Semiotic Analysis of Gun Violence Representation in Childish Gambino's This Is America

Sausan Fadhila Noor, Krisna Sujiwa

Abstract


Gun violence, as illustrated in Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” highlights a social problem in the United States and the unequal impact on Black populations, revealing racial inequality. Previous studies of This Is America have concentrated on racial representation, racial inequality, and violence. However, little attention has been paid to the gun violence in the music video through semiotic meanings. The objective of this research is to analyze the representation of gun violence in “This Is America” using Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory. The study, using a descriptive qualitative method, analyzes selected scenes from the music video through the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth. The findings reveal that the video presents gun violence as a normalized social reality tied to systemic racism, media distraction, and cultural desensitization to violence. This study finds that this is an important cultural text that challenges dominant myths of freedom and equality in American society.

Keywords


Gun Violence, Semiotics, This Is America, Racial Inequality

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v11i5.3072

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