Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, has been all over social media recently due to his controversial new song and music video “This is America.” The song itself did not create a lot of buzz, but loyal Gambino fans stood by it. Glover had also said at some point last year that he was done making music, and that his acting and producing careers were enough to keep him relevant without the music.

This made the release of the song a bit of a shock, but at the same time it was somewhat expected. With the music video on Twitter, people were constantly watching it over and over again. Some viewers started to notice some subliminal messages. Gambino is seen striking goofy poses, walking awkwardly, shooting and killing an African American choir, and a man with a bag over his head.

Some might think that Gambino is just posing in a goofy way, but he is actually mimicking a real life Jim Crow. He puts his hands on his hips and sticks his butt out. This symbolizes that even though conditions have improved, some problems are still present in our current day society. This is just one of many subliminal messages in the video. Another important message is how the guns are handled. The guns are all handled with care, while the victims are dragged away or left behind leaving a gruesome scene.

This symbolizes that in today’s society, the public cares more about guns or gun laws instead of the victims that are taken away by gun violence. The gun is also handled carefully and placed in a red cloth. Some believe that the red cloth may be symbolic of the Republican party. The choreography present is very interesting. In some parts of the video, Gambino can be seen dancing with violence occuring in the background. His dancing symbolizes how the public loves black culture, but ignores the violence happening to black people.

Also in the background is a suicide. A man jumps to his death, but no attention is given to it. The dancing continues and everyone appears to be fine with it. This could show how mental health does not get the attention it needs in America. He also sends a subliminal message in his wardrobe. He is shirtless, but is wearing buttoned confederate soldier pants. He is shirtless to remind the viewer that he is black and vulnerable, like many victims.The pants remind us of historical violence against black people.

Overall, the video has many clues and subliminal messages present.
The central message of the song and the music video is that racism is still present, even though America has tried to cover it up or make it seem like it’s not.