The camera dives in between full shots to close-ups, trying to get the feeling of being in the world with the characters. But at the end of the video, it steps way back and reveals how small they are in their environment.
At the end of the music video, Gambino runs into the dark with a horror full facial
expression while another singer sings, “You just a Black man in this world / You just a barcode.”
According to Ramsey, it traces back to a song from the 19th century called “Run N- Run” and the long tradition of black Americans having to run to save their lives (Gajanan, 2018). But Miller (2018) points out that Gambino’s attempts to escape the warehouse are a reference to the horror
satire movie “Get Out” directed by Jordan Peele. There is a mental space called “The Sunken Place” where the main character goes after he’s been brainwashed, unable to control his body. “The Sunken Place means we’re marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us,”
explained Jordan Peele, on Twitter in March 2017.
You can watch this music video over and over, and every time there will pop out another hidden meaning or symbol. Will his music video “This Is America” make a big impact on African- American lives? This is uncertain, but definitely, his provocative and daring art already has moved millions of people around the whole world.…