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Anika Brown

ENG 101-29

Professor Maple

2 1 DecemberOctober 2018

Rhetorical Analysis Comparison

Since the beginning of the United States of AmericaFrom the beginning of America all the

way to the present daytoday, racism, race relations and racial violence have troubled the USA.

For Black Americans and many other people of color, it is a never-ending experience. Two

music videos, “This Is America” by Childish Gambino and “I’m Not Racist” by Joyner Lucas

both bring attention and delve into the race problems of today. Compared to Joyner Lucas’s “I’m

Not Racist”, Childish Gambino’s music video “This is America” more effectively brings to the

audience’s attention, the problems with violence and racism towards Black Americans, through

with the use of lyrics, props, scenery, and choreography.

The lyrics of “This Is America”,In “This Is America”, the song’s lyrics are straightforward

but are also metaphoric at the same timesimple yet have a metaphorical undertone. One example

in the song are the lyricsis the lyric “Get your money, black man”. Childish Gambino uses this

lyric to express how he feels that he has to be in the stereotypical role of rapper or comedian to

make money (Beaumont-Thomas). This is showing pathos because of relates pathos with how in

the black community, many see the only way to be wealthy is to work in the entertainment

industry, being a rapper or comedian instead of any other occupation. This isn’t true and shows

how black people can find success in other fields such as business, medicine, sciences, and many

other areas as there is a major need for it. With the use of the lyrics “this is a celly” and “that’s a
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tool”, Childish Gambino brings up the reoccurring incidents of violence involving the police.

The lyrics reference the fatal shooting of Stephon ClarkStephon Clark shooting (Beaumont-

Thomas). The police had shot him when they had mistaken his cell phone for a gun. He was shot

by police when they thought he had a gun, when it was actually a phone. The “celly” being the

phone and the “tool” being a gun. This is to show how police assume that every black person

must be carrying a “tool” aka a gun on them at all times, especially black males who may appear

to look like a stereotypical criminal just because his skin is brown. This which leads to innocent

people being shot. These examples show ethos because Childish Gambino is a black man himself

who has more than likely experienced racism and racial profiling. This example also shows

pathos because many people are losing loved ones and fearing for their relatives because they

could be mistaken for criminals. Also lot’s oflots of black Americans would agree that they have

experienced racial profiling with the police such as when driving.

In “I’m Not Racist” there are some powerfulstrong lyrics such as “Quit the pitiful stuff and

maybe police will stop killing you” to “get stopped by the cops not know if you bout to die or

not”. It takes views from both the white side and the black side of the argument. The white side

assuming that every black person is involved in criminal activity and the black side saying that

they always have to be weary of cops possibly taking their lives. It shows how both sides feel a

certain way about the violence and racism and does a greatgood job showing it. Although the

lyrics were completely accurate, straightforward and relatable to both sides, “This Is America”

gives deeper insight about the black point of view with it’s use of double entendre, symbolism,

and use of more than just lyrics to express the message.

In the “This Is America” video, there is a use of props to help get the message across about

gun violence. One of the main props that are used props are guns. First, a hand gun is used to kill
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a man in a chair. Another gun is one that was used by white supremacist Dylann Roof, to kill a

blackthe church choir in the 2015 Charleston shooting (Gajanan). The guns are used to show

how guns have been used over and over in shootings and nothing is being done about it. It also

show how blacks continue to be victims of these violent acts because of a racist motive. When

Childish Gambino places the gun onto a red clothblanket after he is done shooting, he does this

to show how guns are upheld and their usage is not being stopped. The gun is being put on a

peddle stool because Americans love their guns too much to open their eyes and see that there is

a major problem. This involves the use of pathos and logos by making a call for more gun

control and laws in order to stop these mass shootings. Cell phones are another prop that is used

in the video. Another prop that is used is cell phones. In one scene, bystanders are using their

phones to filmtaking videos of the shootings that are happening. The cell phones represent how

cell phone they can play a key role invideos are used to recording shootings and evidence of

police brutality (Beaumont-Thomas). Recent shootings and killings have been constantly

recorded using phone footage which can give people the power to capture what happened. Cell

phones can be a great asset in showing the truth about what really happened during these events.

Broke down cars or “Beater” cars in the background are also used as props. People are seen

running, dancing, and jumping all over them. They symbolize how many of the shooting victims

were driving these older types of cars. It also shows how many victims are just regular people

trying to get by and don’t have a lot of money. These cars may also show how the types of old

cars that these victims drive may also be a target by police just because it’s an old car. These

examples,e all appeal to pathos, with how black people are being killed nearly every day and

shedding light on recent victims.

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In “I’m Not Racist”, the only props that areis used is a table and two chairs. These props

helpIt helps to set the scene of the two people having a discussion. It’s simple and shows how the

two people are talking to each other one on one to get their points across and explain their

arguments. They were It was a good props to use but the props used in “This Is America” are

more significant because they capture the audience’s attention more with depicting the brutal

violence.

