Something strange has been happening since Childish Gambino's "This Is America" video dropped. Memes are Mere Sapno Ki Rani (2023) Hindi Web Seriessurfacing, as they inevitably do, and some people are pushing back.
"It's disrespectful" is a common criticism directed at the meme-makers and sharers. Some feel the video's powerful messages, which together amount to a statement on the black experience in the United States, qualify it as a sacred work.
SEE ALSO: Here are all the things you should be looking for in the 'This Is America' videoThat's a completely valid read. The video is an exceptional framing device for Gambino's song, which contrasts joyful, cheery melodies against a harsh, thumping trap beat. But it's also a standalone work with its own artistic merits.
Donald Glover, the IRL voice of Gambino, slyly commented on the video's meaning when he was asked about it at the recent 2018 Met Gala. "I just wanted to make, you know, a good song, and something people could play on the Fourth of July," he said, grinning.
Something that people can play on the Fourth of July, a.k.a. Independence Day. The most patriotic of patriotic holidays. A song, and a video, about the inescapable reality that a marginalized community in this country faces on a daily basis. Can you see it?
"I just wanted to make ... something people could play on the Fourth of July."
Ibra Ake, the video's producer, offered a much more explicit read during a recent radio interview. Discussing the video's violence -- Gambino guns down unarmed black people at two specific moments -- Ake pointed out that the video's use of imagery is itself both informed by and a reaction to the state of American life in 2018.
"Our goal is to normalize blackness. It’s, like, this is how we would like to dance, but we have to be aware of the danger and the politics of how we’re perceived and the implications of the history of how we were treated," he said.
"There’s all this math you’re constantly doing expressing yourself. We’re trying to not have to explain ourselves to others and just exist, and not censor what our existence looks like as people."
These quotes help to highlight the idea we started out with above, that the meme-ification of "This Is America" is perceived by some as disrespectful. The music video isn't your usual brand of pop fluff, but it's saying something important. Laying down Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" (or whatever else) on top of it drowns out the creator's intent, the critics point out.
Does it though? Memes are an inevitable product of the age that we live in. It's not like Glover, Ake, director Hiro Murai, and the other creative forces involved in making "This Is America" weren't aware.
Even if they didn't know how big the splash would be, they knew what they were putting out into the world with that video. They knew equally well what happens on the internet when a popular work enters the mainstream consciousness.
Take a moment to watch the Gambino/Jepsen mash-up:
The video syncs up as well as it does because "This Is America" was consciously built as a modern work of pop music. It plays at 120 beats per minute (BPM), a fairly standard tempo for some of the biggest songs of the modern pop/rock era. It lines up with "Call Me Maybe" because they share the same DNA.
That's the whole point. "This Is America" subverts pop standards to deliver its message to the broadest possible audience. You can think the memes are disrespectful, or you can feel instead that they help get the word out on an important work.
Either way, the video is having its intended effect: We're all talking about it and we're all engaging with what it's saying. This is America, memes and all.
Topics Music
Best portable power station deal: Save $179.01 on the EcoFlow River 2 Max
Here's the blue latte you never knew you wanted
Christine Hallquist could become America's first openly trans governor
YouPorn launches a 'sex zodiac' service for horoscope lovers
The Baffler’s May Day Round Up
South Koreans rush to remote town on North Korean border to play 'Pokémon Go'
Katy Perry gives Calvin Harris a lesson on how to deal with Taylor Swift
Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 11/9': Review
How to Squeeze the Most Out of Your iPhone's Battery
'Pokémon Go' is already the biggest U.S. mobile game ever
Best iPad deal: Save $132 on Apple iPad (10th Gen)
Twitter’s livestreaming video app Periscope launches audio
North Korean spy charged with hacking Sony
New Yorkers peel guns off 'Jason Bourne' ads
Bomb Envy
New Roomba i7+ remembers a map of your home
The Colorado River is evaporating, and climate change is a big culprit
Academy postpones adding a 'popular' movie category
Skype is finally shutting down
Lime just dropped some serious e
This E Ink keyboard is cool, but probably not coming to new Macs soonWill.I.Am transforms into Trump in music video supporting ClintonSpotify takes an early weekend, has outage on Friday afternoon'Stranger Things' Season 2 casts a Power Ranger and Broadway starKneel before the new longest reigning monarch, Queen ElizabethRobin Williams' unique bicycle collection goes on auction block for charityYou'll want to hug this octopus costume with all 8 armsWatch the graphic process by which a sadistic family brutally murders a Teddy RuxpinVirgin America sneakers feature WiRon Swanson is deeply offended that Donald Trump went into politicsWill.I.Am transforms into Trump in music video supporting ClintonStolen childhood: Why one Syrian refugee boy is at work instead of schoolAmazon's $50 phone is as basic as it gets, so long as you're cool with adsBoy dangles from roof in 'Don't Shoot' shirt following Aleppo airstrikeBoy dangles from roof in 'Don't Shoot' shirt following Aleppo airstrikeHere's what happens when the iPhone 7's home button diesThe Great Barrier Reef isn't dead, despite its viral obituary'The Simpsons' celebrates 600th episode with virtual reality shortRon Swanson is deeply offended that Donald Trump went into politics6 ways climate change is threatening food security — and what we can do about it How long can Netflix keep its prices this low? Jemele Hill supporters take up the #NaziBucketChallenge Remarkable Tablet: The full review Sean Spicer: Being invited to the Emmys was 'a real honor' Colin Kaepernick, shunned by the NFL, named Week 1 MVP by the player's union Beware of fake forecasts for Hurricane Jose Video shows Cassini team reacting to the spacecraft's death at Saturn Bing launches Google Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett superfans, prepare to be unbelievably excited Claire Foy crowned the new 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' You can now disable Samsung's Bixby button How the tech elite's addiction to fancy coffee turned Blue Bottle into a tech startup Emmys predictions 2017: Who'll win Best Drama without Game of Thrones? Stephen Colbert Emmys opener slams Donald Trump Emmys 2017 Red Carpet looks: Stranger Things and more Download this: tbh app may have cracked anonymous apps' bully problem Cassini, one of humanity's best spacecraft, is dead at Saturn 'Stranger Things' gave us the best moment of the Emmys and you didn't even see it 'Mother!' first screenings: What audiences thought All of the Rick and Morty swag you could ever want
2.1393s , 10131.9140625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Mere Sapno Ki Rani (2023) Hindi Web Series】,Charm Information Network