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Is This TOO Deep For Me To Dig ?


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THIS IS AMERICA

 

 

 

So many people are going crazy over this video and talking about how "deep" it is and all of the hidden and symbolic messages it contains.

I admit I'm not too smart, so I'm not ashamed to say I just don't see the significance of it.

Outside of his portrayal of America as a violent place.....what exactly are the messages Danny is trying to convey?

Too me, this video is borderline DISGRACEFUL and an EMBARASSMENT to Black America for a number of reasons:

1. The only person I noticed committing acts of violence in the video are BLACK.....namely Danny (Childish Gambino) himself!

2. There is too much pointless dancing and swaying for any message he's trying to send to be taken seriously.

3. Why did he portray the Church massacre that was done by a young racist White man with a hand gun.....as being done by a Black man with an assault rifle?
That was ass backwards in my opinion.

4. He did a couple of slick "Michael Jackson" type dance moves towards the end of the video but for the most part it was just him and a few others squirming around and making funny faces as if they were having convulsions.....no style or rhythm.

 

 

But obviously this is just MY opinion, perhaps more enlightened minds can explain to me what I'm missing about this work.

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Your posting of this video is the first time I heard about it.  I watched the video it was interesting enough for me to watch it all the way through.  Whenever we consume art we bring our experiences, knowledge, and temperaments to the experience.  The same is true for the creator of art.  Sometimes to creator and consumer can be so different the intended message is no communicated.  In other words, @Pioneer1, this video will not like resonate with gay white masons ;)

 

Seriously, I think you got the message.  But you've been around long enough where you probably feel, "What else is new?"  So now you start looking for something more and pick up on peripheral things that don't really matter, like Gambino mimicking Michael jackson.

 

Maybe you can share some of the commentary that speaks to how deep this video is.

 

 

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50 minutes ago, Troy said:

.  In other words, @Pioneer1, this video will not like resonate with gay white masons ;)

 

 




Troy

Lol.......
If ANYTHING would appeal to a gay white mason....lol....I would think a brother with his shirt off squirming around on the screen would do the job!




 

I searched around for more and deeper explainations of the symbolism of this video and one of the most thorough I found was an article in the Huffington Post.


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/childish-gambino-this-is-america_us_5af05c12e4b041fd2d28d8e9


Among the list of explainations I found interesting are the following:
 

This Is America" is set entirely in a drab warehouse, which some viewers interpreted as the country’s foundation, built on systemic white supremacy and oppression.

"Much of this seems to take place in a building/warehouse where the foundation and support systems (the beams) are mostly white," tweeted @JarridGreen.

Some veteran Childish Gambino fans pointed out similarities to his 2011 "Freaks and Geeks" music video, which also takes place in a warehouse.

 

Fans were obsessed with Childish Gambino’s nod to African dances, including Shoki and Gwara Gwara, a style of dance popularized in South Africa (and featured in Rihanna’s 2018 Grammys performance).

"Childish Gambino reeks of talent," tweeted @muchman16. "I loved the part where those kids danced shoki and gwara gwara."

Others pointed out how dance trends can distract from the life-or-death situations affecting black communities.

 

Each time Childish Gambino fires a gun in "This Is America," he hands it off to someone who whisks it away in a red cloth. Viewers interpreted these scenes as a reference to Americans’ willingness to protect gun rights over people, despite the country’s alarmingly high rates of gun violence.

"Because this is America," tweeted @Shugah. "We shoot up schools, churches, each other and then we place the guns tenderly in a cloth to protect them. And then

 

One viewer suggested the apparent suicide scene points to a pervasive mental illness stigma plaguing the African-American community.

"Does the man jumping to his death that goes largely unnoticed because of Gambino’s dancing serve as a reminder that suicide & poor mental health in the African American community is being ignored," asked @JuelzKojoey on Twitter.

 

One of the most disturbing scenes in "This Is America" features an all-black church choir getting shot up with an assault-style rifle. The massacre appears to be a reference to the 2015 mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in which a white gunman killed nine black churchgoers.

"Childish Gambino really made a reference to the Charleston church shooting that happened in 2015," tweeted @EmanThatKid. "He shows how mass shootings are normalized in America, even if you shooting up a place of worship."

 

In one scene, black teenagers use their phones to record the chaos unfolding below, as their mouths appear to be covered by a white material.

Some viewers believed this to be a reference to the rise of viral videos of police brutality and racist encounters to overcome the metaphorical muzzling of black people in a white supremacist system.

