0:18 – An earth comet, a fire comet, an air comet, and a water comet fly to Earth
0:26 – The comets crash into Earth, each turning into Daler Mehndi
0:27 – Lyrics begin 0:43 – The air Mehndi dances with the fire Mehndi
0:58 – The wind Mehndi starts dancing on the ocean
1:01 – Returns to the air Mehndi and the fire Mehndi dancing
1:05 – The earth Mehndi starts dancing underground
1:08 – The fire Mehndi manipulates fire
1:13 – All of the Mehndis start dancing together
2:33 – The water Mehndi starts manipulating water
3:41 – The earth Mehndi shakes the ground like a drum
4:08 – All four Mehndis return to their elemental forms and fuse into a singular Daler Mehndi
“Tunak Tunak Tun” is an Indian pop song by Daler Mehndi. It was created in response to criticisms of Daler Mehndi. People criticized his popularity, claiming that it was derived from the attractive women featured in his music videos, rather than his talent as an artist. So instead of having women in the video, he just had himself. Using bluescreen technology, he created several copies of himself in the video. He proved everybody that criticized him wrong, as his music video gained international success and made him India’s most famous pop star, without the use of attractive women. The music video was such a huge hit that it became a viral internet meme in the early 2000s. The music video speaks to me because it taught me that no matter what people think of you, you can always prove them wrong.
The words “Tunak Tunak Tun” represented the sounds that a toombi, a traditional Indian instrument, made. In the music video, it features four people, played by Mehndi. Each of them represented the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. They start out as comets of the corresponding elements, crashing into Earth. They then fuse into the ultimate being, a single Daler Mehndi. The fusing of the four elements represents how the elements work in harmony in nature. For example, in the beginning, when the air Mehndi dances with the fire Mehndi, it represents how for fire to exist, air (oxygen) needs to be present.
At first, this song received a negative review. But despite this, it became the biggest hit in India. It eventually found a cult following all around the world, including the United States. It influenced pop culture, becoming an Internet meme. It sparked countless parodies on YouTube, and influenced video games like World of Warcraft, a game that I play myself. Even today, 22 years after the song was released, the song remains culturally relevant.
0:03- The Music Video starts off with a message reading, “finneas is my brother and my best friend. no matter the circumstance, we always have and always will be there for each other”, on a green background.
0:12- The video cuts to a moving car which appears to be driving on an elevated highway. In the background you can see it is night time and there appears to be a city landscape with lit skyscrapers , perhaps taking place New York or another city. It is hard to tell because the background is out of focus.
0:26- The two people in the car appear to be Billie in the drivers seat and her brother Finneas passenger side. It is hard to tell because the windows appear to be tinted and this combined with the night scenery and gives it more ambiguity.
0:41- We finally see Billie’s face and she appears to be driving with her brother Finneas passenger side. Billie has this almost tired/serious look on her face as well as her brother.
0:49- Billie drives into a tunnel which gets rid of the city landscape scenery for the time being.
0:53- Billie drives out of the tunnel and there appears to be a completely new scenery in the background. Instead of a city landscape, there is a huge ocean with a couple of small mountains in the background. If you take a closer look, the golden state bridge is also in the background as well, but that is also hard to distinguish as it is still night time and the background is still out of focus.
0:56- Billie once again drives into another tunnel and this also gets rid of the landscape scenery for the time being.
0:59- We once again see Billie’s face, but she appears to look even more tired and more sad with her brother maintaining that same serious look.
1:09- We start to see the exit of the tunnel and there appears to be a new another new scenery. This time it appears to be a California dessert. You can tell because of the cactuses and dry, arid flora.
1:14- The background still takes place in the dry, California dessert but this time we see a sunset overlooking the mountain scape and highway.
1:24- We can now see the car has driven onto the sand of a beach
1:26- Finneas looks out the window and looks concerned almost
1:28- Billie just keeps looking straight ahead as she continues to drive
1:38- They both look straight ahead as the car continues to drive straightforward
1:53- We see Billies POV in the drivers seat and it is just pure ocean.
