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Learn more about each video discussed above
Public Enemy's Fight the Power
Public Enemy’s Fight the Power music video was produced in 1989, during a time where African Americans were still struggling with the concept of equality in America. There were still episodes of racism occurring, and the urban inner city communities were being neglected by the government, leaving African Americans hopeless. This video was not just about racism, but about how to go against the government, and make a change for the community. It was not about Public Enemy becoming leaders for the community, but about the community coming together and creating a significant amount of leaders, that would surely promote change in the world. The video first starts with a flash back to the civil rights era, where African Americans protested for their freedom, marching down streets with their signs, in order to negotiate change. Following the flashback, Fight the Power begins playing, with a “present day” protest march leaded by the rap group, which sets the mood for the remainder of the video. The purpose of this video was not to just acknowledge the fact that African Americans were still suffering from injustice, but to say “we know it is happening, so we need to fix it.” The purpose of not only the song, but the video, was to create a space where African Americans became inspired to act upon the inequities they suffered from every day, even after the civil rights movement.
KRS-One's Sound of da Police
KRS-One’s Sound of da Police video was made in 1993, and brings upon discussions of “modern” day slavery, in which he talks about police officers abusing their power as a representation of slave owners in the past. This was because in the 90s, racial profiling of African Americans was at a high, creating a moral panic within the race. This video was made to point out this issue, and let it be known that it was a problem that needed to be talked about, as well as taken action upon. Similar to the Fight the Power video, this video was made to contradict the successfulness of the civil rights movement, in regards to racial equity. It was made during a time period where African Americans faced discrimination in public institutions, and they were constantly being labeled as “ghetto.” Because of this, inner cities, which are where majority of African Americans lived, suffered from unemployment. As a result, the war on drugs began, which caused an increase of African Americans to be put into prisons, and racial profiling to rise exponentially.
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In 1995 KRS-One did an interview with the magazine Vibe, and talked about the importance of the music video and the song. He stated, “I think human beings must react to the real conditions affecting that human beings survival. If you go to the 23rd century and look back on 1990 to 95’ it will look identical to slavery….the only difference between then and now is technology. Wage slavery exists today, identical to chattel slavery (Vibe Interviewer, 1995).”
Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us
Michael Jackson made this video in 1996, which was a time where the world was not necessarily ready to hear Michael “rap” about social problems that society was dealing with at the time such as prejudice, social problems, as well as global issues. However, Michael went against his norm of singing about women and dating, and wanted to show his audience that there are more important things to talk about, such as racism and government mistreatment.
This music video was used to speak to individuals who suffered from discrimination, including Michael, and emphasized the anger that Michael had as a representation of the suffering of minorities, caused by American Society. This video promotes the message of anger, to not only speak to minorities, but to those who participate in racism, discrimination, and the corruption of the government.
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The video had many ways to portray the idea of race in the United States, by showing elements that include segregation, throwing black people in jail, as well as clips of Martin Luther King, whenever Michael would state, “If Martin Luther was living, he wouldn’t let this be.”
Joey Bada$$'s Land of the Free
Joey Badass’s Land of the Free music video portrays the message that America does not serve nor benefit all citizens that live here, specifically referring to African Americans living in America. His video is yet another portrayal of how racism is still a part of American society, as well as another portrayal of political hip hop, that uses its platform to voice concerns and opinions around the State of the Union. Joey Badass uses the concepts of Donald Trump, political representation, mass incarceration, as well as police brutality, to defend his arguments on this issue, and spark a message for influence.
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One powerful line from the song is “three Ks two As in Amerikkka, I'm just a black spade, spawn out the nebula...,” and is performed in the video by Joey being surrounded by different forms of white supremists, that include government officials, policemen, as well as businessmen, as he tries to lead a group of African Americans who seem to be chained up, to freedom. There is another scene in this video, where Joey appears to be getting lynched by a group of Klansme, who gather around and burn a cross. After this occurs, the Klansmen take off their hoods, revealing that their identities were police officers, which emphasizes how Joey is trying to stress how police brutality is an important feature of American society that needs to be recognized and talked about.
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Joey’s main concern that he wants his audience to see is that is a big presence of inequality in the world today, that contradicts the American motto that we are living in the “Land of the Free.”
Childish Gambino's This is America
Childish Gambino’s This is America video is the most recent representation of American society today. This video is more unique compared to the other videos discussed because not only does it discuss racism, but also factors of society that affect American citizens as a whole, such as the notion of gun control. In this particular video, the focus was not on Childish Gambino, but the events that took place behind him Throughout the video, there are various racial elements taking place in the background. For example, Gambino begins with mocking minstrel shows by mimicking the character Jim Crow, as he “shoots” a black man, in just the first minute of the video. Also, it is important to note that throughout the video, there were various individuals taking their phones out and recording, as to note for how individuals do today, in cases involving police brutality. In a time where racial opposition is at a high, this video sparked various conversations throughout social media. Another thing to point out about this video is the movement of Gambino throughout the video. His movements also mimicked minstrel shows, in which these movements mocked black people in American society. Characters were normally portrayed by white people, exemplifying the oppression of African Americans.
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Gambino portrays the Charleston Massacre as well, as the video shows a black choir of ten people singing, and then Gambino shoots them and walks away. In this case, Gambino was representing white supremacist Dylann Roof.
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This video was used to show America through the eyes of a black man, exemplifying the trauma they face and how they view the struggles of the world which include racism, oppression, and political issues which involve gun control. Similar to the other videos discussed, this video’s goal was to get its audience to see there is a problem with American society, and that it needs to be fixed.
RELATION TO IDEOLOGY, HEGEMONY, AND REPRESENTATION OF RACE
It is also helpful to analyze these music videos in terms of how they relate to hegemony and ideology. These music videos represent ideologies involving race, which include that the mistreatment of African Americans involving politics and equality, can be blamed on the ruling classes who are considered the “higher powers.” They control the living arrangements of African Americans, causing black people to believe that anything gone wrong in their lives is because of them. This can be related to a reading we read earlier in the semester titled Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. In Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, Louis Althusser discusses the ways in which the State shows controls over its subject, and examines this in different ways. My main focus of his discussion is how he presents his view of ideology as the greatest material power, as well as the various definitions of ideology that he gives. These definitions include that ideology is “a system of the ideas and representations which dominate the mind of a man or a social group” ideology has no history of its own, ideology is eternal, ideology is a “representation of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence,” ideology has a material existence, and many more interpretations.
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In the case of these music videos, I wanted to use his definition that “ideology is a representation of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.” Although the relationships being expressed here are certainly not imaginary, they do have a connection to their conditions of existence. One ideology presented in this song is that the ruling class is to blame for all disputes between politics and equality, which involve race. This could be considered the “imaginary relationship.” The real conditions of their existence could be that because of this, they protest, fighting for their rights, to promote change.
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In terms of representation of race, in Race, Racism, and Representation, Storey focuses on how race is represented in society today, and the power structures that contribute to that. These videos give their audiences insight on how members of this society play a major part in representation. The ideas expressed help paint a picture of how popular culture can be shaped, by looking at these music videos and using these concepts to help analyze them.