Macklemore differs from most other rappers for a few reasons. The most obvious being that he is white. The major reason, is that he doesn’t exclusively sing about partying and drinking, and drugs. Macklemore is the only rapper that I know of that doesn’t completely alienate gay fans. His song “Same Love” promotes gay rights whereas other rappers discriminate against them. Macklemore’s intent for the video could be to further show that he is different from the other rappers. Julia says in her post that she has respect for Macklemore and she probably doesn’t feel this way about other rappers. He is trying to make his videos and his music different to achieve a larger fan base so that when something like the VMAs rolls around, there is a wider variety of people that will vote for him.
In the video, we are presented with scenes of Macklemore on a boat and in a city. In both these scenes, he is surrounded by hundreds of people. These people reflect this wide variety of fans. The people in the crowds represent this racial diversity. In the video, Macklemore travels all over the world and everywhere he goes, he is greeted by hundreds of people crowding around him and dancing and cheering.
Towards the end of the video, Macklemore is shot into the sky with the flag. He lands on top of a building and raises the flag. We are presented with an image of the flag towering over a city like the American flag. With this, Macklemore is trying to convey that he is for all of the American people.
The overall intent of Macklemore’s video was to show that he is different from other rappers. He reaches out to a wide variety of fans whereas other rappers only gain the respect of a certain group of teenagers.
Thanks Alanna. I pose to you the same question that I posed to Julia. Why does Macklemore choose the image of the American flag? I appreciate your analysis, but I struggle with some of it. For example, do you really think that Macklemore is concerned about garnering votes for the VMAs? Is this what you are suggesting when you write, "He is trying to make his videos and his music different to achieve a larger fan base so that when something like the VMAs rolls around, there is a wider variety of people that will vote for him"? Also, I am willing to bet that you are accurate when you write that Macklemore wants to demonstrate his universal appeal by including a demographically diverse group of people in all of the shots. However, I don't want to just take your word for it. What in the video or song proves this? Also, how does the final shot prove that Macklemore is "for all the American people." While these conjectures may, in fact, be correct, you don't really prove them. You just write it. You leave me craving a bit more evidence.
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