1:57- The car appears to be heading to the ocean
2:01- Billies foot is seen stomping on the accelerator pedal of the car
2:09- The car appears to be sinking slowly into the ocean
2:12- We see from the inside that the water level arises from the outside, slowly covering up the window view.
2:16- The car is now fully submerged underwater
2:24- We see the car is getting further and further away from the surface
2:28- It is completely dark in the ocean, with only the bright headlights of the car illuminating the pitch blackness.
2:34- Billie touches the window but with a calm demeanor
2:40- They are both just sitting there calmly, with surprisingly no water entering the car
2:57- Finneas extends his hand out to Billie who is sitting right next to him and they interlock fingers and hold hands
3:00- They finally look at each other in the face, but Billie’s sorrowful look turns into a smile
3:08- They both look out their windows and see that the surface of the ocean is far above them, with the car gradually sinking further down
3:22- Billie looks down at her foot and notices water is starting to pour in from underneath the car
3:26- They both look at each other calmly and look back straight ahead
3:37- The headlights of the car turn off
3:38- The water has covered her whole foot and they grasp onto each others hands even tighter
3:50- The camera slowly pans out of the drivers seat window with Billie still looking calm and the scenery all pitch black, with the only barely recognizable figure being Billie’s face
4:27- The music stops as the video comes to an end, but there is another 20 seconds left of the video where it is just a black screen.
I found out about the video and the song when I went to get a haircut in the middle of February. I remember I walked in to the barbershop and took a seat down to wait, and they had this big TV screen which usually plays music videos. This one time though they were playing this particular song and video and I’ve never heard it before prior to the haircut. As I was looking at and listening to the video I felt something inside of me. I don’t know if it was sorrow, pain, or even happiness but I felt something. I’ve never seen or heard anything that evoked that feeling that was I was feeling. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it and took another listen at home and it evoked the same feelings. It has grown to be one of my favorite songs and it introduced me to more of Billie’s work. Even now when I watched it again, I viewed in awe and developed even more appreciation for the song and video.
The video’s genre is Pop or Alternative Pop. The intended audience is meant to be teenagers and anyone who is going through something. The social context is that she is a growing pop star and she came to a realization with herself throughout one of her dreams, or as she referred to it as a nightmare. The purpose of the video is to show that as she grows more famous, she has to be more careful with the people she surrounds herself with because as she described in her dream: she got everything she wanted, she killed herself by jumping off the golden state bridge, she thought people would care but they didn’t and they didn’t even shed a tear, rather called her weak. In the chorus of the song, her brother is reassuring her that everything is ok and as long as she has him, no one can hurt her. And he reassures her of her true value. As mentioned in the beginning of the video, her brother is everything to her, and no matter what happens they’ll always stick together side by side. The video is saying fame isn’t everything and to cherish your family as they’ll always be there for you no matter what. P.S. I recommend listening with headphones or a good speaker.
0:40 Our buddy Matty strolls in from a dreary and rainy world into “Mindshower” for a digital detox and steps into a bright and shiny (simulated) reality after lobbing his phone into a box
1:28 Pretty soon we meet the people Matty shares his time with: Avatars whose faces are common internet memes, but the environment is all nature. Matty’s now wearing a comfortable tunic thingy now
2:36 Matty frolics and dances in this digital paradise. He now approaches a small secluded pond, but right when he looks to see his reflection, the pond turns into the familiar blue error screen that is displayed on Windows computers following a fatal system error or crash. But once he puts both hands on it, the blue screen flickers and glitches until he’s sucked into it.
3:15 Matty’s now back in the nature, but his digital skin begins to decay and de-materialize, one of many translucent effects that has happened to his skin so far in the video. All the while he keeps dancing foolishly without paying any notice to it.
3:55 As Matty takes a moment to reflect on his thoughts, for a few seconds we see a dark, contorted version of his avatar flailing in front of some code, possibly a quick look behind the code that is the foundation of this simulation, where Matty’s body is being manipulated and bent in anatomically impossible forms to make him dance. This visual is not unlike the bare-bones of animation software where a controller moves joints and limbs to construct movement. It then just as quickly cuts back to Matty floaitng in a sunset sky dancing in a complex yet lazy way.
