Reading about both Childish Gambino and Beyonce’s music and then watching the videos was very interesting. I felt that the reading set up what we were about to watch, which I really enjoyed. I honestly am the type of person to like music based on its tune and beat, rather than its words, not to say the words don’t matter at all. The reading about Beyonce told us that her message was that the future of visual art is black. This was something I was able to view in her “Formation” music video. Her video went back and forth between portraying a poor black community and herself in the luxurious life she lives. One lyric that stuck out to me was “you just may be a black Bill Gates in the making” I felt that she was saying that this is where she came from, and their future could look like this too. I also think it’s important that she says “black” Bill Gates. I think this emphasizes that white people are innately like Bill Gates or projected to be successful. At the end she is show laying on a cop car that is drowning and at the very end she is submerged with the car. I think this portrayed that she was protesting against police brutality.

In the reading about Childish Gambino’s we were told that we would see violence against black bodies. The music video takes place in what seems to be a parking garage of some sort. In different parts of the garage are different scenes portraying a black community. The one that stuck out to me most was when it showed the scene with the church choir. They were all smiling while singing and then all of a sudden Childish Gambino shot them all and says “This is America” For me it was very obvious that he was portraying the horrors that happen and protesting against violence.