This document provides analysis of symbols and imagery in Childish Gambino's "This is America" music video. It notes that the guitarist represents Trayvon Martin, who was shot dead as an unarmed black man. Childish Gambino wears clothing resembling slave attire to represent the experience of African Americans. Dancing depicts how entertainment distracts from social issues. Imagery like blackface and depictions of gun violence and the Charleston church shooting critique how America has treated African Americans. The use of old cars and a reference to the apocalypse suggest a lack of progress on these issues in America.

1. This Is America - Childish
Gambino
By Hannah and Mason

2. This Is America – Childish Gambino

3. The Guitarist
When casting for the role of the guitarist
they decided to choose Calvin II an artist
from LA. As he shared a resemblance to
the father of Treyvon Martin, A young
African American that was shot dead on
February 26, 2012. Martin was unarmed
when he was killed by George
Zimmerman out side his father’s fiancé's
house. The fact that the guitarist has a
bag over his head when he is shot
resembles how defenseless Martin
would have been when he was also shot
dead.
Calvin II
Treyvon Martin’s Father

4. Civil War Trousers
Childish Gambino is seen
wearing nothing on his upper
half of his body but a chain and
on the lower half he is wearing
civil war trousers what he’s
wearing resembles what the
African American slaves wore
during the slave trade.

5. The Dancing
The dancing throughout the video is a
representation of how the media
uses entertainment to distract you
from all the mayhem. Since Childish
Gambino represents America in the
video some people have seen the
dancing as a way of not getting
caught up in the mayhem as the
dancers never get hurt and continue
to smile while behind them there is
absolute anarchy.

6. Black Face
In the opening frames of the video Gambino is
referencing the black face character of Jim
Crow. Thomas Dartmouth created Jim Crow in
the early 1830’s and would perform in ’minstrel
routines’ where he would play the caricature as
‘a clumsy, dimwitted black slave’ despite the
fact that Dartmouth was actually white. Black
facing died out around 1978 when the last
viewing of The Black and White Minstrel Show
appeared on national television. On this show
the actor who performed in black face would
use over exaggerative faces to mock black
culture and Gambino reflects this by his facial
expression and Jim Crow stance when shooting
the guitarist to the head .

7. Guns In America
The fact that the guns are
carried out of frame in red
clothes and are handled
with care where as the
body of the victim is
dragged along the floor
and handled with no care
at all. This is to show how
America care more about
their guns then the lives
of Americans themselves.

8. Charleston Church Shooting
during the church scene in the music
is linked to the Charleston church
shooting in America 2015 which was
hate crime in which white
supremacist Dylann Roof murdered
nine African Americans, this scene is
also was intended to juxtapose
happy and positive aspects of
African American culture with the
violence that surrounds and impacts
the black community in America.

9. ‘This a celly that's a tool’
This line in the song has been interpreted in many
different ways the main three consist of: how cell
phones are now being used as a tool to document
the havoc nowadays. The fact that the warehouse
where the music video was filmed bares a striking
resemblance to a prison ‘celly’ could mean a cell block and how they are being used as a tool
to unjustly keep black people in a cycle of incarceration. Lastly it could refer to the shooting of
Stephon Clarke a young African American that was shot dead in his grandmothers backyard
when police mistook his cell phone for a gun. This would make sense as Gambino has made to
references to unarmed and innocent people being shot in this song prior to these lyrics.

10. The Use of Old Cars
The reason they used old cars in the video instead of your usual flashy cars you get in most music videos is
to show a lack of progression in America when dealing with the problems represented in the music video.

11. The Apocalypse
A hooded figure riding a white horse
gallops across the screen so quickly
you might miss it, but it is likely a
reference to the Horsemen of the
Apocalypse in the Bible. In other
words, it refers to the end of the
world. According to the Bible, the
first horse was white, which mimics
the imagery found in "This Is America

12. Trying To Get Out of The Trap That Is America
In the final shot of the music
video we see Gambino trying
to run away from the
problems he faces living in
America. This is a strong
statement that shows he has
lost faith in America and
wants to get away from it as
soon as he can .