Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 (March 22, 2020) Album • Page 4

The intro track is impressive but I haven’t really gone back to that album much at all since it came out. Guessing it will be remembered for Redbone more than anything.

 

This song/video is insane.

 

This Is America is pretty easily my SOTY right now. Its just too important.

 

California is legit one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. I love that album but how that song got released is baffling to me

 

Goddamn love the song/video

 

A perspective:

 

not sure if this was posted yet

 

They finally posted that performance!! Gonna watch it later

 

Yeah that performance is good, but the ending is great

 

Saturday performance > this is America performance

This Is America video > everything right now

 

I'm just now picking up on all the guest ad libs.

 

That video/song is incredible. Felt like a cultural moment when I first watched it, which is such a great feeling, though also uncomfortable given the content. Really curious what the overall sound of the album is going to be.

 

I love the song and think the video is fascinating but there are some perspectives that I think deserve to be heard. Thread:

 

people just want something that checks all of their own boxes when he's just putting something out there without any statement or context. I don't see this as a video with one clear interpretation so to interpret it one way and then be annoyed by that specific interpretation seems a little odd to me.

maybe i'm wrong though.

 

I think that's dismissive. It's an obviously provocative video that lends itself to endless interpretations. Some of them will be negative. She said she tried to interpret it several ways and every reading bothered her, personally.

 

Yeah, I'm a little confused how a music video can 'miss the mark' since Donald didn't put it out there with a statement of what it was supposed to represent. Opinions are just that

 

BNT from Pitchfork

“This Is America” by Childish Gambino Review | Pitchfork

 

When reading a work of media, we glean the intent of the piece, what it's trying to say. We can then gauge how effectively it illustrates its themes and message. For her, it "misses the mark". I'm not saying she's right, but, particularly in discussions of art for which I'm not the primary audience, I like to read views from those more qualified to engage with the work, including her and people who think the video is flawed, as well as the many who think the video is great.

 

When it comes to white and non-black folks, like me, consuming the art of black folks, what comes to mind is Dave Chapelle.

He got famous doing caricatures of black folks, but were white audiences laughing at him or with him?

Seeing black trauma like this, specifically when he guns down the choir, for entertainment is quite unsettling.

 

Isn't that the whole point though? It should be unsettling.

 

Who is the primary audience for a music video?? Are you implying that is that another item that must be extracted from the video when we watch

 

I don’t necessarily disagree, but my counterpoint would be that the purpose of art is often to use dramatic contrasts or unsettling imagery in service of a larger point, and perhaps convey that message to an audience who may not otherwise have that awareness. I think that’s what separates this video from something that’s using images of black violence for purely “entertainment” purposes, here it’s clearly in service of some larger message. We can disagree about what that message is or Glover’s effectiveness in conveying it though, of course.

 

The video is intentionally unsettling and graphic, which is why we should be careful when lauding it or dissecting the semiotics. There's a lot in there, this should be more than an inflation of Donald's genius, it should be an engagement with the work itself, for all its messiness and potential missteps along with its very resonant and incredible elements.

 

Not really fond of being provocative for the sake of being provocative. I think it’s great to evoke emotion, but it is important to be purposeful.

Cause if not then you can get some shit like this: