Childish Gambino's 'This is America' Textual Analysis

 'this is America' is a 2018 protest song that conveys the views of what a black male thinks about America. It has received over 722 million video views on You tube.

Ten Shot Textual Analysis

The exposition of the music video shows the Childish Gambino shooting someone with a bag over their head. After this action a wide shot is shown to see the way that the gun and body are removed from the mise-en-scene differently. The gun is carried away carefully, showing the importance and value of guns in America.

Compared to the gun the body of a dead black man is dragged away as seen in the background of a tracking shot. Gambino here is commenting on how Americans value guns more than lives.

The music video begins with upbeat party music with a South African styling which has connotations of happiness and positivity. The transition with the gunshot changes the mood entirely by going into a trap beat which is associated with urban ghetto areas of the USA and has a much darker sound and tone. Many people have interpreted this a s Gambino commenting on the contradiction in US society with a global culture from Disney onwards that is associated with smiles, happiness and entertainment. Yet the darkness of gun violence and racism are never far away and Glover could be suggesting that they are two sides of the same coin and by by having that juxtaposition in his music video present both the sides of America are represented. 

The dancing and happiness in the foreground is contradicted by the background due to the fact that there is carnage and crime in the background. The industry is distracting us from the real unrest in the background.

This shot with the Church is where the South African styling continues but the beat changes to the trap beat again.

This church shooting is likely a reference to the 2015 massacre at Emanuel African methodist church in Charleston, South Carolina. This is another comment on the troubles that America faces.

The final scene of the music video features Glover running away from something that is likely to convey that just because he is a famous and rich actor doesn't mean he can escape the constraints of being a black man in America.