by Lena Potts and her students
Conversations have been edited for length and clarity. All student names have been changed for anonymity.
CAROLINA- 14 YEAR OLD LATINX GIRL
How do you feel about “This Is America”?
I’m actually all for it. I thought the video was really cool, and how it’s trying to get people to see what’s really going on.
What is going on?
All of the violence that’s going on how people are trying to cover up. There’s so much going on but others try to hide it like “this is what’s happening, this is the new trend”, but really it’s hurting us.
Is this about one issue in particular?
I think there’s a lot of things intertwined. It’s not only Black people who get shot, but they’re a big target. I feel like more bridges and conversations need to be happening. Like it’s not just about Black Lives Matter and it’s not just about gun violence- it’s about all of it.
What did you think were the main messages?
I wasn’t even paying attention to Childish Gambino himself, I was paying attention to the people getting hurt. The surroundings felt like my surroundings. I felt like a lot of the things he was portraying were connecting to me as well.
I like his message. He was trying to start a conversation that is happening, but that people sometimes forget about.
MANNY- 16 YEAR OLD LATINX BOY
How do you feel about the video?
To me, a little bit, it felt stupid. The way he was doing all this extra stuff, like it was confusing. Is he trying to show us something? What are you trying to say? What’s going to happen in the future? What are you not telling us?
So you kinda feel like you didn’t get what the point was?
No.
What do you think he felt like the point was?
To tell everyone what’s going on in the world behind all the bullshit ass lies.
MICHELLE- 16 YEAR OLD BLACK GIRL
So you’re saying the video is “wild”- in what way?
It’s crazy how it’s Childish Gambino and all the kids are doing these dances and the first time you look at it it’s like “ehhhh”, but then when you look again in the background all these terrible things are happening. Like when he shot the choir- that’s what happened at the Black church in Charleston, I think. Or when he shoots the first time and it’s like the Jim Crow pose. A lot of people are talking about it and about dances and stuff but they’re not looking at the deeper meaning. He was putting all the stuff that appeals to us today at the forefront, but he put all the real stuff in the background.
What do you think the point was?
It’s kinda within the title, “This Is America”. We’re always concerned with little stuff like dances when there are bigger issues and we chose to ignore them. And even when people do acknowledge them it’s not the majority.
What issues do you think it was about, specifically?
A lot of racial issues, like with the choir referencing the Charleston church. But to be honest, I’m not that woke.
Do you like the video?
Yeah, it’s just so deep.
Do you think it’s good that it exists?
Yes, it gets people thinking about what they really prioritize. Like, are we seeing beyond the surface?
Is it enough to make people think if no one understands what to actually do?
I feel like we should do something, but will it be easy? Probably not.
It is enough to get people thinking, though. I feel like a lot of young people my age aren’t in touch with politics. I kinda get what’s going on but I don’t really know a lot.
NIA- 16 YEAR OLD BLACK GIRL
How did you feel about “This Is America”?
I liked it. I enjoyed watching it. Before I even saw the video I saw a lot of things on Instagram about it which gave me a lot of insight, which I liked because the video itself wasn’t that self-explanatory. The hidden things about putting guns on red cloths and making them really important happened outside of the video, for me.
What do you think the goal of it was?
I think the goal was to spread awareness about gun violence, specifically toward Black people.
Do you think everyone thinks that’s the goal of it?
Yeah. I feel like that part was pretty self-explanatory. The hidden messages weren’t, but I feel like overall that’s the big thing to take from it. I would assume most people got that.
Do you think it accomplished that goal?
Do you know how many views it got? Well, I would say yes, because it was all over my Instagram account before I even saw it. I would assume it was all over Twitter, too.
It has 55 million views.
Oh, yeah, accomplished its goal. For sure.
You said the goal was to spread awareness, right? What are people supposed to do, now that they’re aware?
Ummmmm, not be so quick to shoot Black people? I don’t know. I feel like the video was more about the idea that this happens, this is America. As of right now this is what we’re known for.
So maybe it’s not asking people to do anything directly?
That’s not what I got from it, because I feel like there’s not much that the general public can do, besides not be so stereotypical.
Final thoughts?
The video was amazing.
CASSIE- 16 YEAR OLD LATINX GIRL
What did you think of the video?
He’s trying to tell a story, right, a message? I’m trying to figure out what the message is.
