Donald Glover unexpectedly released the first video from his upcoming – and by all accounts, final – album as Childish Gambino, the politically charged ‘This Is America‘.
It’s a confronting look at the horrifying gun violence ravaging the US, and the ease at which it’s ignored. The guns used in the clip are treated with care, with well-dressed men appearing to whisk them away on red cloth, while black bodies lie where they fell in the background.
Gambino dances, oblivious or wilfully ignorant to the violence and mayhem around him. If you’ve only watched it once, watch it again – but this time, ignore him completely and focus on what’s happening in the background.
Reactions to ‘This Is America’ – directed by Gambino’s long-time collaborated Hiro Murai, and choreographed by Sherrie Silver – are pretty much what you’d expect: absolutely, unequivocally floored.
https://twitter.com/fatbellybella/status/993175368080207873
whenever donald glover does anything i am filled with an immense and deep-seated creative anxiety that does not go away for at least three days
— jonny sun (@jonnysun) May 6, 2018
Pretty sure we should all just quit and start letting @donaldglover make everything. #ThisIsAmerica
— Rhett McLaughlin | MUSIC: James and the Shame (@rhettmc) May 6, 2018
Holy shit. Well, it’s barely even May and Gambino already has Video of the Year on lock. #ThisIsAmerica
— Johnny Sobczak (@JohnnySobczak) May 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/JSim07/status/993174229565620224
In the space of four minutes, Glover touches on a number of points: the Charleston shooting, the Black Lives Matter protests, the violence perpetrated against black bodies (“you just a barcode”), and our ease as a society to ignore it for the shiny thing right in front of us.
Plenty of the reactions are simply imploring others to notice what’s actually going on around his perfect Gwara Gwara.
People are so caught up in Gambino’s shoot that they don’t even realize what the hell is going on in the background. He’s literally talking about people who don’t care about what’s happening in society, but care about the latest dance fad. He’s talking about y’all.#ThisIsAmerica
— mani (@imanisgroove) May 6, 2018
Notice the kids follow in his footsteps and look to him for their next move. But they are also the first to clean up his mess. #ThisIsAmerica
— I Am Not Your Oreo (@ceejnsight) May 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/nicky_furiosa/status/993137469884420096
The more you watch the #ThisIsAmerica video, the more you realize that there’s so much going on in the background and that Donald is just a distraction – and that’s the whole point. #StayWoke (don’t catch you slippin’ now)
— Siyabonga 🔴⚪️ (@sabu_mahlaba) May 6, 2018
So many layers of symbolism
-References to mass shootings & hysteria
-Black men shot; meanwhile the guns are handled with care
-The current state of hip hop; seemingly unaffected by anything going onI could go on. Donald Glover you nailed it.#ThisIsAmerica
— Mamba Forever (@gznupe1911) May 6, 2018
So much symbolism in #ThisIsAmerica 1. Guns are handled with care 2. The kids are following his every move 3. Travon Martins dad playing the guitar 4. Dance moves depicting americas shopping craze 5. The people recording on their phones. SO MUCH MAN!
— Mel_OD K. Howard (@MEL_OD) May 6, 2018
Me when I realized that gambino’s dance moves distracted me from all the craziness happening in the background and that’s exactly the point he’s trying to make… #ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/ZlMxE2VwZV
— Claudia Gonzales (@claudiag0292) May 6, 2018
When you wanna count off the church scene as hyperbolic but you realize that Charleston really happened…..at Bible Study.
Also, notice how [black] bodies were left while the gun was handled with respect and care. #ThisIsAmerica
— Shihabe Masum 🖌️💎💡🎃🎃 (@shihabe_masum) May 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/xCANNIBEMEx/status/993004720305340416
https://twitter.com/trent_reznor/status/993235063595651073
What happens when you put creative agency in the hands of artists. 🙌🏿 Powerful narratives, carried by the vehicle of entertainment. Specificity is the universal connective tissue. Big shout to @childishgambino for this one 👊🏿 #ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/u9N6Wb5dzL
— Winston Duke (@Winston_Duke) May 6, 2018
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.” – Rev.6:8#ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/eqIfQqQCAC
— ChungleDownBim (@JustinBerling) May 6, 2018
ALSO (continued): Could this be a Horseman of the Apocalypse running through the background? But also the fact that you could miss it because of the dancing in the foreground further emphasizes the distractions of pop culture/social media #ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/TPP7XswfGJ
— Courtney Slavin (@courtneyslavin) May 6, 2018
Twitter users initially believed the man playing guitar at the beginning of the video was Trayvon Martin‘s dad Tracy Martin, but it’s actually Los Angeles-based artist Calvin The ll.
However, that was SZA making a cameo at the very end, giving us hope that future collaborations are coming.
Fans also theorised that Glover was running from the Sunken Place at the end, obviously taken from Jordan Peele‘s Get Out. It’s worth noting that when Glover performed ‘This Is America’ on Saturday Night Live – pretty much around the same time as the video dropped – Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya introduced him.
I mean there was SO MUCH. The pale horse of death from Revelations, white cops going after black people, Gambino’s minstrel show-esque movements/facial expressions, Gambino running away from the sunken place at the end. But his shoot and gwara though! 🙄#ThisIsAmerica
— mani (@imanisgroove) May 6, 2018
There are also the inevitable comparisons to Kanye West, who might be a musical genius but is coming under fire for his seeming unthinking support of Trump and ignorance of the ways in which marginalised groups are suffering.
Donald Glover has become what we wanted Kanye to be in 2018. #ThisISAmerica
— Albert Pritchard (@Al_YourPal) May 6, 2018
Childish Gambino is what Kanye aspires to be but fails to attain. #ThisIsAmerica
— 🇯🇲Black 🇭🇹 Aziz 🇳🇬 aNANsi 🇹🇹 (@Freeyourmindkid) May 6, 2018
Glover is expected to drop his as-yet-untitled album in the near-future, and holy christ, do we have exceedingly high hopes. And we’ll be watching it again and again.
Me turning up to #ThisIsAmerica yet still getting the message pic.twitter.com/yOjZWKMRNn
— 🥥🌞 (@uzumamii) May 6, 2018