"Kids are seen recording everything on their phones, referencing the use of livestreams in police shootings as a means of documenting and sharing the truth," tweeted @thelocalemo. "Gambino’s lyrics state, ‘this is a celly, that’s a tool.’"

 

 


I think you're right that my age and experience could be playing a role as to why I'm not receiving the video in the same way perhaps the younger generation is.   Many of them see it as some profound work of genius.

But more so than being jaded with the issue Gambino is trying to portray, as I alluded to earlier I actually think he's being COUNTER PRODUCTIVE by drowning so many real issues that should be confronted and discussed directly with all of this symbolism and disassociative dancing.

One of the reasons Trump was so successful with the base was because he spoke to them PLAINLY and DIRECTLY.
He didn't speak in metaphors and symbols and didn't get on stage dancing around in circles doing the Irish River Dance...... as a way of expressing their frustrations.

Trump said THIS IS THE PROBLEM AND THIS IS THE SOLUTION.....simple, straight forward, and his base got the message.

For a 30 something year old man (Gambino) to make some silly ass video of him dancing around while violence and mayhem is going down in the background; and where nearly all the victims AND villians of the video are Black and calling it "America" is not only pointless but makes Black people look like a bunch of irrational fools in the eyes of many people.

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7 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

I would think a brother with his shirt off squirming around on the screen would do the job!

 

😁

 

Yeah since you posted this I saw an image where the inference was that the buttons on his trousers are the same as the trouser confederate soldiers wore.  At the end of the day it is art and you can see anything in it that you want to see.

 

Some of what you've shared above reminds me of that comparisons between Lincoln and Kennedy's assassinations.  Again if you look hard enough you can find all kinds of parallels between anything.  At some point you move from appreciating art into conspiracy theories.  I'm sure Gambino does not mind as it just makes his stuff more popular... I'm talking about it now and I'm sure I would not have been otherwise.

 

On some level people just accept that the video is so profoundly deep and keep quiet so that they don;t reveal how shallow they must be.  @Pioneer1, you see that the emperor has no clothes.

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Troy


Yes, perhaps the ONLY value of this video is that it's bringing more fame to Danny Glover (Childish Gambino) and his work.....because I sure don't see anything positive coming from this.

What's really got me worked up about this video and the reaction of the youth to it is how naive and easily influenced they are over bullshit.

White kids in Florida have one major shooting and they get bold and organized enough to march on Washington D.C., demand attention from the media, and even get legislation changed.

Black folks living with violence for decades and the most some of these young people can pull out of their ass is some bushy headed negro making a video with his shirt off bucking his eyes and twerking with Black folks getting shot in the background.......and that's supposed to be the answer to the violence?

 

 

 



Del

 

 

Did you see the man riding the horse in the video?

No it is not.


I saw the person riding the white horse.

A lot of people were talking about THAT TOO and talking about how deep and symbolic it was.

I didn't see the significance of him adding that to the video what so ever.

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16 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Black folks living with violence for decades and the most some of these young people can pull out of their ass

 

@Pioneer1

 In Chicago, these students belong to  the Peace Warrior program at North Lawndale, which
trains students to be nonviolence peer leaders

And the Parkland Florida teens (pictured with Emma) reached out to them because they wanted to join forces since their organization (peace warrior program)  had been around since 2015 , if not earlier like 2012.  According to reports, a month before the Parkland shooting these students Alex King,  D'Angelo McDade
937927834.jpg937927830.jpg


began another group Good Kids Mad City - (probably taken from the Kendrick Lamar Album of the same name) to stop the violence in Chicago.

By the way,  Pulitzer Prize winning emcee Kendrick Lamar would be a more accurate entertainer to reference.  He  speaks to the pathology of inner city living.   

Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) is an entertainer - he's not even social activist nor claims to be one.  He talks about twitter activism in an old article and being label a white rapper.   

Although both Donald Glover and 45* are both entertainers; when 45* ran for  the presidency he ran as politician not an entertainer ...

Although I understand your mentioning that 45* didn't dance an Irish jig to get his message but rather he articulated his message clearly to his base, he wasn't working on The Apprentice or running a Miss Universe contest.  He was a candidate.   Childish Gambino isn't running for office - he appears in a provocative video to sell records.   

It's a bit of a stretch to compare Glover, an entertainer to a then candidate now President of the United States.   


