I loved that he said "The revolution about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy." I took that as a two pronged reference. I think first, it was a reference to himself and...
a good portion of people wanted Lamar to act in defiance of Trump in only the narrow and specific ways that they deemed acceptable
I loved that he said "The revolution about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy." I took that as a two pronged reference.
I think first, it was a reference to himself and his performance. He is the "wrong guy" to do a Super Bowl halftime show because it would be explicitly political in the wrong way (according to the NFL which is usually more on the RAH RAH RAH GO TEAM AMERICA MILITARY WOO side of things). Which it was. And again, this was very high brow and layered, which will probably go over a lot of people's heads (especially white people).
The second meaning was a direct attack on Trump, the literal "wrong guy." People got politically active and they picked him for president. Which is probably more the kind of "narrow and specific ways" you were referring to, but it was quick and wasn't a clearly straight up "FUCK YOU TRUMP" kind of thing.
I am not a huge fan of Kendrick's music, mostly because I find his delivery ... annoying. But he's won me over as a fan of him personally with this performance (which I didn't even watch live because I generally do not care for NFL football).
The show itself. It was easily the best part of the game. Saying that as a not-quite-Philadelphia native. Have not watched this analysis yet (can't wait), but I loved the Playstation buttons with...
The show itself. It was easily the best part of the game. Saying that as a not-quite-Philadelphia native.
Have not watched this analysis yet (can't wait), but I loved the Playstation buttons with the phrase "turn this TV off."
Same. That said, something I really liked about it, plus a rather funny anecdote: I rewatched it the day after on YouTube and noticed I had completely overlooked the dancers’ formation when they...
Have not watched this analysis yet (can't wait)
Same. That said, something I really liked about it, plus a rather funny anecdote:
I rewatched it the day after on YouTube and noticed I had completely overlooked the dancers’ formation when they first emerged from the car: that’s pretty obviously the US flag!
I blame missing it on the fact that I’m not actually from the US, plus that it was like 3 in the morning when I initially watched it live and was talking with my friends who also decided to stay up and watch for some reason… :P
I cannot imagine being into football enough to watch the Superbowl live from Europe! This year I happened to be visiting family in the States and we watched it together -- my sister used to live...
I cannot imagine being into football enough to watch the Superbowl live from Europe! This year I happened to be visiting family in the States and we watched it together -- my sister used to live in KC and was rooting against them but otherwise we didn't have any local skin in the game. The halftime show was phenomenal even without looking into the hidden meanings, so I'm excited to watch this analysis when I get a chance.
I went to a Super Bowl party at a local restaurant in Europe (my employer let the Americans show up at noon on Monday lol) and there were actually quite a few locals there—as well as a few who...
I went to a Super Bowl party at a local restaurant in Europe (my employer let the Americans show up at noon on Monday lol) and there were actually quite a few locals there—as well as a few who were just happy the bar was open till 4 am lol
The other Americans were saying that football has really been growing in popularity in recent years (at least in this area). Everybody seemed to be cheering against the Chiefs, so they seemed to actually follow the sport, too. Seems like it would be hard to watch a whole bunch of NFL games, but I guess they enjoy it!
That's so unusual. She must really have not liked living there. I live in Pittsburgh now, and though I'm an indifferent sports fan at best, it's unhealthy to have any other allegiance if you live...
my sister used to live in KC and was rooting against them
That's so unusual. She must really have not liked living there. I live in Pittsburgh now, and though I'm an indifferent sports fan at best, it's unhealthy to have any other allegiance if you live here, especially because I grew up in East Texas rooting for the Cowboys.
iirc her explanation was that KC fans treated the team like they were God's gift to football and that they deserved to lose as a sort of comeuppance thing. We're Clevelanders so we're not exactly...
iirc her explanation was that KC fans treated the team like they were God's gift to football and that they deserved to lose as a sort of comeuppance thing. We're Clevelanders so we're not exactly used to rooting for a winning team anyway.
