This Is America

*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t seen Childish Gambino’s new music video for his song, “THis is America”, then you need to stop what you’re doing and what it ASAP no Rocky. I shall be discussing the music video now. I haven’t been able to get the images of the song nor the song itself at of my head. The video and the song itself does an incredible job of reflecting how we as Americans distract ourselves from the brutality that exists along side us everyday. The video is packed with images of rioting, police brutality, and gun violence if you pay close enough attention. Most of the violent action takes place behind, Gambino and a group of school children who perform popular dances like the “Gwaragwara” and “Roy Purdy dance,”. But Gambino and the children remain the focal point, representing how social media blinds people from the true problems in America by feeding them entertainment and pointless trends. At the same time, it begs the question: where is the balance between numbing yourself, and protecting yourself? Though the violence rages in the background, the children are pure black child joy, when so often black children are depicted as being more dangerous and older than their white counterparts.