Music video: Theory

 
1) How does the This Is America video meet the key conventions of a music video?
It has the singer/artist in it alongside a narrative of some form. It also has elements on intertextuality where at one point Childish Gambino criticises other rappers such as Lil Pump by using his flow and saying "100 bands" and then "Contraband" which obviously suggests that he doesn't rap about anything apart from money and his possession of contraband. 

2) What comment is the video making on American culture, racism and gun violence?
It suggests that a lot of American culture is surrounded by guns and violence, especially with all the recent shootings that have happened. 

3) Write an analysis of the video applying the theories we have learned: Gilroy, Hall, Rose and Dyson. 

Read this Guardian feature on This Is America - including the comments below.
This video could relate to Dyson's theory due to the criticisms given in this video of not only American but Hip Hop and that can be seen as a positive thing as it's realising it's problems and non-hesitantly mentioning them. 

Rose's theory could be applied as the video shows many negative things throughout the video which can by some be seen as a direct representation of the African American community. 

Hall's theory wouldn't apply here as the three black characterisations don't apply here as Childish Gambino is the dominant figure in the video, but arguably he could fit into the "Clown or Entertainer" as despite being a serious political statement the video to a lot of people will still be seen as entertainment.

Gilroy's theory would be the least prominent here, as the theory couldn't really be applied here.

The video generally criticises American culture and in particular gun control as the use of guns is very over the top and seems to play a significant role in the music video. Also as the video goes on the chaos in the background grows bigger and bigger with more people running around, more burning cars and so on.

4) What are the three interpretations suggested in the article?
The first interpretation is that he's playing Jim Crow which has been suggested due to his grotesque smile at the begging alongside the over exaggerated poses.

Another interpretation is that he's trying to distract us from the chaos going on in the background with his dancing similarly to how in some videos something happens in the background but no one notices because they're told to focus on something else that's going on in the video, Childish Gambino does this (Not so explicitly and somewhat Ironically) to distract us from the chaos that's truly happening.

And the last interpretation is that he's taking on the police by the lyrics "This a celly/that's a tool" which is a direct link to a recent shooting of an African American man who's cell phone was mistaken for a gun (Tool being slang for a gun) and unfortunately shot down by the police and killed. He's clearly criticising the police here for not doing their job properly and making fatal mistakes.

5) What alternative interpretations of the video are offered in the comments 'below the line'? 
One major interpretation that has been mentioned several times in the comments has been the shooting committed by a white supremacist in 2015 at a gospel, where a similar scene is shown in the music video where Childish Gambino shoots down the choir.