Music Video Theory

 

Theory

Music Video theory - Childish Gambino blog task

1) How does the This Is America video meet the key conventions of a music video?

The key convention of narrative is also shown in the music video because of the story going on. Gambino lip-syncs the song towards the camera and dances as well. This meets the key convention, performance.  

2) What comment is the video making on American culture, racism and gun violence?

The video suggests that America will always see black individuals as evil and criminals.

3) Write an analysis of the video applying the theories we have learned: Gilroy, Hall, Rose and Dyson.

Gilroy -Black music, according to Gilroy, expresses diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture.

Hall -According to Hall, western societies are still dominated by white people, and ethnic minorities in the media are misrepresented due to underlying racist attitudes.

Rose -Rose proposed that hip hop initially provided audiences with insight into the life of young, black, urban Americans while simultaneously providing them with a voice.

Dyson -Dyson says hip hop's enlightened qualities are disregarded by naysayers with a vendetta against black youth culture.

4) What are the three interpretations suggested in the article?

The three interpretations are that he is duping us, playing Jim Crow and that he is taking on the police.

Extension task: 

Media Magazine - This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest

1) What are some of the suggested meanings and references the writer discusses?

It makes reference to Jim Crow because of the negative ideas about African Americans. The

church choir shooting is a reference to the 2015 massacre of nine African Americans in Charleston,South Carolina.

2) What does the writer suggest are the main political themes in the video - and why is the message unclear?

It interrogates and criticises American gun culture and racism past and present. But its ‘message’ is not so easily unlocked because Glover’s refusal to comment on the video has maintained

this ambiguity. This absence leads viewers to seek out their own context.

3) What meanings and suggestions does the writer highlight in Beyonce's video for Formation?

Formation were praised for their undiluted blackness, which in a culture of white hegemony is seen as a powerful political statement in itself.

4) What is notable about Glover's comedy drama TV show Atlanta? 

Most of the people in the video are of colour and its noticeable. This is significant because the media does not usually portray a lot of people of colour. Portrayal of black people is gradually increasing.

5) What example does the writer provide of hip hop as a political genre?

"Big Pimpin" is the example used in the article.