We all know that Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) broke the internet with his "This Is America" music video. With more than 150 million views, secret messages throughout the video, and symbolism of the black struggle in modern day society, Childish Gambino definitely got his point across to the masses.
Now, this article isn't to talk about the secret messages. You can go to YouTube and find a full-length description of all the symbols. I'm here to talk about all the remixes to the music video.
We live in a meme culture, and I love that. From the blinking meme to the meme of Diane from Blackish, to the Mariah Carey meme, I think that they're HILARIOUS.
And don't get me wrong, I love that "This Is America" is a meme and I love how people have remixed it with different songs playing in the background and seeing how well his dancing fits with the beat.
But what we're NOT going to do is act like it's okay for people to use his idea and create their own renditions. Like yes, the video was pretty revolutionary, but I feel like people aren't original these days. See here on Twitter:
I don't know who Bethany Watson is, but I agree 100%. If people feel strongly about a particular idea, they can come up with their own idea and make that go viral to spread awareness. And I understand that not everyone is adept at doing this, but still.
To argue, some people can say that rap artists oftentimes sample popular tracks so it's pleasing to our ears and makes us want to listen more (i.e. Drake's "Nice For What" single), which is a good point. We are always inspired by others' ideas to help us push forward with ours, but I can't help but feel different about this topic.
Like Nicole Arbour's rendition of the song: she rapped about women's struggles and plights in America in the spirit of the music video. And while she DID apologize on Twitter, I still question why she did it in the first place.
I feel as though I'm stuck in an interesting predicament. On one hand, I want to support her because HELL YEAH WOMEN'S RIGHTS, but at the same time, I want to preserve the integrity of Glover's message because it is an important one to blacks in America, and no one should try to take that away.
All in all, I'm upset that people were slandering Arbour so heavily because she was just trying to get her word out there. Some may call me anti-feminist (WHICH I AM NOT) because I don't support her decision, but they are erred. I agree with everything she said, I just wish that she did it in a different way.
I'm torn between loving and hating because yes, I am a woman, but I'm also a black human being, whose culture gets torn apart every day by people appropriating it because "black culture is pop culture".
I applaud both Arbour and Glover for their efforts. Media is so important to spread messages about the realities of society, but it all depends on how you put it out there.