Well, what are your thoughts?
I was thinking like, he’s a Black man, and he’s walking around doing all these crazy things, killing these people. He was doing all these bad things, and that’s what America does, and at the end, they’re all chasing him because he’s the Black man.
Oh that’s interesting. So like, everyone does these things, it’s what America is, but at the end the Black man gets persecuted for it?
Yeah exactly. And those kids in the school uniforms- I guess they’re like a reflection of the people he should support and help. And he gets chased, by, I don’t know if it was a doctor, it looked like a White man. I think they were all White.
I hadn’t thought of it that way.
Another thing is how he’s just calm when he lights up the joint. I feel like that shows- I don’t know what it shows but I know it must have a meaning, how there’s all this ruckus and he’s just calm.
I also don’t know if his face expressions and body movement have something to do with what he’s trying to show. Every time he would damage something he’d walk away and everyone else would be running toward it. It’s like when we see something on the news and there’s a Black man involved, everyone charges toward it, ready to jump on it. But what I didn’t understand was that the choir was made of Black people. I’m trying to figure out what message he’s trying to show. And why is SZA there? What meaning is that?
But I like seeing stuff like that, because it really gives you a perspective. Just like “ATM”, J. Cole’s new video, also gives a great perspective. With all that’s happening, with Kanye West and everything, we need someone to use their influence. All we see is famous people and rappers and we need them to tell their stories because everyone is listening. We need them to show their real poetry. I think he’s [Glover] a genius for making this and I hope he talks more about it.
BRISEIDA- 18 YEAR OLD LATINX GIRL
How did you feel about “This Is America”?
It was dope. I think it shows you a lot about who you are as a person. If you only care about what’s in front of you, you’ll only look at him dancing. But if you’re more open minded, you’ll be looking at the background. I think, not only, it was really woke, but it also serves as a reflection of who you are.
He included a lot of things in one video. He showed the guns being treated really respectfully, but people not. He depicted the Charleston Massacre, and how those people weren’t treated seriously. I thought that was the most impactful part of the video.
At the end of the video he’s running away from everything. It looks like they’re doctors and lawyers chasing him- I can’t tell. But he’s a celebrity running away. That means something, I just can’t tell what it is.
I saw online that the pose he took when he shot the one guy with the hood, that that was Jim Crow. I don’t know much about who that is, but it’s cool that he hid those deep messages.
What do you think the messages were?
The main message was probably that society is so blinded by celebrities and following what they’re doing but in reality there are so many things happening that are important. And celebrities aren’t doing anything to bring awareness on their platforms, which they should. Nobody pays attention to the important things. We blindly follow celebrities.
Is everyone falling in love with this video like they have blindly following a celebrity?
No, we’re getting informed. I guess it kinda is, but it’s not bad. It’s not blindly. It’s going viral because of how woke it is.
I find the students’ perspectives fascinating. It’s useful to consider highly politicized materials, particularly those steeped in pop culture, from the viewpoints of their audiences. Something like a rap music video, from an artist like Childish Gambino, about issues of race and violence, has deep appeal to teenagers and younger adults.
But the mass of articles since its release have largely been from the perspectives of educated folx- adults who, even if/when they are POC, have the vocabulary to discuss race and other social issues, and the privilege to have accessed an audience. These young people represent the voices of a considerable viewing body of this work, but whom do not have the technical skill to be published and widely read.
The students seem to know that they’re supposed to love it, but so many of them don’t know why. They have an inherent respect for the concept of perspective, but would they have the same excitement if the perspective was Whiter, or more right-leaning?
They seem to respect it, most of all, for its subversion. So many of them referred to it as “woke”, and when they spoke about why they liked it, it was because of the creativity of the hidden messages, not the messages themselves.
Folx who have the time and capacity to dig through the video and map its messages, historically and symbolically, laud Glover for making a firm political statement against malaise and distraction. But what of his younger fans, who haven’t been NYU educated and who are looking to him, and other cultural icons, for direction? It seems, all he’s offered them is questions.
I asked a number of the students if it was enough just to start a conversation. I didn’t mean it to be loaded, because I sincerely don’t know. One student was certain it was, others just weren’t sure. But I am sure that I came to work on Monday to hear them all buzzing about “This Is America”- the video, and the discourse that followed, captured my students’ attentions deeply. I wonder if we’re missing an opportunity there.
