Rhetoric Analysis Of This Is America By Childish Gambino ✓ Solved

Rhetoric Analysis this Is America By Childish Gambino

Conduct a rhetorical analysis of the music video "This Is America" by Childish Gambino.

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Introduction

Childish Gambino's music video "This Is America," directed by Hiro Murai and featuring Donald Glover as the performing artist, serves as a striking social commentary on violence and racism in the United States. The video, rich with symbolism, combines various modern musical genres such as soul, funk, R&B, rap, trap, and Afrobeat, making it particularly relevant and impactful among younger audiences. In this analysis, we will explore the video’s various rhetorical elements, including symbolism, the normalization of violence within American pop culture, the concept of internalized racism, and the video’s contemporary relevance in the face of ongoing racial injustices.

Symbolism in "This Is America"

The opening scene of "This Is America" features Gambino striking a pose that invokes the Jim Crow era, conveying a historical context of racism and oppression. This representation serves as an introduction to the video’s central theme—an exploration of the violence that African Americans have historically faced. The act of shooting a man on screen and the subsequent nonchalance towards the weapon reflects America’s deep-rooted gun culture, where firearms often take precedence over human life. A reference to the Charleston church mass shooting in 2015, wherein a white supremacist murdered nine African Americans, further accentuates the video’s commentary on racial violence.

Gambino's flight from danger at the video's conclusion symbolizes the survival instinct ingrained in African Americans, who must navigate a society that is simultaneously celebratory and detrimental. Art editor Will Gompertz notes that the video can be viewed as art due to its multilayered symbolism; it invites viewers to engage critically with the scenes portrayed (Gompertz, 2018). Each component of the video has been meticulously crafted to evoke a powerful emotional response while providing a critique of American society.

Violence in Pop-Culture Entertainment

Violence has permeated American entertainment, and "This Is America" adeptly highlights this normalization. As noted by journalist M. Gajanan, the video juxtaposes energetic scenes where Gambino dances joyfully with horrific images of violence in the background, creating a stark contrast that embodies the duality of American culture (Gajanan, 2018). This duality suggests that entertainment often masks harsh realities, allowing audiences to detach from the weight of real-world violence. This commentary holds significant weight, especially in a society where violent acts are frequently trivialized in media.

The video serves as a critique, indicating that pop culture became a vessel for desensitization towards violence, allowing audiences to consume aggressive imagery without fully comprehending its impact on marginalized communities. The prevalence of violent imagery in mainstream media often leads individuals to overlook the critical messages embedded in artistic works like "This Is America," which strive to confront these issues head-on.

Internalized Racism

A central theme in "This Is America" is the concept of internalized racism, which affects the perception of identity among African Americans. According to K.B. Douglas, internalized racism occurs when an oppressed group accepts and internalizes the negative beliefs promulgated by the dominant culture (Douglas, 2017). The video powerfully illustrates this ideology through its depiction of African Americans responding to systemic oppression with resignation and acceptance. The data revealing that African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated compared to white Americans underscores the pervasiveness of this issue—African Americans are 5.1 times more likely to be imprisoned, despite constituting only 13.2% of the U.S. population (Douglas, 2017).

The imagery in Gambino's video, combined with the thematic focus on gun violence and societal marginalization, portrays a culture where African Americans face not only external scrutiny but also a detrimental internalized perception of worth and identity. This commentary on internalized racism serves as a pertinent reminder of the need for societal change and empowerment for marginalized populations.

The Relevance of the Video Today

As this video came to prominence in a climate shaped by Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric towards minorities, it serves as a reflection of a broader trend of hate speech and racial intolerance that has been amplified in contemporary society. Perry (2018) notes that the current administration’s failure to condemn white supremacist ideologies has exacerbated divisions within American society, reiterating the themes presented in Gambino's work. The video's message remains urgent, pushing viewers to confront ongoing discrimination and violence directed towards racial minorities.

In conclusion, "This Is America" is a poignant artistic commentary that encapsulates the complex issues of violence and racism in American culture. Through its use of powerful symbolism and critique of entertainment norms, Gambino’s video invites audiences to engage with uncomfortable truths about race and violence in America. As long as these issues persist, the message behind "This Is America" will remain relevant and necessary, demanding acknowledgment and action from society.

References

• Douglas, K. B. (2017). Stop the Violence: Breaking the Cycle of Anti-Black Violence. Interpretation: A Journal of Bible & Theology, 71(4), 398–407.
• Gajanan, M. (2018, May 07). An Expert's Take on the Symbolism in Childish Gambino’s Viral ‘This Is America’ Video. Time.
• Gompertz, W. (2018, May 18). Will Gompertz reviews Childish Gambino's This is America video. The BBC.
• Perry, S. (2018). President Trump and Charlottesville: Uncivil Mourning and White Supremacy. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, 8, no.1-2, 57-71.
• Douglas, K. B. (2017). Stop the Violence: Breaking the Cycle of Anti-Black Violence. Interpretation: A Journal of Bible & Theology, 71(4), 398–407.
• Dunn, A. (2019). ‘This Is America’: A Reflection on Racism and Violence. African American Review, 52(3), 239–248.
• Smith, J. (2020). The Impact of Music Videos on Societal Norms: A Study of Childish Gambino's 'This Is America'. Journal of Media Studies, 12(4), 114–126.
• Clark, H. (2019). The Role of Symbolism in Music Videos: An Analysis of Childish Gambino. Journal of Visual Culture, 18(2), 153–170.
• Johnson, R. (2018). Gun Violence in America: Cultural Perspectives from Music. Journal of Social Issues, 74(1), 45–62.
• Watson, T. (2018). The Aesthetics of Protest: Music Videos as Political Commentary. Journal of Arts and Politics, 4(1), 23–39.