Mridula Anand | Week 11: "Too Loud, Too Reckless, Too Ghetto"
Photo Credit: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-loathed-right-1235262428/
This last Sunday, Super Bowl 59 took place between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The halftime show would be performed by renowned rapper Kendrick Lamar, along with an appearance from artist SZA. However, it was clear by the time Kendrick Lamar got on the stage that this was going to be more than just a performance.
The performance started off with him stating: “The revolution is about to be televised; you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” This may have been a clear shot at the election of President Donald Trump who was in attendance at the Super Bowl, and the “revolution,” in this case, would be the entirety of the Super Bowl performance, with subtly political statements and symbols that showed up throughout.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson aided the making of these statements by playing Uncle Sam. With Jackson being an African American, and Uncle Sam, frequently depicted as a white American, Kendrick Lamar immediately hinted at how a white American is not the only way to represent America, a country that is now characterized by extreme diversity. Continuing his persona, after the performance of “Squabble Up,” Jackson’s Uncle Sam took over the screen with his reaction that the performance was “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto,” telling him to “tighten up!”
Immediately in defiance of Uncle Sam’s requests, Kendrick Lamar went on to perform “Humble,” and was only able to elicit a positive response from Uncle Sam after his performance of “Luther” and “All The Stars” with SZA, which was described by Uncle Sam as “nice” and “calm.” This was fleeting and Kendrick’s ignorance of any word from Uncle Sam was displayed in his progression to performing “Not Like Us,” a diss track targeted at Drake. When he was asked by the group of girls behind him whether he was really going to perform the song, Kendrick stated, “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music.” Though a slightly encrypted message, when stating this, he was referring to the reparations that enslaved people got after the Civil war: 40 acres of land for All African Americans that were later given back to former enslavers by Lincoln’s successor Andrew Johnson. So, this was likely being mentioned for an emphasis on the continued struggle of African Americans, even today, which the rapper wanted to point out.
Through these statements and actions, as well as visual elements including Kendrick’s entirety of backup dancers being African American, the color scheme including red white and blue, and the choreography to form the American flag, Kendrick Lamar created a masterpiece of a Super Bowl halftime show, making it the most viewed one of all time. In addition to being a lyrical genius, it is clear that he is able to transfer these skills in all aspects, conveying his powerful message across demographics and demonstrating the power of defiance, and the power of making a statement to represent a historically marginalized community without fear of further suppression.
Hi Mridula! I watched Kendrick’s halftime show too, but I was half asleep (because of the precis annotations), so I really appreciated your writing style and the way you periodically broke down the specific aspects of the performance as it occurred chronologically. Describing Kendrick’s subtle political statements and his likely intentions behind them gave a very fresh perspective to what would normally be considered just a performance for entertainment. The choice to have Samuel L. Jackson playing Uncle Sam in the performance was an especially intriguing detail to me, since it basically flipped the traditional portrayal of Uncle Sam as a white man and made it more inclusive of different racial identities. I also found your analysis of how Kendrick saying “40 acres and a mule” showed the long historical struggle of African-Americans in the country, and how his performance, in many ways, connected the past and the present. Your descriptions of how he used the halftime show to send a message about defiance and representation was incredibly compelling, and I thought that you very effectively captured the significance of his performance!
ReplyDeleteHey Mridula!
ReplyDeleteI also watched the Superbowl Halftime Show (as well as the game itself) and I truly enjoyed it, however, many of my friends who I watched it with did not share the same sentiment as they thought that rapper Lil' Wayne had been "snubbed" the opportunity of performing in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. The way you delve deep into the many historical references made in the short performance is incredibly interesting and well-written. Your analysis of many of the events of the performance is also amazing. Overall, I truly enjoyed reading your blog today and I look forward to reading what you write next week!
Hi Mirdula! I didn't get to watch Kendrick's halftime show fully, but I saw lots of clips of it on Instagram. I like how you chose to analyze this performance as the Superbowl Halftime Show is an event viewed by almost all Americans. You used a chronological timeline to describe the performance, tackling each major point in relevance to when it occurred. I also like how you connected points of the performance to historical events and analyzed the meaning behind Kendrick's actions. You were able to assert the connection of this performance, which would usually be taken to just be "entertainment," to a wider sociopolitical perspective that remains important to society. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula, I enjoyed Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance during the Super Bowl this year, and I appreciate your dissection of the political messages he portrays throughout his performance. The way you cover Samuel L. Jackson’s role as Uncle Sam and how it represents Lamar’s message that the country should be represented with diversity rather than a singular race made so much sense while I was still thinking about who and why Jackson was playing such a character during the performance. Overall, I admire how you explained this legendary halftime show and how Lamar puts in a big amount of time and effort into his work, and his verses speak volumes and across large magnitudes that will forever influence the course of the nation (whether some people like it or not).
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