Music Video: Theory

Music Video: Theory

Paul Gilroy: The Black Atlantic

Paul Gilroy is a key theorist in A Level Media and has written about race in both the UK and USA.

In The Black Atlantic (1993), Gilroy explores influences on black culture. One review states: “Gilroy’s ‘black Atlantic’ delineates a distinctively modern, cultural-political space that is not specifically African, American, Caribbean, or British, but is, rather, a hybrid mix of all of these at once.”

Gilroy is particularly interested in the idea of black diasporic identity – the feeling of never quite belonging or being accepted in western societies even to this day.

For example, Gilroy points to the slave trade as having a huge cultural influence on modern America – as highlighted by Common’s Letter to the Free.

Diaspora: A term that originates from the Greek word meaning “dispersion,” diaspora refers to the community of people that migrated from their homeland. [Source: facinghistory.org]

Gilroy on black music

Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture. 

When writing about British diasporic identities, Gilroy discusses how many black Britons do not feel like they totally belong in Britain but are regarded as ‘English’ when they return to the country of their parents’ birth e.g. the Caribbean or Africa. This can create a sense of never truly belonging anywhere.

Additional theories on race representations and music

Stuart Hall: race representations in media

Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes.

He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’.

Hall outlined three black characterisations in American media:

• The Slave figure: “the faithful fieldhand… attached and devoted to ‘his’ master.” (Hall 1995)
• The Native: primitive, cheating, savage, barbarian, criminal.
• The Clown/Entertainer: a performer – “implying an ‘innate’ humour in the black man.” (Hall 1995)

Additional theories

Although not specified on the A Level Media specification, there are some fantastic theorists that have written and spoken brilliantly on black America and hip hop music. The following are bonus theorists that we think you'll find interesting and relevant when studying Common's Letter to the Free:

Tricia Rose: Black Noise (1994)

Tricia Rose was one of the first academics to study the cultural impact of the hip hop genre in her influential book Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (1994).

Rose suggested that hip hop initially gave audiences an insight into the lives of young, black, urban Americans and also gave them a voice (including empowering female artists). However, Rose has since criticised commercial hip hop and suggests black culture has been appropriated and exploited by capitalism.

Michael Eric Dyson: Know What I Mean (2007)

Georgetown University Professor of Sociology Michael Eric Dyson has passionately defended both hip hop and black culture – Jay-Z describes him as “the hip hop intellectual”.

Dyson suggests that political hip hop in the 1990s didn’t get the credit (or commercial success) it deserved and this led to the rap music of today – which can be flashy, sexualised and glamorising criminal behaviour.

Dyson states: “Hip hop music is important precisely because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history and race. At its best, hip hop gives voice to marginal black youth we are not used to hearing from on such critics. Sadly, the enlightened aspects of hip hop are overlooked by critics who are out to satisfy a grudge against black youth culture…” Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)

Hip hop debate - full video

We've previously had requests in class for more on this hip hop debate - this appears to be the full Google debate on hip hop if you want to watch more from where those extracts came from.

Music Video theory - Childish Gambino blog task

Childish Gambino, the musical stage name of writer and performer Donald Glover, released an incredible critique of American culture and Donald Trump with This Is America in 2018.

The music video is a satirical comment on American culture, racism and gun violence. Racking up 10m views in the first 24 hours, it now stands at over half a billion views and has been dubbed ‘genius’ and ‘a masterpiece’. 

Create a blogpost called 'Music video: theory', watch the video again then answer the questions below:

1) How does the This Is America video meet the key conventions of a music video? Look back at last week's introduction to music video if you're not sure.

The camera is constantly tracking Gambino throughout the video, creating a continuous sense of movement. There is lots of dancing and fluidity in the background as well, and Gambino himself is often dancing with the beat of the music. The narrative of the video critiques the current state of America, with intertextual references to racist caricatures, gun violence and a direct reference to the 2017 film Get Out as Gambino is fearfully chased by white people at the end of the video.

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

American culture glorifies guns over the lives of people - specifically african american people. The most obvious sign of this is the way the guns are handled in comparison to the bodies of the people; the guns are handled with care on red cushions whereas the dead bodies are dragged off screen. There are many sudden deaths and shootings in the video, clearly paralleling the abundance of gun violence America. There is strong social commentary on how black people are treated in America, and the general experience of being a black man in the country. There are people in the background using their phones to record what's happening, paralleling the way in which police brutality and discrimination is recorded.

3) Write an analysis of the video applying the theories we have learned: Gilroy, Hall, Rose and Dyson. Write a short paragraph for each theory.

Gilroy' suggests that "black music articulates diasporic experiences of resitance to white capitalist culture", which we can see through the music video's fusion (and contrast) of African choral music and trap music. The two types of music are used to show how black people have used music to unite together against white oppresion, highlighting Gilroy's thoughts on the struggle of being accepted in western society. Gambino makes references to historical racist caricatures, highlighting how racism is still ingrained in American culture and how society inherently oppresses black people; using his voice as an artist to shed light on how black people are being murdered and yet the country will ignore them and keep dancing as if nothing happened. 

Gambino's video almost exclusively has black actors, showcasing an important exception to Hall's suggestion of white dominated media. However, Gambino parodies/mocks black characterisations in American media, like the clown implying an innate humour to the black man.

Rose's suggests that hip hop has given young black Americans a voice, which I would argue is true as the video created a lot of buzz and was heavily discussed after it's release. However, despite this, the issues voiced are still prevalent today, showing that they're still not being listened to.

Dyson stated that "hip hop music is important because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history and race." We can easily apply this to "This is America", as Gambino discusses the experience of being a black man in America and the societal disregard for the discrimination Black people have faced and continue to face, partly due to the current political climate and Trump leading the country.

Now read this Guardian feature on This Is America - including the comments below.

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

He's playing Jim Crow, he's duping us with dance, he's taking on the police

5) What alternative interpretations of the video are offered in the comments 'below the line'? Choose two and explain what the comments are suggesting.

''Shines a beacon on American cultural absurdity. Guns, patriotism, the police state, racism, hate speech, disinformation and violence.''

"Childish Gambino shows his sanity and humanism by showing and condemning random violence and madness".

Extension task: 

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

Read This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest in MM65 (p14). You can find this in our Media Magazine archive. Answer the following questions:

1) The article offers an excellent textual analysis of the opening of the video. What are some of the suggested meanings and references the writer discusses? Can you link this analysis to any of the theorists we have studied?

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

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

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

5) What examples does the writer provide of hip hop as a political genre? What theorist can we link this to?