Could you give some examples? Because while most is completely obvious to people who are acutely aware of black exploitation and hip-hop beef, it's almost definitely not so to people whom are...
Could you give some examples? Because while most is completely obvious to people who are acutely aware of black exploitation and hip-hop beef, it's almost definitely not so to people whom are not....otherwise known as "most white people, especially those who don't comprehend symbolism."
Especially in huge performances like this, fashion is never just fashion.
The fashion thing was definitely one of the things that stood out to me. For example, dancers wearing white during a drake diss track referencing the KKK feels like a bit of a stretch to me....
The fashion thing was definitely one of the things that stood out to me. For example, dancers wearing white during a drake diss track referencing the KKK feels like a bit of a stretch to me. Certainly not impossible.. but again, it's just speculation.
You are correct though, I guess there are people who don't understand black exploitation. I'd guess anyone who has ever listened to anything by Kendrick in the past received the message strong and clear, however. Having a literal Uncle Sam character narrating also makes the message pretty difficult to miss.
I wrote up a gigantic diatribe, but decided to do away with it in favor of this very abbreviated version: Red, White, Blue, and Black all have very heavily codified meanings in American culture....
I wrote up a gigantic diatribe, but decided to do away with it in favor of this very abbreviated version:
Red, White, Blue, and Black all have very heavily codified meanings in American culture. Red being most heavily associated with Sacrifice, Femininity, Fertility, Blood. White with purity, innocence, and perfection (see white supremacy). Blue with masculinity, heroism, and justice. Black with strength and power. Read up on the official symbolism of the American Flag, then contrast that with a Thin Blue Line flag.
So, we have the Dr.Dre supergroup halftime , and note the lack of red in the set. It's black, blue, and white..through and through. It's a very masculine setup, reflecting the makeup of the set, most men in blue and black, with Mary J being a notable exception clad in white and sparkling silver.
Then, look at this image for a few moments. It's a very iconic one. Now, keeping that in the back of your mind, watch Rihanna's halftime. She was doing all of the planning and design of this performance shortly after becoming a mom and pregnant with her second. It might not have been intentional, but it's hard not to read that performance as a testament to fertility. My wife literally shouted at the screen "oh my god it's a labia cloak" at the end.
And then let's look at Usher's performance the following year. Notice an almost complete lack of red, with one very notable exception: Alicia Keys.
So to have Kendrick come back in going all-in on American Flag symbolism, black exploitation, and militant marches, it's hard not to have the KKK in the back of the mind. Especially given all that's happened since 2016. It's one of the most prominent symbol of white power, just behind the confederate flag, but also one you have to be more subtle about referencing because I'm pretty sure if they used straight-up Klan hoods the show would have been shutdown immediately.
Also near the beginning the group of women in red did some pretty obvious "roman salutes". I wonder if that was added in partially as a jab against Musk's behaviour. Also to demonstrate how close...
Also near the beginning the group of women in red did some pretty obvious "roman salutes".
I wonder if that was added in partially as a jab against Musk's behaviour. Also to demonstrate how close nationalism can come to fascism if not kept in check.
They used their left hands, were not making the Nazi salute nor the chest thumping gesture that Musk made (Roman salute's just fascist fiction). I'm not sure that a "heil" gesture was the intent...
They used their left hands, were not making the Nazi salute nor the chest thumping gesture that Musk made (Roman salute's just fascist fiction). I'm not sure that a "heil" gesture was the intent of that but the lighting makes it hard to see the shape of their hands exactly.
Yeah, I am not an expert on these things, it just stood out after Musk's shenanigans. Just to be clear I was not saying the dancers were "being nazis", but that maybe they were pointing out how...
Yeah, I am not an expert on these things, it just stood out after Musk's shenanigans.
Just to be clear I was not saying the dancers were "being nazis", but that maybe they were pointing out how that gesture is not a good one.
I could be completely wrong and misreading it though.