Scenery is a very important aspect of the “This Is America” video. The video has a shirtless

Childish Gambino throughout the whole video. Using pathos, he does this to show that, he too,

is also human (Gajanan). His shirt lessness shows how vulnerable and exposed he is and possibly

wanting to be free from the all the violence. Also, it may show how hHis skin color shouldn’t

result in him being seen as a threat and doesn’t mean that he deserves to be shot. Another part of

scenery is a man sitting in a chair and the singing gospel choir. They show this to show the

violence can’t be escaped. Even churches and other places that are meant to be free from any

type of violence and murder are no longer safe. There is no safe place from guns and it’s hard to

stay encouraged in a world of violence. Another example is in the beginning of the video where

Childish Gambino makes over the top faces and poses. This is a reference to Jim Crow, the racial

caricature of black people (Beaumont-Thomas). The use of this character is used to makeis is to

make the point of how blacks are viewed by white people, seen as incompetent and comedica

joke and stupid. It also shows how some black people will give in to the “white lifestyle” or

“sellout” for acceptationacceptation among whites. They will act a certain way and always listen

to white people just to be in good terms or have money. One last piece of scenery is gun

violence. The violence is to show exactly what is happening at the moment and how the killings

are continuous and won’t stop. It shows a reenactment of what has really happened in real life to
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real people. These scenes appeal to the emotions of the audience with how many black

Americans are being killed and how the losses are not being taken seriously simply because their

skin is black, and they are not seen as important as white people.

In “I’m Not Racist”, the scene is set in plain and dull roomis set in a room or basement of

some sort with windows and white walls. The room looks somewhat rundown and on the verge

of deuteriation. I think the room was used to just place the two people in a setting where they

hear each other loud and clear and get their points across without interruptioning from anyone

else. I think the room was also used to show they are in this box and are trying to get the each

other to think the way they do or think outside their boxes. The room also gives off a serious vibe

which goes with the serious discussion. “This Is America” does the scenery better because it

captures the attention of the audience. It also has multiple things going on in the background

from people running around and riding in cars. The scenes also have underlying messages where

aswhereas “I’m Not Racist” just has the message within the lyrics.

One last detail used to help convey theaspect used in helping to get the main message

message across in “This Is America” is the choreography. Throughout the video, Childish

Gambino dances with a group of school children. They are dancing to make people ignore what

is going on in the background (Gajanan). This use of pathos shows how the media/entertainment

is riddled with normalized violence and how its audience has become sensitized to itthe violence

is being ignored with entertainment and how prevalent violence is in the media. People just

continue to smile and not really pay attention to what is going in America. Also, violence is

riddled throughout the media constantly, through movies, tv shows, and other forms of media.

Another piece of choreography is the people and police running around in the background. This

is giving a glimpse into real life with how after a shooting event, people will start riots. The
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“Black Lives Matter” movement is one good example of this. The movement was started in

hopes for peace and fighting towards the end of gun violence towards black people. Riots and

protests have been continuously going on especially under the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

In the ending of the music video, Childish Gambino is running from a group of people in a dark

hallway. This expresses how he is running for his life. It shows how black Americans have been

running for their lives since the beginning of America (Gajanan). It relates to when during

slavery, the slaves would run for their lives from slave masters in hopes of finally finding

freedom. Today, black people are still looking for their freedom, not just from violence but in

other areas of their lives. These examples all appeal to logos. It shows how normalized violence

has become in mainstream culture and also how people will continue to riot and protest until the

shootings stop and there is gun control. These shootings have to come to an end in order for there

to be peace and no more victims.

In “I’m Not Racist”, there is not muchreally any choreography. The only movements that are

used is is when each of them gets up and moves their arms and bodies around in an angry gesture

to show how they feel very strongly about their argument and getting it across.each side starts to

get up and shout and use hand gestures to show their anger and get their argument across. It

shows how passionate both sides of the argument are but it’s not as effective as “This Is

America”. Childish Gambino’s technique of using African choreography and movements, help to

emphasize allshow the violence and distract the audience from it at the same time is more

effective.

In conclusion, “This Is America” was more successful in delivering the need for awareness of

ending gun message violence and racism that there needs to be more focus on the racial violence

than “I’m Not Racist” does. “This is America” was a music video that had amazing visuals,
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metaphors and great lyrics and was a great example of art spreading a meaningful message. Both

videos did great with explaining the racism and problems in American Society today, from the

symbolism and double meanings of “This Is America” to the powerful and truthful lyrics of “I’m

Not Racist”. They both brought to light the social, discrimination, and justice issues going on

today and highlight how these need to be focused on in order to establish peace.

Works Cited

Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. “This Is America: Theories behind Childish Gambino's Satirical

Masterpiece.” The Guardian, 9 May 2018, www.guardian.com/music/2018/may/07/this-is-

america-theories-donald-glover-satirical-video-childish-gambino.

ChildishGambinoVEVO. “Childish Gambino - This Is America” YouTube, 5 May 2018,

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

Gajanan, Mahita. “Childish Gambino's 'This Is America': Breaking Down Symbols.” Time,

7 May 2018, time.com/5267890/childish-gambino-this-is-america-meaning/.

RealJoynerLucas. “Joyner Lucas - I'm Not Racist.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gm3CJePn0.