# New video (hip-hop) from Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811 "2018-05-08T11:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/61 "2018-05-09T05:31:28Z")
Awesome vid. I love that he’s wearing Confederate pants while striking Jim Crow poses… > [@NAF1138](#): > > But I think he is still capable of great art. His Famous music video is, I think, a very powerful reflection on America’s obsession with fame. Only in as much as it’s about \*Kanye’s \*obsession with fame (and Kanye). Otherwise it’s a piece of misogynist trash, made just to troll - especially to troll Swift (to quote Kanye: “Can somebody sue me already #I’llwait.” Yeah, I believe he’s still waiting. #trollfail). ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/62 "2018-05-09T10:01:28Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Here’s some violence, let’s dance? That’s profound? A song called “This is America”, where people are dancing happily while ignoring the violence happening around them. Do you _seriously_ not detect any message here that isn’t “here’s some violence, let’s dance?” ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/63 "2018-05-09T11:56:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Awesome vid. I love that he’s wearing Confederate pants while striking Jim Crow poses… > > Only in as much as it’s about \*Kanye’s \*obsession with fame (and Kanye). Otherwise it’s a piece of misogynist trash, made just to troll - especially to troll Swift (to quote Kanye: “Can somebody sue me already #I’llwait.” Yeah, I believe he’s still waiting. #trollfail). We can have a discussion about this elsewhere. But I’m not sure what about that video is misogynistic. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/64 "2018-05-09T14:32:46Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > We can have a discussion about this elsewhere. But I’m not sure what about that video is misogynistic. Lots of reasons - look at how the women are posed and (un)covered vs the men, for one. Then look at _which_women are included (thinking specifically of Swift and Amber Rose), and their relation to Kanye, or to other (abusing) men also included (thinking of Rihanna/Brown). That’s without even going into the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/65 "2018-05-09T14:56:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Lots of reasons - look at how the women are posed and (un)covered vs the men, for one. Then look at _which_women are included (thinking specifically of Swift and Amber Rose), and their relation to Kanye, or to other (abusing) men also included (thinking of Rihanna/Brown). That’s without even going into the lyrics. I actually think this might be an interesting discussion, but seems inappropriate for this thread. Do you want to start a new one or do you want me to? (or, I suppose we can not start one, but I think there is a topic there) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/66 "2018-05-09T15:39:45Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I actually think this might be an interesting discussion, but seems inappropriate for this thread. Do you want to start a new one or do you want me to? (or, I suppose we can not start one, but I think there is a topic there) If you start it, I’m happy to post to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/67 "2018-05-09T16:43:25Z")
I just got around to watching this. And my reaction was much like what I then saw in reaction videos … some shock, some amusement, etc. But, with each subsequent view (maybe 4 or 5 times including reaction videos) I was a little closer to tears. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/68 "2018-05-09T19:32:28Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Here’s some violence, let’s dance? That’s profound? > [@tim314](#): > > A song called “This is America”, where people are dancing happily while ignoring the violence happening around them. Do you _seriously_ not detect any message here that isn’t “here’s some violence, let’s dance?” Yeah. That’s an absurdly reductivist statement. Might as well describe À la recherche du temps perdu as “man eats tiny cake”. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/69 "2018-05-09T20:03:36Z")
I keep reading about Jim Crow stances, but I don’t understand what that means. Can somebody explain? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/70 "2018-05-09T20:13:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I keep reading about Jim Crow stances, but I don’t understand what that means. Can somebody explain? > **[Decoding Childish Gambino’s Stunning “This Is America” Visual](https://www.vibe.com/features/lists/decoding-childish-gambinos-this-is-america-video-list-584075/)** > > Hiro Murai and Gambino's visual take on "This Is America" is a journey between living a self-reliant life while carrying the burden social misconstructs on our shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/71 "2018-05-09T20:21:35Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I guess I’m confused as to whether the video is about America as a whole or more a story about being black in America. You can’t separate the two. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/72 "2018-05-09T20:50:09Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I keep reading about Jim Crow stances, but I don’t understand what that means. Can somebody explain? Yes, I didn’t get that either. Of course I’ve heard of Jim Crow laws. I had no idea there was a persona attached. Seriously, is this something every black person knows? Where would you encounter this persona anyway? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/73 "2018-05-10T02:59:46Z")
