Glory
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Common and John Legend’s “Glory” portrays a positive message to fight for justice and to end racism, however all police officers are assumed to discriminate towards black people but that isn’t always true. The music video begins with John Legend singing the chorus and clips from the film Selma (the movie the song was written for) are shown in between shots of the singers. Common then begins rapping after the chorus and more intense shots from the film are shown, like of the marchers and attacks by the police. The viewers of the music video feel sympathy for the oppressed people of the film Selma and for black people in today’s society. The search for justice is still ongoing within society.
Common and John Legend’s “Glory” isn’t just a song for the movie Selma and the struggles reenacted, but it’s a song of hope for society today. Justice was not fully achieved after the events with Martin Luther King Jr. and the song reflects how justice still needs to be served in situations of police brutality today. Common raps “That’s why Rosa sat on the bus / that’s why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up” which compares the past to now and how black people have fought for justice overtime. Common implies that the oppression against race is why black people have fought back. The mention of Ferguson demonstrates the recent events in the country and how many feel justice wasn’t served for Michael Brown. Rosa Parks defied the societal norms of her time which brought some justice, but the marches in Ferguson currently are to bring about more justice for the ignored police brutality that still exists. The march for justice didn’t end in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr. because racism is still alive and well. Discrimination against black people is still an issue and until it ends we must march on, which is what “Glory” is trying to get across to the public.
The clips shown from the movie portray some of the most influential scenes and demonstrate some of the suffering black people had to endure. While John Legend and the choir sing the chorus about glory, happier scenes are shown from Selma, but when Common raps about more controversial subjects the gloomier scenes from the film are displayed. Common raps “Resistance is us” while the clip of the woman character Oprah Winfrey plays is being brought to ground by police force. Other clips of the protestors “surrendering” to the court house are shown right before this line in the song. The fight for equality is prevalent throughout the clips. The video builds on the emotion of the distress in the people. Viewers are meant to feel sympathy for the people in history, while being reminded at the same time that these types of occurrences still happen. Right after that scene being shown, Ferguson is mentioned and a clip of protestors marching and then surrendering is displayed. The correlation of the protestors portrays how society today isn’t so different from the past.
Common and John Legend’s “Glory” isn’t just a song for the movie Selma and the struggles reenacted, but it’s a song of hope for society today. Justice was not fully achieved after the events with Martin Luther King Jr. and the song reflects how justice still needs to be served in situations of police brutality today. Common raps “That’s why Rosa sat on the bus / that’s why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up” which compares the past to now and how black people have fought for justice overtime. Common implies that the oppression against race is why black people have fought back. The mention of Ferguson demonstrates the recent events in the country and how many feel justice wasn’t served for Michael Brown. Rosa Parks defied the societal norms of her time which brought some justice, but the marches in Ferguson currently are to bring about more justice for the ignored police brutality that still exists. The march for justice didn’t end in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr. because racism is still alive and well. Discrimination against black people is still an issue and until it ends we must march on, which is what “Glory” is trying to get across to the public.
The clips shown from the movie portray some of the most influential scenes and demonstrate some of the suffering black people had to endure. While John Legend and the choir sing the chorus about glory, happier scenes are shown from Selma, but when Common raps about more controversial subjects the gloomier scenes from the film are displayed. Common raps “Resistance is us” while the clip of the woman character Oprah Winfrey plays is being brought to ground by police force. Other clips of the protestors “surrendering” to the court house are shown right before this line in the song. The fight for equality is prevalent throughout the clips. The video builds on the emotion of the distress in the people. Viewers are meant to feel sympathy for the people in history, while being reminded at the same time that these types of occurrences still happen. Right after that scene being shown, Ferguson is mentioned and a clip of protestors marching and then surrendering is displayed. The correlation of the protestors portrays how society today isn’t so different from the past.