Teen social activists Alex King and D'Angelo McCade and a whole host of young people are working to make the world a safer place - Including 11-year-old Naomi Wadler (see below).   For these young people, it's real life not entertainment.   937402376.jpg 

 

 


https://nowthisnews.com/videos/her/naomi-wadler-speaks-at-the-women-in-the-world-summit
https://theoutline.com/post/3887/fighters-good-kids-mad-city-chicago?zd=1&zi=tuhzoe5r

https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.30218/title.childish-gambino-blasts-twitter-activists-says-he-wants-to-be-white#

http://cct.org/2015/11/a-student-warrior-whose-purpose-is-peace/

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/alex-king-dangelo-mccade-march-for-our-lives-washington-dc-speeches





 

Edited by Mel Hopkins
added a photo
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8 minutes ago, Delano said:

Mel from another angle Pioneer's comparison is subtle and true. Trump Glover are marketing their brand . The area both selling an image and a way of life.

 

Thanks @Delano  I've already acknowledged that perspective.

 

"Although I understand your mentioning that 45* didn't dance an Irish jig to get his message but rather he articulated his message clearly to his base, 

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Del

You may not be his demographic. Scorsese and Glover may win an award.


I wouldn't be suprised if Glover did win an award.
White people aren't very good at recognizing REAL Black talent and art when they see it.

They either judge Black talent by THEIR standards and what THEY find artistic.....

Or if they're sincerely trying to be fair and open minded they'll monitor the response of BLACK PEOPLE to a particular work and determine it's worth base on the Black response to it.
Kind of like they did with rap music...lol.

Based on my limited knowledge of the linear way most White people think, I don't see them being too fond of this video...not necessarily because of it's political message....but simply because the video doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

But if enough Black people make a lot of noise and clamour over it and praise it as genius, they'll  give it an award or two just to appear fair and placate...lol.




Mel

I hear what you're saying, but how much INFLUENCE do these Black youth groups have politically or financially?

Conservative talk show host Laura Ingram said something silly about one of the Parkland protestors and he was so effective in clapping back at her that he damn near got her show taken off the air!
How many Black youth organizations have that type of media influence?

And more importantly, how much of a positive effect are they having on the violence in their community?
It seems to me that the violence in Chicago has remained steadily high if not increased.



I'm not saying that Glover and Trump are in the same PROFESSION.....lol.
I'm just saying they're both public figures.  And being that they're both public figures with social sway and have heavy influence on society....especially their target audiences....how is that influence being harnessed and used.

Trump has been VERY effective with his approach....hell it got him in the White House.

Like it or not, atleast Trump has a CLEAR AGENDA and is pushing it to his audience.
Clear and direct....no need to dance and sing and ride white horses all around the damn yard and squirm around with his hair messy.

But we don't know WHAT the hell Gambino's agenda is.....besides selling music.


The man dances around a warehouse with his shirt off shooting people......ok.....so what's the message?

Is he simply trying to portray America as violent?

Does he want gun control?

Does he want police brutality to stop?

What exactly does he want his audience to do?

I bet if you got 25 young Black people in a room and made them watch this video and later on asked them what the message was....you'd get aleast 20 different responses.

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@Pioneer1 of course if you got 25 opinions on the video you'd get 25 responses -- that is how art works.

 

Man you ask, "what does he want his audience to do?"  Dude, you are doing it!  You are talking about his music and his video and raising his profile.  Don't you see you are actively promoting his video -- I only saw it because of you.  

 

Can you name any other businesses, that you actually like, that you talked about here is say the last month?

 

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10 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

The man dances around a warehouse with his shirt off shooting people......ok.....so what's the message?

Is he simply trying to portray America as violent?

Does he want gun control?

Does he want police brutality to stop?

What exactly does he want his audience to do?

@Pioneer1

 

You did it again !   I really don't want to give childish gambino  this much credit - but he deserves it.  He got you talking about him... and I joined in.  I didn't want to talk about his provocative video because I suspected that is exactly what he wanted me (meaning us, the masses) to do just ; but here I am.   smh (:-) 

 

Now I have to admit that is what art does.  It doesn't seek to change minds - but it does force you to open your mind and ponder it.   You can only disagree with it once you consider it .  We may never know what he wants - but we are talking about it. 

And unlike a politician who tells us what to think about; we have consider how to think about the spectacle.

 

* * * 

By the way, yes David Hogg, Parkland survivor got Ingraham to apologize  when he ran a campaign on twitter.  He has almost 800K followers  and he inspired his followers to boycott her advertisers...Needless to say it went viral and was quite was effective.   Do these teens have that kind of power?  Not yet but they're  getting the support.  

But remember the blacklivesmatter group have also been effective with their campaigns.  Their support has been in the form of millions of dollars in donation and  people power. In fact, they've been so effective that white folks use blacklivesmatter as their avatars on twitter.  Just recently one of those white women - forced that white woman who called the cops on the black folks barbecuing in oakland's park - to stand down - then another white woman stepped in and pretty much chased her out of the park and to the police.   But I digress. 

