Yesterday, Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover released a music video for his new song, "This Is America." The internet damn-near broke, because people were obsessed with the many layers and multiple meanings behind the 4-minute visual.
View this video on YouTube
The video looks incredible. It was directed by Hiro Murai, the same guy who, according to Noisey, has "been behind videos for Earl Sweatshirt, Bloc Party, and Flying Lotus, as well as a handful of Atlanta episodes."
Fans were shook:
Yo...if you really pay attention to that new Childish Gambino video, you will understand that he’s really showing us how sleep we really are to what is happening around us.
Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” is incredibly thought provoking. The video makes brilliant use of cultural allusions and symbolism. Not only that but the filmmaking on display is stellar. The staging and choreography is so chaotic but it all flows perfectly. https://t.co/FnQc09RiZi
the new childish gambino track keeps surprising me 1st listen: this is sick, oh was that young thug at the end? 2nd listen: no wait young thug is all over the track actually 3rd listen: wtf did i just hear 21 savage 4th listen: i swear gambino's adding features in real time
But what got the Internet riled up are all the hidden meanings. Here are a few we found:
1. Take for example this pose, which shows the "original Jim Crow":
Childish Gambino had me shook once I noticed this stance in his “this is America” video and the lyrics #BlackTwitter. #ThisIsAmerica https://t.co/eeYfBpNzlk
2. The details were super nuanced, like the pants that Childish wore. They've been traced back to "basics of Confederate army uniforms."
Can we talk about how @donaldglover is wearing confederate army pants #thisisamerica #donaldglover #ChildishGambino
3. Then there was that white horse in the background:
Death riding the Pale white horse while he is followed by Hell (represented by police) going totally unnoticed because of dancing and pop culture in the foreground is the single greatest cinematic message I’ve seen in a music video to date. #ThisIsAmerica https://t.co/DYaPjbvoym
4. Here's the exact Bible verse that the white horse references:
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.” -Revelation 6:8 #ThisIsAmerica https://t.co/E0IetLs56Z
5. The video even speaks to America's gun violence:
Good morning. America moves on from mass shooting to mass shooting as shockingly quick as Childish Gambino did in #ThisIsAmerica No long thread. That’s it. Have a great day.
6. In fact, there was a graphic scene which touched precisely on the Charleston massacre from 2015.
This scene reenacts Charleston shooting. Black people praising Lord killed for no reason. Look at the background, you see people running towards the area and "rioting" for change and cops running after them, just b/c it's their "job" #ThisIsAmerica https://t.co/sX0KqozbPU
7. Blink and you might miss this one:
No one caught the fact that at 2:13, a man jumps to his death. It shows how we don’t care about suicide in America, yet are all in when it’s a dance/trend. This Is America. #thisisamerica @donaldglover https://t.co/OXhFMUjX6V
8. You could potentially gloss over all of the various dances and their meanings that are intertwined into the video, too:
Childish Gambino’s dance moves distracted all of us from the craziness that was happening in the background of the video & that's exactly the point he's trying to make.......#ThisIsAmerica https://t.co/7o9e0XBGld
9. Here's what Forbes noticed about the dancing:
10. None of the cars are new:
11. A lot of modern rappers and their famous ad-libs were sampled throughout the song:
#ThisIsAmerica Ad-libs I heard 0:36/2:01/3:01/3:42 - Young Thug 1:08 - Kendrick 1:20/1:36/2:42 - BlocBoy 1:21 - Big Sean 1:26 - Rick Ross 1:39/2:20/2:32 - 21 Savage 1:40 - Lil pump 2:06 - Slim Jxmmi 2:14 - Offset 2:25/2:30/2:44 - Quavo 3:08 - Aminé
12. And yes, of course, SZA was there:
13. At the end of the video, Childish demonstrated what being a black man in America is like:
Don't catch you slipping y'all. The ending of the video though?! Even with all the beauty he may bring to the world through his art, he is still just a black man running for his life. #ThisIsAmerica
After we published our original piece, our awesome readers pointed out some more things we missed, here they are:
14. Besides the Charleston choir shooting, there are other shootings in the video that have meanings:
15. More on the chilling choir scene...
16. There's also a nod to cell phone culture, as people simply watch/record as violence happens:
17. Glover also spoke to how easy access is to guns in America:
18. There was a lot of subtleties about guns, actually:
@BuzzFeed #ThisIsAmerica After every shooting he simply hands the gun off and walks away - showing how American's remove guns from the narrative and fill the frame with ''distractions'' such as riots or just move onto the next trend
Of course, fans took their critiques/observations super deep:
Alongside its powerful political message, Childish Gambino's "This Is America" shows how hungry people are for art that takes them seriously -- art that rewards rewatching, art where analysis enhances pleasure rather than undermining it.
#ThisIsAmerica feels like both a call to action and a dire warning. I can't say that I've ever felt that about a music video. This is the power of true artistry.
The message in Childish Gambino's "This Is America" video applies so much to Nigeria too. Dance away the BS, focus on trivial. Turn up!
As I said on #ThisIsAmerica. He is clearly rapping (and showing) how self-destructive behavior of Black Americans is not only tolerated/celebrated, but carefully curated. It’s how this country was designed for us. It’s when he steps away (with a blunt) that he’s hunted...
Dear white people, Childish Gambino’s #ThisIsAmerica is not for you to critic, it’s not for you to judge, not for you to suggest a better way to get the message across. It’s for you to watch and listen.
Let us know in the comments if you saw something we missed.