The scene of King standing up after praying on the bridge goes along with the line “They say, “Stay down” and we stand up” which is a powerful symbol. King and the protestors were going to cross the bridge but they didn’t because of the white police officers waiting to attack. Eventually they cross the bridge, but it takes determination to finally convince the police officers to back down. As the oppressed are encouraged to stay down and obey the law, Dr. King and protestors today a part of the Black Lives Matter organization, stand up to injustice. However, some people believe that racism wasn’t an issue then, or now, so they don’t see the point of fighting for justice. John Legend sings “Now the war is not over / victory isn’t won” while a scene of the protestors being attacked by police is shown. This scene demonstrates the brutality of police officers towards black people, even though equality is supposed to be achieved. Police brutality is still an ongoing issue in today’s society. The police in Ferguson are found to have been corrupt and racist (Robinson). This continued racism is why victory hasn’t been won.
“Glory” is trying to get the message across that racism is an ongoing problem that needs to be solved, however all white people, especially police officers, appear to be racist in the scenes shown from Selma. All of the white people shown are powerful figures that are against the mission of the black community, but in the movie itself there are white people that join the march to help defend the fight for freedom and justice of black people, two of them are even killed. Scenes of the police standing as a blockade while the marchers are trying to cross the bridge in Selma and of the protestors being beat by the police officers are shown representing the white people of the film. The white people from the clips are against the march in Selma because of the prejudice ideology of the time period. This representation of white people in the video portrays how the most powerful, influential people are the ones who wield the power of racism and every day white people are controlled by this power. The police beating the protestors displays the brutality that black people endured in the past, but today police officers are still known to misuse their power against “minority” groups. Ferguson is an example of police officers abusing power today, which is mentioned in the song. “Glory” gives the impression that all police officers are against the well-being of black people when that isn’t always true. Not every white person in a powerful role abuses power and discriminates against others. However police brutality does still exist today, but not every police officer misuses power as displayed in the video.
The music video for “Glory” is a good example of historical treatment versus current treatment of oppressed people. A positive message for gaining justice for black people is portrayed through the lyrics and scenes, but racism is assumed to exist in all powerful white positions. However the fight for justice, freedom, victory, and glory are made clear by the elements in the song corresponding together from past events. “Glory” is a song of hope for society today because “When the war is done, when it’s all said and done / We’ll cry glory” and then justice will be served.
“Glory” is trying to get the message across that racism is an ongoing problem that needs to be solved, however all white people, especially police officers, appear to be racist in the scenes shown from Selma. All of the white people shown are powerful figures that are against the mission of the black community, but in the movie itself there are white people that join the march to help defend the fight for freedom and justice of black people, two of them are even killed. Scenes of the police standing as a blockade while the marchers are trying to cross the bridge in Selma and of the protestors being beat by the police officers are shown representing the white people of the film. The white people from the clips are against the march in Selma because of the prejudice ideology of the time period. This representation of white people in the video portrays how the most powerful, influential people are the ones who wield the power of racism and every day white people are controlled by this power. The police beating the protestors displays the brutality that black people endured in the past, but today police officers are still known to misuse their power against “minority” groups. Ferguson is an example of police officers abusing power today, which is mentioned in the song. “Glory” gives the impression that all police officers are against the well-being of black people when that isn’t always true. Not every white person in a powerful role abuses power and discriminates against others. However police brutality does still exist today, but not every police officer misuses power as displayed in the video.
The music video for “Glory” is a good example of historical treatment versus current treatment of oppressed people. A positive message for gaining justice for black people is portrayed through the lyrics and scenes, but racism is assumed to exist in all powerful white positions. However the fight for justice, freedom, victory, and glory are made clear by the elements in the song corresponding together from past events. “Glory” is a song of hope for society today because “When the war is done, when it’s all said and done / We’ll cry glory” and then justice will be served.
Work Cited
Common and John Legend. “Glory”. Selma. Columbia Records. 2014. Dir. Paramount Pictures. Youtube. 3/5/2015. Web.
Robinson, Nathan. "The Shocking Finding From the DOJ's Ferguson Report That Nobody Has Noticed." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 24 Apr. 2015.Web.
Common and John Legend. “Glory”. Selma. Columbia Records. 2014. Dir. Paramount Pictures. Youtube. 3/5/2015. Web.
Robinson, Nathan. "The Shocking Finding From the DOJ's Ferguson Report That Nobody Has Noticed." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 24 Apr. 2015.Web.