 

Anyway, the teens I mentioned were also on CNN Van Jones' show and they gave promising  numbers on how many teens they've been able to reach.   

 

I can't say if they're responsible for the decrease in gun deaths in Chicago but at least there is a decrease "Chicago sees drop in killings and shootings for 13 consecutive months"

 

"Shootings dipped 17% and murders dropped 25% compared to March 2017, figures show.
Year-to-date, murders dipped 22% and shootings dropped 25% compared to the same period in 2017, Chicago police said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the city still has a long way to go to curb gun violence despite the steady progress."
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Troy

 

 

Man you ask, "what does he want his audience to do?" Dude, you are doing it! You are talking about his music and his video and raising his profile. Don't you see you are actively promoting his video -- I only saw it because of you.


I'm not promoting it....I'm CRITIQUING it.

Not only is there a difference, but the after effects are different.

Most people don't want the NEGATIVE ATTENTION that comes from the criticizm


He obviously wants attention to push his brand; but I think he also wants MORE than just attention. I believe he also is trying to put out a message to his target audience.

My criticizm isn't aimed at his ability to garner attention so much as it's over the seemingly confusing and garbled message he's trying to send.

 

 

 

 

Can you name any other businesses, that you actually like, that you talked about here is say the last month?


Not at the moment.

But you know how human beings are, most tend not to talk as much about what they like as they do about what they DON'T like.

If you look back on your life, how many friends have come to you to talk about how WELL things are going with their wife or girlfriend?
They usually are COMPLAINING about something they don't like.

People don't go to the doctor to tell them how great things are going, they usually go with a complaint.

Look at the news and how most of what's reported is of a negative nature from crime to war.

It's human nature man.

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Mel

I'm not going to argue with you over the accuracy of those statistics you're quoting.

I'll simply say that if dozens and dozens of Black people are STILL being shot and/or killed in places like Chicago every week....then the numbers are STILL too high.

When these youth groups start getting the numbers of Black victims BELOW that of Whites and Asians.....I'll be impressed and consider their strategies effective.

 

 

 

 

 

You did it again ! I really don't want to give childish gambino this much credit - but he deserves it. He got you talking about him... and I joined in. I didn't want to talk about his provocative video because I suspected that is exactly what he wanted me (meaning us, the masses) to do just ; but here I am. smh (:-)

Well...what?

Lol, is it against your religion to talk about Gambino's videos or something?

No one is saying we should be OBSESSED with the man's work, but if there's something he's doing worth talking about....why should we "hold back" or arbitrarily REFUSE to give him or his work any attention?

Even if that IS what he wants.....why deny the man what he wants simply for the sake of denial?

I know some people who won't give a person a well deserved compliment simply because they feel the person is EXPECTING it.

"Ahhh, don't say nothing to her....she's just looking for attention that's all".

And I'm like....so what?

If you put on a lot of perfume TRYING to smell good....and you ACTUALLY DO smell good....I have no problem complimenting you.




Now I have to admit that is what art does. It doesn't seek to change minds - but it does force you to open your mind and ponder it. You can only disagree with it once you consider it . We may never know what he wants - but we are talking about it.

And unlike a politician who tells us what to think about; we have consider how to think about the spectacle.


Well for one thing........
This video in a way actually DOES tell you what to think about and limits your thinking; not because of what's in it....but because of what's NOT in it.

I believe I've mentioned before that the video basically shows Gambino...a Black man....commiting all of the murders in the video.
But a White man actually committed the church shooting.
But he didn't show that.....he showed HIMSELF committing it.

So a person not familiar with the facts of the Charleston Chuch Massacre....after watching the misinformation (art?) being portrayed in this video would be inclined to believe that church shootings are a result of some crazy Black man with his shirt off instead of a Confederate Flag waving White guy.

Speaking of the Confederacy, it it's true....why the hell is a BLACK MAN dancing around in Confederate soldier pants?
Yet another act of confusion as you have a Black man now putting himself in the shoes/pants of Confederates.

Infact, this video would induce one to believe that the problem of violence in America is soley the responsibility of crazy acting (dancing and squirming around) Black males.

Why?

Simply not one act of vioence in this "artful" video was shown being commited by a White person.

So besides a Black man squirming around with his shirt off stretching his eyes and acting a fool......the lack of White male violence in this video is another problem I have with it.

