If I were to describe the internet to someone as one thing and one thing only, it would be “random.” And in the age of memes and often heated political conversations, of course someone was able to connect Childish Gambino and Carly Rae Jepsen.
In the week since the “This Is America” video dropped, YouTube user LOTI posted a clip of the first minute and five seconds of the music video for the single. The video, which was set to singer Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” is weirdly in sync with the 2012 hit.
From the way the rapper is dancing around the abandoned warehouse to when he shoots the man with the bag over his head, it all matches up a little too perfectly.
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I’m just wondering what motivated LOTI to even think of doing this, let alone actually doing it. Whether it’s being criticized or praised, the music video has is still being discussed on social media and in the news.
This lighthearted clip can be seen as insensitive, especially with police brutality being the main focus of the music video. That people are making jokes about such a huge problem in America proves Gambino’s point: people are paying attention to the wrong thing.
LOTI ended up responding to the attention his video has been getting. In the video’s description box he wrote, “I just want to make this clear, my intentions weren't to be disrespectful to the message of the song. There's some very messed up things going on in America right now, racism wise. There's no denying it. This is just a shitpost that spiraled out of control.”
Whether or not the YouTuber was being intentionally disrespectful or not, this isn’t going to be another “This Is America” think piece. But do Americans generally care about these serious issues? Or are they just looking for the next viral meme train to ride on?
in the past few days I've seen Donald Glover's "This is America" video: 1) parodied by a white woman, 2) with fart noises added, 3) set to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." and like, I don't know, maybe we don't actually need to meme & spoof every goddamn thing
— priscilla page (@BBW_BFF) May 13, 2018
Of course people are going to make fun of things, it’s the internet, that’s basically what it was invented for, right? But by constantly doing this, it’s maybe too easy to poke fun at something that we should take seriously.
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