First 10 shots analysis of Childish Gambino - This is America

Childish Gambino - This is America

Shot duration: 1min39 secs, extremely long 

Cinematography: slow zoom in to chair centre frame 

Transition: black to first shot

M-E-S: warehouse with chair and guitar in the middle before man sits down to play it. White glow of building juxtaposes the impurity of the killing and violence

Shot duration: technically still the first shot

Cinematography: big pan. Keeps Gambino centre frame mostly, both to bring to attention the lyrics and also to distract us from the background

M-E-S: old confederate army trousers and yellow shoes

Shot duration: still first shot

Cinematography: big pan/crosses 180^o rule to show artist’s face 

M-E-S: same mis-en-scene, to carry on. Two gold chains to represent both physical bondage and consumerism. Exaggerated moves and facial expressions. Artist himself – Childish Gambino. 

Shot duration: still first shot

Cinematography: zooms out then stops

M-E-S: Man on the chair no longer has guitar and has a bag over his head. Child then comes with a red cloth to take the gun away – shows the power guns have and also how easy it is for guns to be distributed. Also shows that America values guns over lives. Standing in Jim crow position (caricature) commonly used as a reference in minstrel shows in the 1800s and 1900s where white actors would perform black face and act out black stereotypes

Shot duration: still first shot

Cinematography: camera moving backwards

M-E-S: Gambino refers to America as “girl”, possibly objectifying. Dead body being dragged off by children

Shot duration: still first shot 

Cinematography: long-shot moving into mid shot

M-E-S: dances from viral videos. Some say that the dancing is like a method of survival. The dancers are dancing with Gambino who is symbolising America and they never get injured; this could be to show that America applauds black culture but still turns a blind eye to the injustices.

Shot duration: 23 secs, long

Cinematography: Choir take centre frame/ long-shot

Transition: swipes across screen

M-E-S: gospel choir/ church choir

Shot duration: still second shot

Cinematography: camera stays still, unmoved by the violence that has just occurred /long-shot

M-E-S: Charleston mass shooting which was racially motivated

Shot duration: long

Cinematography: still keeping Gambino centre frame, but closer mid-shot

Transition: swipes to next shot

M-E-S: burning police car in the background

Shot duration: still third shot

Cinematography: stays on dancing before doing a pan around to a different background/ long-shot

Transition; 180^o over Gambino to show what’s behind him

M-E-S: represents real life injustices that are happening. One specific dance they do is the Gwara Gwara originated in South Africa. Could be to link America and South Africa because of all the racism they have both experienced. Dancing destracts from chaos occurring in the background. A lot goes unnoticed due to the dancing in the foreground. Goes on to show children filming chaos, showing how phones are tools to document brutality.