After the release of Jay-Z’s album 4:44 in June, there has been a galore of controversy and attention brought towards the topic of blackness in America. I chose to analyze the music video to the song in his album, “The Story of O.J.” This song adds a lot to the discourse of the representation of blackness in America. Specifically, this song advertises the endeavors black people have in being successful in America. This video aims to both challenge and reinforce the common belief that you cannot be successful and black in today’s society.
For the audience to grasp the message behind the music video, Jay-Z illustrates a black-and-white cartoon video full of racist images and references dating way back to the slavery era. This captures all of the exploitation African Americans endured in America. In talking about the “who” in …show more content…
This song sings about four stereotypes of black women in society. The first women described in the song was named "Aunt Sarah". She explicitly represents enslavement. Her character also represents the strength and resilience blacks had. The second woman "Safronia" was a girl that was a result of a master raping her mother. She is biracial and must deal with living in between two different race worlds. The third woman is referred to as "Sweet Thing". She is accepted by both races because she sells her body and she represents the exploitation of African Americans women’s body. The last fourth is Peaches and she represents an angry black woman who continues to carry the burden of her parent’s enslavement. I thought it was important that Jay-Z added this to the song because white America has had a history of being very stereotypical towards the black culture and black women. Blacks have been battling for equality since the upbringing of this nation. Jay-Z expresses the desire of equality for blacks and the way blacks are represented in America may never
For the audience to grasp the message behind the music video, Jay-Z illustrates a black-and-white cartoon video full of racist images and references dating way back to the slavery era. This captures all of the exploitation African Americans endured in America. In talking about the “who” in …show more content…
This song sings about four stereotypes of black women in society. The first women described in the song was named "Aunt Sarah". She explicitly represents enslavement. Her character also represents the strength and resilience blacks had. The second woman "Safronia" was a girl that was a result of a master raping her mother. She is biracial and must deal with living in between two different race worlds. The third woman is referred to as "Sweet Thing". She is accepted by both races because she sells her body and she represents the exploitation of African Americans women’s body. The last fourth is Peaches and she represents an angry black woman who continues to carry the burden of her parent’s enslavement. I thought it was important that Jay-Z added this to the song because white America has had a history of being very stereotypical towards the black culture and black women. Blacks have been battling for equality since the upbringing of this nation. Jay-Z expresses the desire of equality for blacks and the way blacks are represented in America may never