4:40 Now we see Matty again in the dark back room of the simulation, as he cautiously and slowly approaches another person… himself. Once he is close, both Mattyies reluctantly embrace one another and kiss, then walk away.
5:32 At the very end of the video, as Matty dances away into the infinite digital plane, it pans over to find “The Virgin” and… who I think is the girl from Danny Phantom? sitting beside each other on a log. The screen fades to black.
Analysis:
The genre of “The Birthday Party” is Alternative/Indie. Much of the 1975’s music is either this genre or is rock or pop. The band’s audience has for the most part always been Gen Z and some younger millennials. This video came out in February of this year, 2020. It serves as an artistic description of the lead singer and main character in the video, Matty Healy, and his current life off of drugs. He has to find new ways of dealing with how boring and awkward life is now, so he turns to the Internet to supply any leads on fulfillment.
However, a greater theme emerges from the context of the video. The “digital detox” is still a virtual simulation. Matty’s avatar is a facsimile of himself– in the same way, the other avatars in the simulation are societal archetypes created from the ground up on the internet, each symbolizing characters in society that people play. The message is truly nihilistic and difficult, but ends with the possibility of escape.
Identity, Connection, and Hopelessness
Like all humans since the dawn of self-awareness, the next generation longs for the discovery of identity and genuine connection to others.
Matty turns to the simulation, a system designed to make you feel wholesome about something that isn’t real. As a new generation raised online, it’s hardwired into us to subconsciously take into account the preferences of others to achieve wholeness, rather than the preferences of oneself. This subversive hijacking of identity leads to manipulation; we allow society to tell us who we are, and it all starts with an inherent need to connect to the world at large. The memes don’t only signify a fleeting distraction disguised as happiness, but the trap into loneliness and ego death that is losing your sense of identity, and losing the opportunity to discover it for yourself.
Another byproduct of living in a sea of connectivity never before attained in human history is the lack of it. TV shows, Twitter, our parents, Snapchat, and society have lowered Generation Z’s expectations of what genuine connection with other humans and with the world looks like, and has bamboozled all of us into nabbing the first imitation of connection we can get our hands on immediately. The only reason they’re getting away with it is because we let them, by playing by the rules of the social media game and emulating what we see online.
What the video ultimately conveys is that as a result society is a ton of living memes hopping around now unable and unwilling to fashion a unique identity, regulating surface level relationships that don’t amount to much more than the social equivalent of emojis and Instagram stories.
We’re nothing more than unrecognizable, digitized facsimiles of our true selves. The brief glimpse into the contorted “Matty” being made to dance among the bare bones of the computer code embody that through the dimness of our lives we are manipulated constantly.
And yet
there’s hope.
Matty walks up to the small pool, but when he attempts to see himself, the error flashes in the way. This is an effect to convey the unnaturalness of the simulation, but also proves that the system does not encourage self reflection. But in the end, there’s an attempt made to reach out to the only thing he knows is real, himself (Cogito, ergo sum). Through self-love, Matty kisses himself and achieves an identity beyond the perceptions of others and beyond the bounds of the simulation.
The 1975 has often times confronted the problems of our age, such as in their provocative “Love it if We Made It” and “I like America and America Likes Me”, as well as speaking about the newest generation’s challenges in rectifying their goals and desires to meet these challenges. Therefore it isn’t out of bounds to assume that the message at the end is that there is hope in preserving a unique identity while living in this hyper-reality, and that we can use the web as a tool for self-discovery and connection, as well as to conquer the obstacles facing us in the future. It all just starts with facing it and facing yourself.
+++sorry that this was so long, or if it doesn’t make sense, but I had to+++
[0:00 – 0:07] It’s “Open Mic Night Week 1”, and the host/speaker just introduced a singer by the name of Noah Kahan. Or in their own words “Noah Kahan or some shit”.
[0:13 – 0:14] You can distinctly hear him (Noah) correct the pronunciation of his name, but it seems to go unanswered.
[0:15 – 0:25] Some of the customers in the bar immediately lose interest after seeing Noah nervously walk up the stage.
