Childish Gambino - This is America (Official Video)

[AlainLocke]

Can one of you youngins help a head out with the song and video. Is he trolling mumble rapper's the same way Cole is and what's the concept behind the video?

The concept behind the video is that while America is in turmoil...Black folks are dancing and singing...

Donald Glover plays an African trickster god...you can tell by the tribal drums and the guitar strumming in the song...and the very animated and chaotic mannerism of Glover....

Trickster spirits in mythology are mischievous deities that are used to show the contradictions and faults of society...

So Donald Glover as this trickster spirit...in the video...goes on a killing spree (particularly killing Black people) with his helpers...the Black kids dancing...while everyone is in chaos...

Donald Glover and his spirits are dancing and singing and enjoying themselves....and rapping about the excesses of American and African American culture...

The video isn't a commentary on mumble rappers...since he uses them as background vocalists on the song...Young Thug and 21 Savage...

The video is a commentary on the lack of political action...particularly of Black folks and the glorification of and the belief that capitalistic pursuit of wealth is gonna save you...

 

[Mr. Jack Napier]

Directors are artists bro, the video IS that deep.
Trying to simpify everything is the way YOUR mind works not the way an artists mind works.

K

 

[ReasonableMatic]

PAY ATTENTION!!

 

[The Mad Titan]

There are so many different takes on what the video represents, usually donalds hardcore fan base are the ones breaking down stuff. ( And he's done some crazy stuff like arg's with songs) I remember for BTI the fans found something he hide in the webpage code from hints he gave.


If you go look at any of his older video's its similar off the wall weird stuff with a deeper or different interpretation or meaning for different people. I actually wish he'd break down this video and what his actual vision was for it. But he usually doesn't.

 

[The Mad Titan]

The white horse symbolism

PAY ATTENTION!!

It also represents the end of the world or system chaos among people and the return of Jesus.

Video is crazy

 

[ECA]

Guess he'll never match the music he made on Culdesac ever again

lol he sound like a nerdcore version of Wayne FOH.

 

[chiefdogg]

The concept behind the video is that while America is in turmoil...Black folks are dancing and singing...

Donald Glover plays an African trickster god....

Trickster spirits in mythology are mischievous deities that are used to show the contradictions and faults of society...

So Donald Glover as this trickster spirit...in the video...goes on a killing spree with his helpers...the Black kids dancing...while everyone is in chaos...

Donald Glover and his spirits are dancing and singing and enjoying themselves....

The video isn't a commentary on mumble rappers...since he uses them as background vocalists on the song...Young Thug and 21 Savage...

The video is a commentary on the lack of political action...particularly of Black folks and the glorification of and the belief that capitalistic pursuit of wealth is gonna save you...

 

[MeachTheMonster]

The video message is kinda c00nish the more I think about it.

"Black people killing each other while dancing through the streets without a care"

Is how a racist cac on Fox News might describe black people

 

[Easy-E]

The video is a commentary on the lack of political action...particularly of Black folks and the glorification of and the belief that capitalistic pursuit of wealth is gonna save you...

 

[AlainLocke]

Unfortunately people gonna think the video is about Black people killing Black people...but it's okay...

The video message is kinda c00nish the more I think about it.

"Black people killing each other while dancing through the streets without a care"

Is how a racist cac on Fox News might describe black people

The video isn't about Black people killing Black people...

The trickster plays out the killing of Travyon Martin by killing his father...

And the church killing by Dylan Roof...by killing the church choir...most importantly killing the church choir while the choir is singing about getting money...

The video is about the inevitability of America killing Black people...

While Black people think that getting money and acquiring status is gonna help them...but eventually America is gonna kill you too...

It has nothing to do with Black on Black violence...

 

[10:31]

Unfortunately people gonna think the video is about Black people killing Black people...but it's okay...



The video isn't about Black people killing Black people...

The trickster plays out the killing of Travyon Martin by killing his father...

And the church killing by Dylan Roof...by killing the church choir...most importantly killing the church choir while the choir is singing about getting money...

The video is about the inevitability of America killing Black people...

While Black people think that getting money and acquiring status is gonna help them...but eventually America is gonna kill you too...

It has nothing to do with Black on Black violence...

I’m still trying to put together the proper analysis of what I just saw/heard

 

[10:31]

The mumble rap repetitive “This is America” with ad-libs from actual mumble rappers....

 

[MeachTheMonster]

Unfortunately people gonna think the video is about Black people killing Black people...but it's okay...



The video isn't about Black people killing Black people...

The trickster plays out the killing of Travyon Martin by killing his father...

And the church killing by Dylan Roof...by killing the church choir...most importantly killing the church choir while the choir is singing about getting money...

The video is about the inevitability of America killing Black people...

While Black people think that getting money and acquiring status is gonna help them...but eventually America is gonna kill you too...

It has nothing to do with Black on Black violence...

That's not really what I got out of it. Seems the carefree dancing is a representation for black people not giving a fukk about the world around them. And the only violence I see in the video is black people harming other blacks. It may not be a statement on "black on black" crime, but he sure went out of his way to do "black" dances on his way to the killing.

 

[JLova]

The video is amazing. Song is eh.

 

[AlainLocke]

I’m still trying to put together the proper analysis of what I just saw/heard

In African American folklore back on the plantation...

(And this is why it's important to read African American literature)

We had the trickster god/spirit/archetype...

This spirit was extremely mischievous and smart and we used to tell stories about how this character would out smart the White man...

We had the Signifying Monkey and Bre'er Rabbit...common African American trickster spirits

This goes all the way back to Africa....where their trickster spirits were morally ambiguous, violent and destructive...

The video is better watched by looking at the lyrics...

And paying attention to the musical composition...the strumming of the bluesy folksy guitar...and tribal drums...symbolic of a drum circle that our ancestors would use to enter a trance and undergo possession...

The children are even wearing school customs...symbolizing that class is in session...that they are coming to teach...

The white horse in the background symbolizing death...


Donald Glover and the children maybe even possessed by the spirit...cause when the song goes to the outro.

He starts running from the police and the horse and etc...

And going with theme of the song...that wealth and status won't save you from death...

Cause Donald Glover is a rich and wildly successful Black man...and not even him is spared from a violent death...going back to his theme...