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Perhaps rapper are proxy killers and promoters of death on behalf of the label or capitalistic structure. Some would say blood of the oppress is the true engine of capitalism. 

so Danny is your dealer your numbers runner the liquor store owner your jack legged preacher and various other Pimps and dealers in destruction. 

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@Pioneer1 your critique is promotion, whether you recognize it or not.  The book reviews I publish are a fee based service that authors purchase, because critiques are a great way to promote a product. 

 

Here is a review I posted yesterday, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones by Wendy Jones.  The reviewer had positive and negative things to say about the book but overall it was a fair assessment and it will help potential readers decide if they want to read the book -- much more than the promotional copy written by the publisher.

 

Man the worse thing that could have resulted from Gambino's video was for no one to talk about it.  People are manipulated by clever marketers without ever recognizing it is happening.

 

I'm not sure about human nature but I personally spend every day of my life sharing information about things that I like or feel is important for people to know.  But to your point, the negative stuff  attracts the most attention.  Marketers know this and the web exploited this to the hilt.

 

Hey Pioneer, if I took off my shirt and wiggled around in a video shooting people would you talk about AALBC on other websites?

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22 hours ago, Troy said:

Man the worse thing that could have resulted from Gambino video was for no one to talk about it.  People are manipulated by clever marketers without ever recognizing it is happening.

 

Exactly, why I chose not to talk about the video!   I did watch it once on twitter out of curiosity .  I wanted to know what all the fuss was about - Once I saw it, I thought nothing to see here move along.  It wasn't sharing anything that I didn't already know.  Further, I'm not impressed by Donald Glover's work.   @Pioneer1 's discussion of the video allowed me to revisit the role of art - but the video, meh.  
 

22 hours ago, Troy said:

Hey Pioneer, if I took off my shirt and wiggled around in a video shooting people would you talk about AALBC on other websites?


@Troy  Maybe at the Black Pack Party 2018 but shoot up black books .  Then in perfect "Coyote Ugly" style, dance on the bar top.  Next send it to the Coretta Scott King Awards committee members and also have someone post it to twitter and facebook with the hashtag #readingblack.com 😛😝

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however the moors mighta been teaching the same thing about us flying and using the pyramids as a tranportation portals
ancient helicopters and shyt


Come on bro, you know White people weren't the first to fly!
We were flying for THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS of years before White people even existed.

Gerard is just parroting the same bullshiit he learned in his physics class....lol.

How can they be the first to fly when:

1. You have documented evidence found not only on the pyramids of Kemet of flying vehicles but also from the art work of the ancient Mayans and Incas?

2. White folks are operating on the LIMITED mathematics that WE gave them.
Algebra was brought to Europe by the Moors!

Infact, Terrence Howard (who's not even a scientist but an actor) came on television the other day talking about a NEW type of mathematics that he either invented or discovered that he presented to Oxford University and they didn't even wanna acknowledge that a Black man knows something they don't!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Del

 

Perhaps rapper are proxy killers and promoters of death on behalf of the label or capitalistic structure.

 

Well Minister Farrakhan says that back in the early 80s there was a meeting that record executives had with those looking to invest in private prisons before it became big business.

He said that a plan was orchestrated to promote GANGSTA RAP music among the youth the encourage them to become lawless so that they could get arrested and fill up the prisons for those investing in them.

Not sure how true this is, but it sounds reasonable in a capitalistic system.


 

 

 

 

Troy

 

 

Hey Pioneer, if I took off my shirt and wiggled around in a video shooting people would you talk about AALBC on other websites?

If you took your shirt off and wiggled around in a video I would DEFINATELY talk about your site to other GAY WHITE MASONS......lol.

 

Might even share it with the GAY-K-K...lol.

 





Mel
 

Exactly, why I chose not to talk about the video! I did watch it once on twitter out of curiosity . I wanted to know what all the fuss was about - Once I saw it, I thought nothing to see here move along. It wasn't sharing anything that I didn't already know. Further, I'm not impressed by Donald Glover's work. @Pioneer1 's discussion of the video allowed me to revisit the role of art - but the video, meh.


The problem is.......
And the reason this video SHOULDN'T be ignored is......

It could be doing far more harm to Black youth than good.
If there's any good that comes from it.

If you care about Black youth, you would want to know what type of negative conditioning and programming is being aimed at them to retard their progress.

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Well.......

Judging by the comments of most people in this thread and even most Black people I know, it appears that I'm one of the few who actually has a problem with this video.

Despite my genuinely strong reaction to it......most Black people either see it as a work of genius or are pretty much indifferent to it and don't care one way or the other.

Who says there's no "Black unity".....lol

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