1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
Common performs at Tribeca Talks: Common with Nelson George during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at Spring Studios on April 23, 2017 in New York City.
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
To abolish slavery and involuntary servitude except if it is an punishment for a crime.
3) What were the Black Codes?
They were laws governing the conduct of Americans (free blacks).
4) Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment?
The effects of slavery are still present until this day which is why its a crucial aspect.
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
I was always disturbed and fascinated by and furious with what we were not talking about the fact that, you know multi-billion dollar companies were profiting off of black bodies and people from my community, in prison.”
6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
In the late '80s and '90s that was truly reflective of a movement.
7) Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?
Big Daddy kane, Kendrick Lamar,Chance the rapper, Mo.D, NWA. Other hip hop artists who I think have a strong element is J Cole because he reflects his battle against police brutality in his songs and has been doing it for years.
8) What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album?
Black America again album. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 13 reviews.
Close-textual analysis and representation
Re-watch the music video several times to complete the following tasks in specific detail:
1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement).
There are a lot of closeup shots which may indicate that the music video is giving an audience an insight on the wider societal issues such as racism which gains media coverage. The camera seems to move closer in and zoom In which may indicate they audience are getting closer to understanding the truth of how common racism is.
2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?
It follows action and by reveals information about the setting as the audience takes it in.
3) Why is the video in black and white?
To represent the unequal division between the black and white race.
4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?
All the actors seem to be wearing basic and casual outfits to portray the message that equality between races should be a basic human right. The lighting is quite dim and dull which shows that oppression to a race or racism in general brings darkness and trouble instead of happiness and causes more harm than good. The actors seem to be in a large room where there are only one or two of them which could show how black people stand out in a crowd of white people and are treated dfferently.
5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?
He openly states in the song "black lives matter" which is the true meaning of the song because he is trying to preach that black lives are just as important as white lives.
6) What is the significance of the floating black square motif? Discuss your own interpretations alongside Common's explanation of it in the Billboard feature linked above.
The square motif may represent the emerging of an objectified and oppressed black race to a non-objective race.
7) How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.
There are lots of cells which could be referring to how black people were kept captivated ,enslaved and were held against their own free will by white people. The one man held in the cell may indicate the siaoltion back people faces which prevented them from interactions with each other.8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?
Gilroy believed that black identity was created by the scattering of black people who found traditions over the world and combined it thus not having an original indentity which is what message common is trying to convey.
9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.
Stuart hall states that the media has an intentional approach to construct news solely based on how they want the audience to view a world controlling their mindset which relates to commons music video which states that the media provides coverage of the oppression black people face because they don't want an audience to view white people as oppressors and black people as the oppressed.
10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?
Police brutality for once consists of a majority of black people being attached to a label or stereotype which makes police officers believe that they are a threat due to the message that has been conveyed through the media. Thus resulting in the police officers murdering innocent black males and females because of their internalised or institutional racism.
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