Railton and Watson argue that the ways racial imagery was developed and reinforced during the Victorian era, particularly through colonial and imperialist ideologies that upheld white dominance, still influence how black and white people are perceived today (Railton and Watson, 2011). This can be seen in modern media, including music videos. For example, Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America (Glover, 2018), exposes how African American people are portrayed in America and criticises America as a whole, for gun violence and racism. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

Symbolism is used throughout the music video, in the first minute of the video, you see Gambino shoot the guitarist who was on the chair and, later, the body being dragged off the camera, showing that the guitarist has no value. This highlights the current issues concerning racism, gun violence and consumption of media in America and how it is brainwashing people into thinking this is normal when it isn’t. In addition to the first scene, Gambino used exaggerated facial expressions and body language to reference Jim Crow. 

Moreover, the viewer gets comfortable with the choir singing but snaps the viewer back into reality with the gunshot and Gambino continuing to rap, again exposing the reality of gun violence in America and not just full of ‘butterflies and rainbows’. Gambino addresses these political issues in an artistic and audiovisual way, drawing the viewer into what he has to say and show about America. In one of the scenes with the choir singing, Gambino dances past them, later pulls out a gun, shoots all of them and walks away untouched. The significance of this scene references the 2015 shooting in a Charleston church and shows how mass shootings in America are normalised. 

Finally, Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ (Glover, 2018), explores racism through the symbolism used throughout the music video. Furthermore, the music video reinforces that black people are represented differently in “contemporary media culture” (Railton and Watson, 2011). 

Bibliography: 

Glover, D. (2018). Childish Gambino – This Is America (Official Music Video). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY.

Railton, D. and Watson, P. (2011). Music Video and the Politics of Representation. Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press.

Dhruvi Dhokia