than good. This gets followed up by a section that reflects just how high Gambino gets with a guitar part that can take you out of reality and simultaneously pull you back into it. The song ends the way it starts. "Now I'm so high."
The music video that Donald Glover directed for the song reflects some of the same themes while adding to them in ways that only video can. The video starts with Glover sitting sullenly in a dinner, a yellow wall behind him and a clock with the time at 9:30. He sees a pretty girl and stands up. As he stumbles over to her it's obvious that he's under the influence of something. The first verse kicks in and Glover's character moves over to where the girl is sitting but can't actually manage to speak to her. Some stellar acting on Glover's part shows him attempting to convey the lyrics to the girl who either doesn't care or just doesn't understand what he's trying to say. This goes to show again how hard it seems to be to communicate effectively in a relationship, especially while you're under the influence.
No matter what Glover tries he can't get through to this girl. This ranges from miming, to dancing, to magic tricks. Glover eventually gets frustrated enough to the point where he can actually manage to speak a line from the song, "I wanna be the only one." At this point he recedes back into the habit of getting high, climbs up onto a table in the diner, and some pretty trippy dancing ensues while the song breaks down and comes back to life centered around the guitar part. Eventually the girl seems to come around as she stands up and dances along with Glover's character but it becomes clear she just did this in order to pick up the food she was waiting for. She proceeds to grab her food, open the door, take a quick look back at Glover, and leave. Glover's character realizes she's gone, sulks back to where he was sitting before, looks at the clock on the wall above him, and sits back in the same position he was at the beginning of the video. The clock still reads 9:30.
This could mean a couple of things. The character could have just been remembering how he met the girl the song is written about, or the clock on the wall might just be broken while these unorthodox events take place. I think the truth is that the character really sees the girl sitting in the diner but the high makes him too anxious to get up and actually talk to her. Instead he gets lost in his own head thinking about what could happen, imagining the whole episode and never getting up to actively live his life. This music video isn't about just getting messed up because someone broke your heart. This isn't another song about a good time and easy love. I think Donald Glover is trying to suggest that while different substances can open up your mind and allow you to see things from a new perspective they can also destroy the relationships you have with the people you love, possibly stopping you from even starting those relationships in the first place.
Stay sober. Don't stay sober. The choices people have to make are never that simple. At the end of the day we just have to try and let it shine.
