Textual analysis (no church)

Textual Analysis Jay-Z and Kanye West: ‘No Church in the Wild’

Video

‘No Church in the Wild’ is a song by American hip hop artists Kanye West and Jay-Z which came out in 2012. I chose this song as I believe it has a lot of meaning behind it and is quite recent, meaning that the song will still be known and recognised worldwide as the 2 artists are very well known and popular with all young audiences around the world, Jay-Z even classes himself as being ‘God’ like.

Background

The music video

In the first scene we see a black, African American character, wearing a bandana around his face to cover his identity, and holding a flaming alcohol bottle, to show that he about to take part in vandalism. This could link to media stereotypes as it is representing a young, black teenager, in baggy clothing looking like a criminal. The other hooligans who are stood behind what seems to be the main gang leader, are all dressed in a similar manner, wearing dark clothing, bandanas and hats, items that some people would label as ‘chavvy’

At the beginning of the video the gang look more dominant than the police force what are stood in their way, jumping, screaming and shouting trying to intimidate the on coming force, they are also the ones who start the violent fighting, again showing the dominance of the gang. The police force having riot shields, guns, gas and police dogs, show the degree of violence a gang of rioters can create in a short time. There are connotations during the video that relate to war, and the idea that it is always on going and none ending, through out the video the violence continues but doesn’t progress in any direction, showing that violence has no point or relevance in getting something you or a group want.

The lone statues in the street represent the current emotions of the stand byers who are witnessing the crimes taking place, creating another connotation that violence is moronic and stupid, and not worth the hassle. The on going violence being created support the ‘No Church in the Wild’ ideology that churches are for more industrialised, urban areas, of where society is more thought of and of a better quality of living, supposedly. The interchanging of power between the police force and the gang members show the uncertainty of what violence can create, there Is never any certain winner, and even after the the violence has concluded, is anyone really a winner? Do the battered bodies and broken bones mean anything.