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Childish Gambino - This is America
- Thread starter Deleted member 1444
- Start date
How did you guys interpret Glover's changing expressions in the beginning? I felt like he was trying to work through the various emotions black people cycle through constantly between injustice and coping, but I feel like that's not quite it.
There's no nuance behind it and he was just acting a fool.
Yeah, this. It just fits the tone and is a decent tool to encourage individual interpretation without much effort. I seriously doubt every last twitch of his face is some meticulously calculated choreography with an agenda behind it. I make funny faces when Im feeling the vibe too.
Love him as an actor, but wow, that video blows. If this is the best his music gets I think I can just ignore it. What an awful song!
/me not American or Right
XD
/me not American or Right
XD
Are you calling out your own hot take? This is a confusing post.
User Warned: Antagonizing another member and community-whining
What's so confusing when someone says it's garbage? That chorus is absolutely garbage. I'm sorry if my opinion doesn't match your echo chamber, but there you have it. If my post confused you, I'd gladly use more direct language but then I'd run the risk of upsetting your other delicate sensibilities.
'delicate sensibilities'
tell us more how you were offended at the chorus
Okay, so you're done and you're doing this by doing "/done". So you like doing the / thing to express yourself.
In the first post you said
"/me not American or Right
XD"
You yourself said your post wasn't right and i asked if you were calling out your own post, which apparently you were, and then you ended it with an XD.
Confusing.
I could be wrong but It seems to me that the song was made for the video. I'd like to know if the song came first or if the entire concept came first and the song is a soundtrack.
Sure there was an SNL performance but even that had a visual event. It was more than just music
Sure there was an SNL performance but even that had a visual event. It was more than just music
Seanbaby decided to just get real fuckin' mean with his clapback. Maybe a bit too much.
As people have pointed out, this is awful for a litany of reasons but my personal biggest issue is the juxtaposition of an overweight woman of colour with a baby, being photographed without her knowledge with a POC being shot in the head.
I get it's supposed to be some commentary on breastfeeding but it still comes across as crass.
doubly so when it comes from the "dear fat people" woman.
Whatever angle you use to argue this it's fucking shitty and insensitive.
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Video (and song) are great, minimalism is a legitimate style and people fumbling over themselves in confusion are overthinking it.
Like, even if you don't understand every subtle reference that might be at play, or miss some background detail, the message of the song is still pretty clear at the end of the day.
Like, even if you don't understand every subtle reference that might be at play, or miss some background detail, the message of the song is still pretty clear at the end of the day.
You say that, but I've been unable to stop listening to this since it came out. It's just a continuation of his brilliant musical writing and you either love it or hate it. I definitely feel this album is going to be a blend of because the internet and redbone and I can not be more excited.
I mean the hook has been stuck in my head all day
It's simple, it's minimal, and the core meaning of the song in there in the lyrics, independent from the video
The materialism and gun culture critiques, and the relationship between the two, are all there
There's nothing wrong with dating outside your race (I've done it a few times), but I'd love to see him or Jordan Peele tackle why some black men date white women.
Atlanta had one bit with an angry black woman mad at a white girl for taking a good black man. I'd love to see them get super honest and criticize themselves. Like how we are sometimes programed to hate ourselves, how some black men view white or light skinned girls as status symbols, or how some of us like to play the victim by claiming that black women aren't "in to" us. That last one is my favorite because it's just the guy projecting his own insecurities about not being "black enough" on to black women.
I like how you pointed out colorism as a topic to be interrogated as well.
It's a complex thing. Certainly it would be curious to have them be that self-reflective. I would not hold them personally to it, though.
I get what you're saying, but i'd point out that Donald's girlfriend is Asian. I'm not particularly sure why so many people on Twitter think she's white.
Oh I know, but I'd still like to see that covered on the show. Just something real about black men and fetishiztion.
The part in bold really confuses me. Why would anyone need to tackle why black men date white women or any person of any race with another race? Do people need to explain why they are attracted to others not in their race?
I'm a mix of middle eastern indian and it would frustrate me if I had to explain, every so often, why I married my wife who is white.
I dont feel like that premise accomplishes anything? And I say this as a black man who takes to self critical takes like a fish to water
I find it odd that there is a swathe of people trying to figure out hidden meanings in the video, when I don't think it's as deep as people say.
For me, from a film language perspective, Glover's expressions at the beginning were there to create the initial sense of unease, to imply something isn't quite right, to plant that first seed of doubt in the audience's mind. That's at least my gut response to it when I first saw it.
Sorry if I didn't make my point clear enough.
Because it keeps coming up when a lot of these successful black men have non-black wives. It's fair game since they're talking about what it means to be black in America, and the shit we have to deal with.
It's not about making anyone feel guilty.
I only think it becomes an issue when someone, say a black man, exclusively dates white or asian women. When that's the case they often like to hide behind preferences, but no one is born with a preference for a certain skin tone. Preferences are influenced by society.
Some of us just fall in love with someone from another race, while others go out of their way to find a white girl (I know a lot of guys like this). Idk, like I said--I've been in interracial relationships--so I'm not against them. I just think it'd be interesting to tackle. To see them turn inwards and question their intentions themselves instead of handwaving it away.
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The lyrics are concise and accomplish what they need to do, which is basically just satire. He's not trying to paint a story through long, drawn out verses here.
When you have scenes like the one below in your show, it's fair. Why only tackle it from one side? It'd help some men be honest with themselves. Once again, it shouldn't be about making anyone feel bad. Also, look at the comments for that video. Some black women felt like they were being mocked. You see this perspective often, but never see the black men question themselves.
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u ever witness a spontaneous implosion
I will admit my bias of , I don't think I have personally ever experienced pre telling myself i'm not black enough for...whatever to justify my own biases. So That take is foreign to me, maybe its more common than I think. I will however say in my own personal experience, i have met way more men and women of multiple races who have experienced " this thing is for white people " Oh you doing " white people shit " and receiving criticism or what have you. And I think that's a bit more relatable a premise.
That said making episodes about weird theologies of groups of people who might not be the norm, is totally fine and sort of invalidates my point so. Go ahead I guess?
Please use direct language with me: why does the video blow?
Oh that's worth talking about too. As a black guy who listens to basically everything, I've experienced this. In high school I listened to nothing but Fall Out Boy, The Killers, etc, and I used to lie when someone asked me what I was listening to lol. That's something we have to stop.
To relate this back to relationships, I feel like there are quite a few folks who in their life rejected for their interests or presentation because it doesn't fall in line with what people expect or sort of what them to be based on race. To the degree in which " can donald glover be pro-black with a white wife " is a conversation that keeps coming up and not just with him. I guess my point is, I think that idea is relatable to people.
In my personal experience I haven't and I don't think I have come accross someone who just goes " I'm not black enough for this " out of nowehre in earnest and just psychs themselves out of shit, but maybe its more common than I think.In my experience, that feeling comes from years of critcism for who they are. Or black folk who are so rich and out of touch that they don't eve want to be bothered...which could be an interesting episode of a show.
...what? It's just dating someone from a different race. All that other stuff are projections of insecurity that other people are hefting on them. They fell in love with someone who was white. There are no underlying reasons. Why do we keep making a big deal out of this? This shit should be a non-issue