'This is America' goes hyperviral: about that disturbing, brilliant Childish Gambino video

Through New Year’s on Creativity, we’ll be counting down the best work and ideas of the year in various categories: TV/Film/Branded Content, Print/Out of Home/Design/Experiential and Digital/Integrated/Social. At number 4 in TV/Film, Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover and long-time filmic collaborator Hiro Murai created this brilliant work of protest art--the music video for the single “This Is America.” The film is a heady juxtaposition of playfulness (Glover’s dancing, choir members singing) and terror (there are graphic depictions of shootings at the hands of Glover himself). Altogether, it’s a thought-provoking fever dream that lays bare the injustices and seemingly inescapable gun violence that continue to plague our country and shape the black experience in America. Original Story: Warning: The video above contains images of extreme gun violence. If they haven't already, someone is soon going to ask you "What do you think of 'This Is America'?" It's a song by Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, who hosted "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend, performed the song live on the show and then released the music video, above, on YouTube's Vevo. Though the YouTube post of his "This Is America" performance on the "SNL" YouTube channel has, as of this writing, fewer than 100,000 views, the official music video has racked up more than 17 million--and has become a major media obsession and cultural talking point. The video features a dancing, singing Glover engaging in hyperviolence--he graphically shoots a man in the back of the head at point-blank range just 50 seconds into the video. (The violence gets even worse later.) This comes right after Glover has sung, We just wanna party Party just for you We just want the money Money just for you I know you wanna party Party just for me The tone of the song and the video suddenly shifts as the chorus begins, This is America Don't catch you slippin' up Don't catch you slippin' up Look what I'm whippin' up The video was directed by Toyko-born, LA-based Hiro Murai, who has helmed more than a dozen music videos over the years as well of episodes of Glover's FX series "Atlanta." The song's lyrics are available at Genius. With its references to guns, police, fear, the black experience and more—well, this is indeed America. The conversation about the song and the video, though, has already gone global. For instance, in a post titled "Review: Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' is a revolution" on the website of Singapore-based street culture magazine Juice, Indran P writes, Childish Gambino's new song, "This Is America", isn't a chill song. It doesn't even sound chill—it's not "Redbone" [Childish Gambino's 2016 hit]. This is not two years ago; this is the screaming, fiery, horrifying maw of the now in which we're chewed and crushed on repeat. This is a song you can't over-read because its extreme vision unpacks and lays everything bare for you. More reviews and essays and think pieces are sure to follow—by the dozens, by the hundreds—in the media in the days and weeks to come, but meanwhile part of the "This Is America" phenomenon is the way that it's inspired countless people on social media to try to deconstruct an artwork, and unpack their own emotions, in real time. A sampling from Twitter: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." -Revelation 6:8 #ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/E0IetLs56Z This scene reenacts Charleston shooting. Black people praising Lord killed for no reason. Look at the background, you see people running towards the area and "rioting" for change and cops running after them, just b/c it's their "job"#ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/sX0KqozbPU The most blatant point of #ThisIsAmerica is that @donaldglover serves as a distraction to the viewer while a lot more meaningful things are happening in the background. Distracted America has been an issue for decades. Don't catch you slipping y'all. The ending of the video though?! Even with all the beauty he may bring to the world through his art, he is still just a black man running for his life. #ThisIsAmerica And here's a tweetstorm worth reading in full: I've watched @donaldglover's new music video a few times now and the first time I watched it I had a familiar, primal discomfort that I couldn't place. It wasn't until the third watch that I realized it was reminding me of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). Some thoughts: pic.twitter.com/8xCgpaHCXD There aren't really any shared visual references between the two. But, both seem to consider the levity in "ultraviolence", and suggests ultraviolence is our true nature. In CWO, Alex and his droogs cripple a man while assaulting his wife, while Alex cheerily sings. pic.twitter.com/v3SdaGrPKB In TIA, Glover giddily "gwara gwaras", "shokies", and "BlocBoy JB shoots", his way around an execution of a black hostage and a firing squad execution of a black choir, all while burning cars and chaos pop up around him. pic.twitter.com/cBERqJnI48 In CWO, Alex is sentenced to jail and becomes eligible for a new prisoner rehabilitation technique: the Ludovico technique. He's strapped to a chair and forced to watch disturbing images of sex and violence, so that he develops a Pavlovian disgust to them. pic.twitter.com/PJ2K05lgPV At the same time, Alex realizes that the disturbing montages are set to music by his favorite composer, Beethoven. And like my inability to taste Coke without also feeling like I'm tasting Jack Daniels, Beethoven's songs now make Alex nauseous. and are thus ruined. pic.twitter.com/WVeO4dytH9 In TIA, I feel like Glover has done something similar, by taking that lovable and viral imagery of African kids happily dancing and slapping it on American ultraviolence. As if to say "next time you drink African kids dancing, also taste Charleston AME being gunned down." pic.twitter.com/ikH3Efkm40 Anyway, it's a very good and intriguing video and it feels like Glover and Hiro Murai (director) conclude it by saying this is America and you can try to run from it but you cannot outrun the things you'll see. pic.twitter.com/PwXrN4ls79 Oh. last point. I thought this was such a great and powerful shot and it and the subtle chain around his neck reminded me of a similar fantastic shot Django Unchained (2012), when Django throws off his bondage and from another director obsessed with American ultraviolence pic.twitter.com/xDqXi77eCg Last last point. It's interesting to recall and reflect on Glover's hotel notes to himself in 2013. pic.twitter.com/F2eotDD4ar No need to fear becoming Tyrese, anymore, @donaldglover. @rkelly posted a video last night of that idiot in the studio with him. You were hosting SNL. pic.twitter.com/llTtmZYRC9 Last last last point. I'm focusing on Hiro's decision to shoot the video in a series of long takes. Think about it. If it was your usual jump cuts and quick pans, you might miss stuff. Long takes trap you. Stop you from being able to look away. pic.twitter.com/hwfT94MF1O

Best of 2018 TV/Film No. 4: Childish Gambino's disturbing, brilliant video for 'This Is America'

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