Oh how I hate you, Randy Pitchford.
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found another funny sound teehee
Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.
Let's start with the first visual we get:
UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic.
Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:
THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.
This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.
Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.
The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more. *Edit to add, the first part of this lyric is in reference to the Black Liberation Song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to everyone who mentioned that.
THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do. *Edit to add: they also all piled out of a clown car. The US flag in a clown car? Brilliant.
The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."
TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.
STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...
DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.
NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.
SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.
ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...
"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.
So what does Kendrick say?
IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.
40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.
THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.
NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes.
TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!
GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…
In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
i did this forever ago and forgot to post it
So like
Viktor is more masculine presenting in season 1 an during season 2 he is more feminine presenting
So with genderbent Viktor I feel it should be a feminine presenting season 1 Vik and then a masc presenting season 2 Viktor
Me and my katagawa rarepairs
Urgent help
I am Ola Ferwana from Palestine ,Gaza. I'm a mother of 3 kids Yamen, Qusai and Mira. My husband travelled to Egypt to get medicines before 2 days of the war 7 of October on Gaza and he was stuck in Egypt until this moment.
I faced very great challenges and responsibilities of my three children in the absence of my husband, as he had traveled and the crossing was closed and we could not see each other. The amount of suffering I was feeling cannot be described as still being in the north of Gaza.I am reaching out to you today with a heavy heart and a plea for urgent assistance. I have left my home and have been displaced more than 8 times with my children. I am living in the war_torn region of Gaza, facing unimaginable challenges, with lack of water, food scarcity, and constant threats to their safety.
This is our street of my house, the Israeli occupation damaged all the houses.
I have delivered a girl baby,Mira , through the war, She was 10 months old and my husband didn't see her until this moment.
Yaman was 7 years old, and his simplest dream was to complete the first grade at school, but his school was completely destroyed. He lost the most beautiful thing that he was happy with and enjoyed that he had reached this stage.
Qusai is 5 years old, and until this moment I do not have the courage to tell him that his kindergarten was also destroyed, the first place and refuge in which he was happy, but in this war he lost everything beautiful. He lost his father’s hug, which was his only refuge when he slept at night, telling him his daily story to fall asleep safety.
Mira, my daughter, who had never seen an hour or a moment devoid of fear, came into this world and was surprised by a war that destroyed many, many things. It destroyed her house and her room, which I was waiting for as I prepared and brought her all the beautiful clothes and colorful dresses she needed. She was surprised by the sound of missiles. She could not sleep because of it. My husband hopes to get a smile and a hug from her daughter Which he had been waiting for some time.
We lack of the basic human needs, no food no electricity no water. We were poisoned and infected because of the unhealthy water that we drink.
My three children and I had to be hospitalized. We suffered from liver dysfunction as a result of malnutrition, widespread diseases, and recurring infection.
During this period, I felt remorseful about how difficult it is for a mother to see her children sick and unable to treat them because she is also very sick.
The Rafah border crossing, which is the only way to escape from the war, is closed now.
I hope to provide us by giving support in order to cover the costs associated with ensuring our safe passage of Egypt through the borders. Please stand with me, we are now homeless, with absence of children needs like milk, diapers, with no food. Please help us by donation to stay a live and leave Gaza with my children. Share this link as you can as possible .
https://gofund.me/4e896ac1
If it is opened, I can't go to Egypt as I don't have the money because my husband is the sole breadwinner for my family.
Thank you for your kindness, empathy and generosity during this challenging time.With sincere thanks and warm regards,
@nikoco11 @humanvictim @7amaspayrollmanager
@kaapstadgirly @palestinegenocide @palestinesfinest @bibyebae @annoyinggiantfestivaluniver-blog
@manrota66 @toughknit
@flower-tea-fairies @thetitancurse @vivisectionv
@communistchameleon @raelyn-dreams @troythecatfish @the-bastard-king @4ft10tvlandfangirl @awetistic-things-main @gentl3m4n @awetistic-things
@baby-girl-aaron-dessner
@northgazaupdates @northgazaupdates2
@riding-with-the-wild-hunt @nabulsi
@kyra45-helping-others @lindigoh-blog
@kyra45 @commissions4aid-international @occupationsurfer @ibtisams @sayruq
@evelyn-art-05 @sar-soor @90-ghost @lady-raziel @helppeople @helppmefindawaytobreathee @manrota66
@communistchilchuck @cipheramnesia
Please donate or share it as much as you can
Every donation make a different for me.
This is the link
https://gofund.me/4e896ac1
Thank you,
Ola
I don’t need your silly personality tests. I know all I need to know about a person depending on how they view the Persephone and Hades myth.
Thanatos/Ares, gentle touches and soft looks
WIP of Jayce and Viktor levitation
she/her tg https://t.me/sanya_salatTwitter https://x.com/thanatussy?s=21Strawpage https://sanyasalat.straw.page
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