[0:26 – 0:32] Scene cuts to Noah back in his room dressing up in the same outfit he is seen wearing to the open mic event. He breathes out nervously while checking himself out in the mirror.
[0:33 – 0:45] We’re back in the bar, and it’s clear that Noah is feeling extremely pressured. He looks around at the walls and looks lost. The speaker from the beginning takes down some notes.
[0:46] We see a google search of “Cool male artist looks”.
[0:47 – 0:55] Noah is now dressed differently, completely in black, shades, chains, cap. And we’re onto “Open Mic Night Week 2”.
[1:00 – 1:10] Noah pops a party popper, but everyone looks on with disinterest. The speaker shakes his head.
[1:11] We see Noah in a new look again.
[1:26] It’s “Open Mic Night Week 3” and again no seems interested in Noah.
[1:38 – 1:44] New look again! And it’s week 4 of the event. Still no luck.
[1:58] Week 5. The speaker looks disappointed in Noah. And Noah contemplates about all his decisions to dress different for the past few weeks. He seems frustrated and angry.
[2:40] We see Noah on his bed when he suddenly jumps up with energy. At the bar, he’s dressed up casually and waiting for the audience to settle in. It’s week 6 for the record.
[2:55] We finally see some reaction from the audience. They seem to enjoy the performance.
[3:32 – end] The audience is clapping for Noah and he smiles.
Conclusion
The song’s intended audience seems to be anyone who’s wanting to seek approval from others. Or I suppose in a way, anyone trying to succeed at something. In this music video’s case, it’s Noah trying to succeed with his musical career. From the very start of the video our protagonist, Noah, is introduced almost halfheartedly. When he tries to correct his introduction, no one answers him and he goes ignored. When he begins singing, everyone turns away almost immediately and goes back to their own business. Throughout the rest of the music video, Noah repeatedly changes his looks to try to attract the audience’s interest. Yet, despite how many times he changed and the various styles he tried on, no one pays him any mind. It’s only when Noah goes back to a casual wear (seemingly what he wears normally) and performs with confidence do people start listening and cheering him on. From this, I can discern two messages. One, you shouldn’t change yourself and pretend to be someone you aren’t. Putting on a false confidence does not take you to where you want to be. And two, not everyone will appreciate you, but that doesn’t mean no one will. In the music video, Noah is ignored plenty of times, but it isn’t until much later on when is finally acknowledged. Sometimes people just don’t appreciate your work, but that doesn’t mean you should give up.
Song Link
https://youtu.be/SF84c-Ehxls (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/SNCQsu5uXbo (This is not the music video, but it’s also an interesting depiction of the song)
Spider represents fear, insecurity, and doubt 2:36
Spider is also a common fear of people 2:36
Drops candle, could represent momentary lapse 1:23
He ages in the second scene of the video 2:20
Scenery is different 2:20
This change could represent unfamiliarity with new home 2:20
Candle illuminates the creatures around him 3:03
Ends with lights surrounding him 3:49
Could represent religion and self enlightenment as solution 3:25
Could also represent family and friends 3:25
Still resembles the same person throughout the video, not changing much in terms of looks 0-4:26
I discovered this song many years ago but has stuck with me for many years as it truly is one of my favorite songs. One of the reasons coincidentally was the symbolism shown both in the animation and lyrics of the video. The song while falling under the categories of pop has some aspects of rap shown in the pace of the lyrics. The song although showing his own battles with the pleasures that come with fame and fortune can be applied to audiences of all ages as we all go through our own battles between doing what feels good rather than what is healthy. This is especially prevalent in today’s culture where society bases happiness off of clothes, money, and tangible items. This is shown from the start of the video, how the main character has his purity or soul intact within the candle being held. The candle represents his gift and how we are all born with our own talents that help us succeed in life. In the next scenes, he encounters creatures that resemble a tall woman, a goblin, and spiders. Starting with the woman, this represents the lust and sexual desire where people often come into your life when they see you advancing in life. The green creatures in the next scene symbolize both fortune and greed for when we think about green, we automatically think of wealth. This represents the importance people place on wealth, many times placing it above all else. And the last challenge is shown by large spiders interpreted as fear or doubt, casted on him both by himself and others due to the uncertainty of succeeding in such a tough industry. While these are the challenges in his life, we can see these in our own too except in private. At the point where we believe the main character to be swallowed by the temptations and creatures, he comes out with the candle, surrounded by other tinier candles . These are his solutions to luxury, being family and friends that keep him normal and intact. Often times, we see many famous celebrities changing completely once getting a taste of fame and fortune. It is important to see that these vices aren’t the end goal and through conversations with people you’ve spent your life with, that you can keep your sanity. Writing this I find that this is especially true in quarantine where conversations with family and friends help me stay, me. These connections usually take a step down when you’re busy in life but they are in turn what also holds you down.