Dance and symbolism are complicated, and I do not pretend to know, just wanted to watch with that in mind after your post. The lighting made everything staccato
Dance and symbolism are complicated, and I do not pretend to know, just wanted to watch with that in mind after your post. The lighting made everything staccato
Even if it wasn't fully fascist...it definitely evoked those feelings of uniformity and authority that accompany militant marches, which is a statement in its own right.
Even if it wasn't fully fascist...it definitely evoked those feelings of uniformity and authority that accompany militant marches, which is a statement in its own right.
Certainly, but so can a lot of more staccato dances - step for example has a lot of that, and the lighting emphasized that aspect. Im sure it was all intentional, just less sure of the intention....
Certainly, but so can a lot of more staccato dances - step for example has a lot of that, and the lighting emphasized that aspect. Im sure it was all intentional, just less sure of the intention. But it's very not my field or area of expertise so just describing what I saw and it seemed more reminiscent of putting hands up for other reasons to me.
Yeah, as @datavoid said, this is pretty surface-level and fairly reachy. Half of his points are more about topics Kendrick addresses all the time rather than specifics of that performance. Here's...
Yeah, as @datavoid said, this is pretty surface-level and fairly reachy. Half of his points are more about topics Kendrick addresses all the time rather than specifics of that performance.
Here's a more thorough breakdown of the symbolism of his halftime show from Justin Hunte.
I loved that he said "The revolution about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy." I took that as a two pronged reference.
I think first, it was a reference to himself and his performance. He is the "wrong guy" to do a Super Bowl halftime show because it would be explicitly political in the wrong way (according to the NFL which is usually more on the RAH RAH RAH GO TEAM AMERICA MILITARY WOO side of things). Which it was. And again, this was very high brow and layered, which will probably go over a lot of people's heads (especially white people).
The second meaning was a direct attack on Trump, the literal "wrong guy." People got politically active and they picked him for president. Which is probably more the kind of "narrow and specific ways" you were referring to, but it was quick and wasn't a clearly straight up "FUCK YOU TRUMP" kind of thing.
I am not a huge fan of Kendrick's music, mostly because I find his delivery ... annoying. But he's won me over as a fan of him personally with this performance (which I didn't even watch live because I generally do not care for NFL football).
The show itself. It was easily the best part of the game. Saying that as a not-quite-Philadelphia native.
Have not watched this analysis yet (can't wait), but I loved the Playstation buttons with the phrase "turn this TV off."
Same. That said, something I really liked about it, plus a rather funny anecdote:
I rewatched it the day after on YouTube and noticed I had completely overlooked the dancers’ formation when they first emerged from the car: that’s pretty obviously the US flag!
I blame missing it on the fact that I’m not actually from the US, plus that it was like 3 in the morning when I initially watched it live and was talking with my friends who also decided to stay up and watch for some reason… :P
I cannot imagine being into football enough to watch the Superbowl live from Europe! This year I happened to be visiting family in the States and we watched it together -- my sister used to live in KC and was rooting against them but otherwise we didn't have any local skin in the game. The halftime show was phenomenal even without looking into the hidden meanings, so I'm excited to watch this analysis when I get a chance.
I went to a Super Bowl party at a local restaurant in Europe (my employer let the Americans show up at noon on Monday lol) and there were actually quite a few locals there—as well as a few who were just happy the bar was open till 4 am lol
The other Americans were saying that football has really been growing in popularity in recent years (at least in this area). Everybody seemed to be cheering against the Chiefs, so they seemed to actually follow the sport, too. Seems like it would be hard to watch a whole bunch of NFL games, but I guess they enjoy it!
I'd go to a local Superbowl party if it were at the same time for Europe as it is for Americans -- but staying up until 4am is way too much for me!
That's so unusual. She must really have not liked living there. I live in Pittsburgh now, and though I'm an indifferent sports fan at best, it's unhealthy to have any other allegiance if you live here, especially because I grew up in East Texas rooting for the Cowboys.
iirc her explanation was that KC fans treated the team like they were God's gift to football and that they deserved to lose as a sort of comeuppance thing. We're Clevelanders so we're not exactly used to rooting for a winning team anyway.