Well if your high school or college US history class had enough time to make it past the Civil War, you’d probably come across it there. A textbook would be remiss to just throw the term out there and not give an explanation. Or if not…a lot of colleges have classes about the African-American experience. I took one. I suspect black students might be interested in taking those sorts of classes too, perhaps at a higher rate than white students. They would encounter the explanation there. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/74 "2018-05-10T03:07:24Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Well if your high school or college US history class had enough time to make it past the Civil War, you’d probably come across it there. A textbook would be remiss to just throw the term out there and not give an explanation. That’s what I was wondering. I _thought_ that Jim Crow was explained in terms of the character/minstrel shows type of thing, but I’m not 100% sure, as I don’t have my high school textbooks. It seems to me that it would be really weird to talk about “Jim Crow” laws without referencing [Jim Crow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_Jim_Crow), but it’s almost 30 years on, and I can’t say for certain where I learned about the character of Jim Crow. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/75 "2018-05-10T04:58:34Z")
Every day I live my life as a non-white person and every day I am flabbergasted by how perfectly wonderful and not-at-all-racist non-whites view the world on their side of the divide. **Hilarity** , I understand why you are underwhelmed. Why the old cars, Jim Crow, smiley-faced dancers and sudden violence is not resonating with you. I, myself, am underwhelmed by the trap foundations of this song since I am from the old school soul and funk generation. But underneath your misunderstanding I feel the smearing of black culture.The dismissal of it as nothing but naked women guzzelling Hennesy while black dudes toss around diamonds on their hoe-filled Gulfsteams. This is your chance. Stop wondering if this culture you are only passingly familiar with could possibly get all the racial nuances presented when even you, a pretty smart person, had to come to the Dope and research the hidden meanings in this video. Hell, even I think people are making more of this than there really is. Still, damn, open up your eyes just a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/76 "2018-05-10T06:21:49Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Also I may be developing a slight non-sexual man crush on Donald Glover these days. Seeing him as Lando probably won’t help that. On SNL he played him like Billie Dee. I hope he does it in the movie, like Ewan McGregor was hired for his rock-solid Alec Guinness impression. 😉 > [@USCDiver](#): > > I’m not into this genre enough to make any real critique of this song, but I will say that his performance on SNL was the first time since DVR was invented that I’ve watched the whole musical guest performance and not just skipped ahead to Weekend Update. Yeah, me too. The lighting effects were also mesmerizing. So this is Trap? I like it. Never liked OS Rap, but this is loud and electronic, two qualities that made ‘Hey Ya’ (some y’all don’t remember the uproar here when that came out!) the greatest song ever! (Found out tonight that OutKast is Trap) I’d say it has that third quality, lyrics that are utterly stupid (vital to make an R&R song great) from what I could understand, but I see I’m probably mistaken about that. Needs a couple more listens. And I need to broaden my horizons some. Apparently modern music is not all boring Beyonce crap. :o ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/77 "2018-05-10T08:57:45Z")
I don’t consider OutKast trap. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/78 "2018-05-10T10:53:06Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I don’t consider OutKast trap. Agreed. OutKast is not trap. [RIGHT][/RIGHT]. Heck, these days even trap isn’t trap, since trap has been taken over by the mumble rappers. But OutKast was never trap. **dropzone** trap in this case is referring to that specific off kilter beat with the 3 emphasized with a triplet. It usually also has a fake high hat roll sound that is something like a zip tie being pulled that comes in every so often (usually around the 3). There is also a trap style of rapping but that starts going down a rabbit hole. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/79 "2018-05-10T11:41:42Z")
_shrug_ I’m an old, white nerd. All I know is what Wikipedia tells me. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811/80 "2018-05-10T12:07:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > _shrug_ I’m an old, white nerd. All I know is what Wikipedia tells me. Wikipedia doesn’t say anything about OutKast being trap - the article on trap music says they used _the term_ “trap”, in its “drug den” sense, in lyrics. But that’s not the same thing as\* their music\* being trap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-video-hip-hop-from-childish-gambino-aka-donald-glover/813811.md?page=5)