Video Notes: 0:00-0:30- Kendrick is in a cathedral all by himself and dressed as a pope and begins to sing. He is also seen on a table with a lot of his cash and playing around with it as girls next to him are managing his money at the same time.
0:30-1:00- Kendrick is now seen singing in a hair salon, with a big head of Kendrick with a small body, biking on a miniature globe of the world. He also is seen on top of a car hitting golf balls with his club in an abandoned area under a bridge. At 1:00, he is seen singing with a bunch of African Americans with their heads facing down.
1:00-1:30- As the song continues, the African Americans around Kendrick begin to lift their heads to sing the lyrics together. Images of Kendrick sitting at a table that seems to represent the Last Supper appear as at 1:30, Kendrick is seen with African Americans with ropes covering their heads on fire.
1:30-2:00- He continues to sing with ropes on fire next to him on people’s head, and it then shows a girl with and without makeup and her body, unfiltered. At 2:00, Kendrick is seen at a place that seems to be where the so called, “hood,” would be, with his posse in the background.
2:00-2:30- Kendrick is seen in a car and he gives the spread over to a person that seems to be his friend in the car next to him, and then he is seen in what appears to be his house with police lights glaring at his house. He is then seen singing with the African Americans from before, but now they all have suits on and look very professional and fancy. Images of him in the pope robes in a cathedral and the last supper appear again.
2:30-3:03- Images of Kendrick singing with the African American with their heads facing down appear again, as it also shows him with the African Americans with their suits on and the place where his posse would stay in the, “hood.” The Kendrick on the globe riding a bicycle appears again and then it goes to the hair salon with the girls having their braids lettered on the back of their heads to spell out, “HUMBLE.” After that, the video cycles throughout all the scenes Kendrick was throughout the entire video such as being surrounded by African Americans with their heads facing down, being dressed up in the pope robe in a cathedral, the table at the Last Supper, on top of the car swinging golf balls, and the ending scene is the African Americans with suits on, walking down a staircase and Kendrick is the last one standing, staring into the camera.
Conclusion: The genre of this song is primarily hip-hop and rap, and it is evidently trying to depict Kendrick as the god of rap and further shows the portrayal of African Americans among society and the media. He indicates that he feels as if he is on top of the rap world by singing in a pope robe, and acting as, “Jesus,” in a setting awfully similar to the Last supper. He also shows the different ways that his race is portrayed throughout the media and society, and how racist this world continues to be. He is seen singing with many African Americans with their heads face down which caught the eyes of many. He also uses drastic visuals such as the his race next to him, tied up with ropes on their head that are on fire. These depict the harshness and the cruelty that continues to exist toward African Americans, even today. He is targeting the majority of society as he is attempting to bring awareness to this problem within society, that should have disappeared over a half century ago. Throughout the entire video, Kendrick is trying to spread the message that the persona of African Americans within the media, is totally messed up and he attempts to bring awareness to this issue through the use of volatile visuals.