Loved this performance. However, in my opinion everything covered in this video is either completely obvious or pure speculation.
Could you give some examples? Because while most is completely obvious to people who are acutely aware of black exploitation and hip-hop beef, it's almost definitely not so to people whom are not....otherwise known as "most white people, especially those who don't comprehend symbolism."
Especially in huge performances like this, fashion is never just fashion.
The fashion thing was definitely one of the things that stood out to me. For example, dancers wearing white during a drake diss track referencing the KKK feels like a bit of a stretch to me. Certainly not impossible.. but again, it's just speculation.
You are correct though, I guess there are people who don't understand black exploitation. I'd guess anyone who has ever listened to anything by Kendrick in the past received the message strong and clear, however. Having a literal Uncle Sam character narrating also makes the message pretty difficult to miss.
I wrote up a gigantic diatribe, but decided to do away with it in favor of this very abbreviated version:
Red, White, Blue, and Black all have very heavily codified meanings in American culture. Red being most heavily associated with Sacrifice, Femininity, Fertility, Blood. White with purity, innocence, and perfection (see white supremacy). Blue with masculinity, heroism, and justice. Black with strength and power. Read up on the official symbolism of the American Flag, then contrast that with a Thin Blue Line flag.
So, we have the Dr.Dre supergroup halftime , and note the lack of red in the set. It's black, blue, and white..through and through. It's a very masculine setup, reflecting the makeup of the set, most men in blue and black, with Mary J being a notable exception clad in white and sparkling silver.
Then, look at this image for a few moments. It's a very iconic one. Now, keeping that in the back of your mind, watch Rihanna's halftime. She was doing all of the planning and design of this performance shortly after becoming a mom and pregnant with her second. It might not have been intentional, but it's hard not to read that performance as a testament to fertility. My wife literally shouted at the screen "oh my god it's a labia cloak" at the end.
And then let's look at Usher's performance the following year. Notice an almost complete lack of red, with one very notable exception: Alicia Keys.
So to have Kendrick come back in going all-in on American Flag symbolism, black exploitation, and militant marches, it's hard not to have the KKK in the back of the mind. Especially given all that's happened since 2016. It's one of the most prominent symbol of white power, just behind the confederate flag, but also one you have to be more subtle about referencing because I'm pretty sure if they used straight-up Klan hoods the show would have been shutdown immediately.
Also near the beginning the group of women in red did some pretty obvious "roman salutes".
I wonder if that was added in partially as a jab against Musk's behaviour. Also to demonstrate how close nationalism can come to fascism if not kept in check.
They used their left hands, were not making the Nazi salute nor the chest thumping gesture that Musk made (Roman salute's just fascist fiction). I'm not sure that a "heil" gesture was the intent of that but the lighting makes it hard to see the shape of their hands exactly.
Unless the video is flipped I suppose
Yeah, I am not an expert on these things, it just stood out after Musk's shenanigans.
Just to be clear I was not saying the dancers were "being nazis", but that maybe they were pointing out how that gesture is not a good one.
I could be completely wrong and misreading it though.
Dance and symbolism are complicated, and I do not pretend to know, just wanted to watch with that in mind after your post. The lighting made everything staccato
Fair enough. Happy for the discussion over maybe 10 seconds of video.
Not into this type of music or display, but it definitely hit me somewhere.
Even if it wasn't fully fascist...it definitely evoked those feelings of uniformity and authority that accompany militant marches, which is a statement in its own right.
Certainly, but so can a lot of more staccato dances - step for example has a lot of that, and the lighting emphasized that aspect. Im sure it was all intentional, just less sure of the intention. But it's very not my field or area of expertise so just describing what I saw and it seemed more reminiscent of putting hands up for other reasons to me.
Yeah, as @datavoid said, this is pretty surface-level and fairly reachy. Half of his points are more about topics Kendrick addresses all the time rather than specifics of that performance.
Here's a more thorough breakdown of the symbolism of his halftime show from Justin Hunte.