This is America Blog #1
“This is America” is truly a marvel that makes you do a double take. On the surface it is a song about many pressing issues in America, but as the song plays the music video provides a deeper meaning. From the beginning of the song Childish Gambino takes you on a journey, starting with light happy music talking about partying, but then the beat drops and becomes more sinister. This represents a surface level look at America as a place full of happiness, but as you look deeper America is full of flaws and problems within society. Throughout the entirety of the song Gambino refers to issues such as police violence, gun laws, social media, youth, and black culture. The lyrics and images created during “This is America” have many double meanings to represent how people are blind to the issues around them. One example of this is shown by “This is a celly, that’s a tool”. On the surface the lyric suggests that people are quick to grab their phone when an event happens so that they can record it or have evidence, while the alternative meaning could reference the shooting of Stephon Clark. Stephon Clark is an African American who was shot eight times in his backyard by a police officer. The officer claimed that he was armed with a gun (or a tool) when in reality all he had on him was his phone (celly). This isn’t the only instance of Gambino’s clever word play as he fills the song with lyrics and images from the video that have many different meanings. The complexity of “This is America” adds to its charm as you need to listen to the song multiple times to catch a glimmer of all the events occurring and catch the heartfelt lyrics that are being sung. This overload is yet again an intention of Gambino as he uses flashy dancing to distract viewers from the violence that occurs in the background. Using genius lyrics coupled with shocking imagery, “This is America” provided a bit of insight into the many issues of America.
Even when the music stops the messages are left to be interpreted, which caused a wildfire of gossip and collaboration on what the hidden meanings of the song could be referencing. The various reactions and interpretations of the song was planned by Gambino as he believes that the song should be interpreted as however the viewer wants to interpret it. He has not given an official meaning and has declined interviews about the song and does not intend to release one as it is up to the people to determine their own culture. The dive into the heavily overlooked issues in popular culture is a brave act for Gambino as it is very controversial, and he is becoming more popular than ever. The results of the song makes it apparent that the causes are worth the risk that was put in. In a world where bringing attention to a devastating problem that goes overlooked can end a career, one can only say that “this is America”.