0:36 – stops in the middle of the court and looks down as if he is thinking about something
0:39 – starts to sing
0: 44 – transitions into scene with little boy in Jordans and a Jordan jersey in the driveway of his house
0:57 – kid jumps to touch the net of the basketball hoop and hits the infamous Jordan pose
1:07 – in his room trying on another pair of Nikes
1:18 – in class with his Jordans on as opposed to the other kids who are wearing “Four stripes, some Adidas”
1:44 – adult Macklemore in a child’s room with photographs of places where people were either robbed or killed for their shoes
1:55 – transitions back to young Macklemore as he stands in front of an MJ poster
2:07 – all sorts of people playing and practicing basketball in Jordans
2:32 – adult Macklemore sitting in front of kids with a book teaching and giving them a lesson on consumerism
2:41 – young Macklemore obsessing over his Jordans
2:52 – transitions back to adult Macklemore as he continues to talk to kids of all ages about the same topic
2:57 – young Macklemore cleaning his Jordans
4:00 – young Macklemore gets robbed of his shoes and has to walk home in socks
4:26 – shows other people and their Jordan collections
4:30 – people waiting in line for Jordans
5:00 – young Macklemore pulls out another pair of Jordans and puts them on as if to show that even such an incident won’t stop him from wearing Jordans, or maybe Jordans are part of his identity that he can’t take them off
5:23 – ends the song with “And now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”
“Wings” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a song which challenges and debates the two sides to consumerism, which is the “social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts”(Wikipedia). Through the music video’s narrative and storytelling style, the two sides to the issue are each being represented by an individual. Both individuals are supposed to be Macklemore himself, him as an adult and a younger version of himself, who is being acted by another child. The adult Macklemore takes the negative side of consumerism as the young Macklemore depicts the positive, more naive side. The music video and lyrics take on a roller coaster of emotions as they bounce from the pros and cons of consumerism. As young Macklemore depicts the joys that may come from material possessions, Macklemore himself takes on the role as an educator to the youth, informing them on the dangers of consumerism and how these corporations successfully consume our minds. Despite his continuing obsession with Jordans and Nikes which stems from his childhood, he concludes the song with “and now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”. He has grown to accept that he fell victim to buying a dream and understands that those shoes with an air bubble are nothing more than just a pair of shoes.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2Ira-Cwxo&list=RDhE2Ira-Cwxo&start_radio=1
Throughout the whole song, it portrays a vast amount of individuals separated in 9 different cells (which can be seen in its entirety at 0:11) with each cell consisting of different amounts of individuals. However, there are 5 cells with a single person within, and since 5 is more than half of the 9 total cells, it may symbolize the song on Khalid feeling the emptiness inside and wanting to talk to some special individual. Another “more than half” is that Khalid is shown in 3 of the cells, however, 2 of the 3 cells consist of just Khalid. That may confirm the statement above, that he has moments of loneliness and wants to interact with someone.
The first half of the music video, up to 1:55, most of the time shows Khalid in the pink cell adjacent to another red cell with a female individual. That female individual may symbolize the one he wishes to interact with. There are multiple instances that can be proved with. At 0:45, the female turns her back away from him, while he tries to get her attention, with the wall separating them both. That instance can be seen as them having an argument or having some form of conflict, and Khalid attempting to “talk” it out. At 1:00, Khalid still seems to be in distress, but seems to start working things out with the female, who seems to get his attention. At 1:04, Khalid seems to be apologetic, since he raises his hand to his heart to show his guilt, and the female seems to accept his apology. Finally, at 1:12, everything seems equal between them both. To me, although it is seen as Khalid trying to get interaction, it may also portray a lesson for us all, to not hold a grudge against one another and to forgive and move on, for if you forgive, everything would eventually work out again, as portrayed in the music video.
Now in the video, the female adjacent to Khalid is also seen solo dancing on multiple occasions. Since the beginning, the background of the dance is blue, and the moment she shows sympathy for Khalid, the background turns yellow. The blue color may symbolize the darker side of the story, and since the color is, visually, darker than yellow, the yellow may symbolize hope and a bright future.
After their individual problems get sorted out, Khalid goes on to face a bigger problem, joining the crowd, which is located in the center red cell. At 1:26 and 1:31, Khalid is seen at the left hand side with both his arms on the walls, towards the big group. One can view that and interpret that Khalid wishes to join the crowd. At around 1:44, 1:47, and 1:55 shows him starting to get the “vibes” from the crowd, as he starts nodding his head to the jam in the background, which we don’t see him do before this. Finally, at the second half of the video, Khalid is seen joining everyone else in the dance in the 8th cell (middle vertical column, bottommost one). It ends with everyone happy, which directly relates to the tone of the song, which is mostly on the happy side.
While Jay Z and Beyonce’s “APES**t” used to be what I considered one of my “hype” songs, pumping me up for a long work day or an important presentation, I failed to grasp, if not fully honor the racial themes wondrously dispensed into the piece by the famed duo. By selecting APES**T for my week 5 module blog post, I seek to finally honor the true context of the piece, highlighting the resounding message embedded within.
APESH**T
0:00-0:15
A black individual with angel wings squats outside a dimly lit Louvre in the middle of Paris. The pose of the individual most resembles that of a gargoyle, who in antiquity would generally guard the façade of important buildings, most commonly found in London and Paris. Are Jay Z and Beyonce trying to highlight the fact that black individuals, much like the stagnant gargoyles, are historically significant in upholding the artistic world? Could this individual also represent the fact that the black community are still on the outside of the artistic world, much like the gargoyle stands outside the gates of a museum?
0:15-0:30
The video now enters the famed Louvre, and runs through a gamut of artistic pieces that portray white bodies. Jay Z and Beyonce might be making an initial statement about the racial (white) makeup of high-end artwork.
0:30-1:00
The music video now turns to the room of the Louvre that houses the Mona Lisa. Standing strategically in front of the painting are Jay Z and Beyonce, dressed to the nines in vibrant/elegant attire. Given that the famed individuals are standing in front of the Mona Lisa, the statement is clear. In order to fully appreciate the Mona Lisa, you must first learn to appreciate the black artists who also stand in full view, ready for their much-deserved appreciation. The vibrancy of the attire worn by Jay Z and Beyonce also seeks to show an appreciation for African American fashion, which utilizes vibrant colors to create an elegant juxtaposition between darker skin. Jay Z and Beyonce, themselves famed black artists, seek to embody all that black artistry has to offer, while standing in front of a contrastingly pale and bland looking Mona Lisa.
1:00-1:25
The video now moves to one of the staircases featured in the Louvre, where African American performing artists lie dormant on the steps, before synchronously rising and initiating their non-vocalized performance. Artistically speaking, the performers are representing the death, or omission of, Black art while lying on the steps. As they slowly rise, they bring their artistry to life in the form of performance.
1:25-1:40
Beyonce kneels in front of a headless Greco-Roman statue. However, while the head of the statue is missing, Beyonce cunningly only reveals her head, shrouding the rest of her body in a cloak that matches the color of the statue’s marble. Here we can see Beyonce attempting to portray herself as the missing headpiece to the statue. As a black woman, Beyonce is not only stealing the glory of what we presume to be “white-art”, but even going as far to suggest that the marble statues once represented individuals of color living in the Mediterranean Region, and that marble should not be seen as indicative of Caucasian status or ethnicity.
1:45-1:50
Performing artists are dancing in front of an elongated painting depicting an important gathering of white individuals, most plausibly linked to Christianity. A key feature to Jay Z and Beyonce’s piece is the utilization of performing art, which contradicts and seeks to contrast with the stagnant paintings that serve as a backdrop in the video. In this sense, black performance artists are literally “stealing the show” from the white painters featured throughout the Louvre.
1:55-2:15
Beyonce and Jay Z are now dressed up as Egyptians while standing in front of a Sphynx. Interestingly enough, Ancient Egypt, along with other Mediterranean/Mesopotamian cultures, were made up of dark-skinned individuals, though history often likes to hide the fact. Beyonce and Jay Z remind the viewer that much of the art and culture featured in high end museums and galleries were in fact, crafted by the hands of black or bi-racial artists.
2:15-2:50
The music momentarily fades as do the black performing artists, who silently pose in front of the museum’s artwork. Maybe this is to say that if one component of black culture fades away (like the music in this momentary pause), so will the other components of black culture/artistry. During this pause, we are shown various close up images of some of the art displayed at the museum. This pause could also be a directive to reflect upon some of the earlier scenes of the music video.
2:50-3:05
The video once again incorporates music after the earlier pause, with the performers now up and moving using similar motions from earlier in the piece.
3:05-4:15
Jay Z is now front and center, initiating his verses outside The Louvre, before the audience is shown images of more artwork. However, unlike in previous frames, the artwork depicted while Jay Z raps, is full of darker colors, and the lighting itself is dimmed for this part. This almost seems to shift the video from a theme of “omitting color in high end art” to “the presence of color in high end art”. Many of the works of art may in fact depict black individuals. Very interesting shift here.
4:15-5:00
Beyonce chimes in for her solo, and while many of the scenes are analogous to those found during Jay Z’s solo, there are a few key differences. Beyonce’s part include black individuals giving black power solutes in a “gritty” setting that contrasts the museum. I get a sense that the video is turning away from emphasizing “black creations” and turning towards “black contributions”. These contributions are made in a variety of settings, but as the music video seems to portray, not in a museum, interestingly enough.
5:00-5:50
As the music video fades, the audience is once more taken through an array of black performing artists, paintings and general scenes found within The Louvre.
5:50-6:05
Like a well written conclusion in an essay, the video also seeks to wrap up with a crescendo ending. Beyonce and Jay Z are once more staring outwardly in front of The Mona Lisa. However, unlike at minute 0:30, Beyonce and Jay Z turn to one another, before acquiescing to the idea of turning around and viewing The Mona Lisa. The music video is almost crying out here, as it leaves us with one powerful, residual message. We cannot fully appreciate the works of white artists, until we elevate black artists onto the same plane of existence, and into high end museums/galleries. On a deeper level, Jay Z and Beyonce ARE in fact representative of these black artists. In order for me to even think about The Mona Lisa at the 6-minute mark, I must first watch and comprehend an entire piece of black artwork beforehand. It’s a beautiful message, and all too true.
Conclusion
While “APES**T” is certainly a great track to enjoy for Its music alone, much like the message embedded in the video, I cannot fully appreciate the track without keeping in mind the context of its message. With this in mind, I plan to be more mindful regarding the relative ease in misappropriating powerful work. Going forward, I plan to fully appreciate this track in its correct context, as opposed to dampening an important message out of misguided appreciation.
“This Is America” is a rap song by Childish Gambino that tries to inform everyone about problems going on in the world today. The main event that he is trying to inform the audience about is slavery and all types of discrimination against Blacks. The music video provides multiple situations where people are too busy looking at their phones and they don’t pay attention to all the crime and wrong doings of the world. The issues he portrays are social injustice, religious hatred and overall crime levels all over the world. One of his first movements he makes is at :53 when he shoots a Black man and poses as Jim Crow. The Jim Crow laws were segregation laws against Blacks and Childish Gambino shows how awful they really were by comparing them to a Black man being shot. He is hoping to bring awareness to an issue that has been going on for years and needs to stop. At 1:46 he also demonstrates Religious hate. The church choir is singing and out of nowhere he takes out a gun and kills all of them. The choir hasn’t done anything harmful, but people want to kill them just because of their beliefs.He is trying to show all the unnecessary religious hate and does an amazing job of delivering it. At 2:29 he shows people sitting on their phones. Right before that, you can see a bunch of awful things happening in the video and these people seem oblivious to all that is going on. He tries to show the importance of knowing what is going on in the world and that not being informed is a huge part of the problem. Throughout the video there are multiple cop cars on fire and there are always people running from something or fighting. He provides very gruesome scenes of people getting shot and even someone commiting suicide. (2:12) The crime rates in the world are very high and Childish Gambino tries to bring awareness to that. Another interesting part of the video is that the whole time Childish Gambino is wearing the military pants for the confederate army. This is where he tries to inform the audience about slavery. He specifically wears confederate pants because the south was where slavery occured. He performs all the shootings while wearing these pants to give a comparison to how bad slavery really was. The last 30 seconds of the music video show Childish Gambino running from something. The background is dark and the audience can’t really see what he is running from. He is trying to show that Black men are always running from something and never feel safe. There is so much more about this video that the audience can learn from. He does an amazing job of getting the audience’s attention and Informing them about some of the biggest problems in today’s world.
