letter to the free
Social and cultural context
Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free.
1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
Common takes on stages performing many powerful songs including Letter to the Free and The Light in order to speak out passionately to raise awareness and black love. He also starred in a Film
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
One shall not be treated as a slave unless they have committed a crime meaning that they can be punished and used as slavery 3) What were the Black Codes?
The Black Codes was introduced after the American Civil war whereby Black Americans are not entitled to freedom and that they should be compelled to work and been given low wages. 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?
Legacy of slavery is still crucial aspect to American culture because of how badly they were treated but unfortunately even though in todays day and age black people have freedom, there is still racism and black people being violently attacked for their skin colour
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
She made a Netflix documentary in order to address the fact that slavery still exists in todays day and age in America and that black people are still being suppressed in a physical and emotional level 6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
I believe that the late 80's and 90's was the period for the rise in political hip hop as hip hop started to talk about black empowerment, love and consciousness whereby before that consisted of pro-black movement artists. 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?
He mainly talks about the artist Kendrick Lamar. Even though Chance the Rapper does not speak in black consciousness he is still has self awareness and has consciousness in him.
Black America again which received a rating of 88 out of a 100. It is said that the rhyming of Commons lyrics which contributed to national conversation.
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).
In this video, there is a variety of long shots used throughout, this could be done to create a sense of realism in this video, as it is trying to make the video as realistic as possible, this then makes sure there is an absence of close ups, but there is some evidence of some medium shots used in this video. Throughout the video there is slow tracking shots/pans, as at the start of the video the camera is moving in, and towards the end it moves out, this could simply just signify the end of the video, but this also could create audience identification, as this could create sympathy and also engages with the audience. Also, there is no direct mode of address to the camera, this creates a sense of seriousness and also isolation, which the black people could be feeling, in the society they are living in.
As stated previously, the camera is constantly moving in and out, which the audience can indicate for audience identification, and this could create sympathy but also audience engagement with the audience as it creates new meanings with the use of the moving camera. Also, the moving camera could also signify how black Americans were constantly moving around in America, and never really got settled, also a deeper meaning into slavery could suggests how slaves were expected to work long hours and constantly moving from place to place, and in this video the camera is moving at a slow pace, and that's how it could have felt for the slaves during slavery, and the pain that they endured whm facing situations such as these.
This video could be shot in black and white in which to signify the serious tone of this song. Also, it could represent a more factual and historical representation, as in this song it signifying how it was for black people in America. It also could be interpreted that it could be shot in black and white to signify the contrast between black and white people, and it is trying to show how equal America has got, therefore they decided to shot it in black and white to show the equality between black and white and how far black people have come, and how they have 'freedom'
They have used a prison setting, to signify how black people feel in America, constantly trapped, mistreated etc. It also reinforces the stereotype in which black people are always in prison, and using the prison as the central theme, could show how they done it on purpose to reinforce the stereotype, and raise awareness on the issue. The use of costumes are quite bleak, in which they are not as eye-catching as normal stereotypical, 'hip-hop' song would be, this shows a more serious tone, to match the song, so they use of costume is very simplistic, for example all the musicians are wearing black clothes, and all standard outfits which indicates how they want people to listen to the lyrics rather than the video, it also matches the theme of black and white in this video, as it is not trying to draw focus on the musicians, to creates a sense of realism.
Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13 Now whips and chains are subliminal Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country - In this lyric it could suggest that Common is referring to how despite the fact that the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery, slavery can still be used as means of punishment for criminals. Common is also a referencing Ava Duvernay’s documentary 13th. “Letter to the Free” is the song Common pitched to Ava, “as a poignant summation of her powerful documentary”, and it makes an appearance in the documentary as well.
We ain't seen as human beings with feelings Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!- In this lyric, Common is essentially asking the audience, especially those in the U.S. Do black lives matter to the system that controls the U.S.A? The message that black people have spoken out over countless of generations seem to fall upon deaf ears. Do they have a voice? Do their opinions count?Using a play on words, Common asks if black people, us, will ever have a place in the U.S.
The significance of the floating black square motif is that it signifies black people in the U.S. At the start of the video, the black square was floating in the middle of nowhere, but if you look closely you can see the reflection of the prison cells in the black square. As the music video progresses, the floating black square appears to be in the prison cell, which could represent black people in the U.S and how they were stereotyped to be in prison, and the black square could represent them trapped in the toilets of the prison cell, nowhere to go. As the music video draws to an end, we see the floating black square finally escaping the prison cell, this could indicate how black people finally have a voice and have freedom, but the establishing shot of this place shows the black square in a cotton field, which again could show another way slavery is being presented as often black Americans had to work at fields etc, which again reinforces how even when they escape prison there is still something holding them back.
The most striking reference to racism in this video, is again through the black square at the end of the video, the establishing shot of this place shows the black square in a cotton field, which again could show another way slavery is being presented as often black Americans had to work at fields, this reinforces how black American were expected to be slaves and this video tries to raise this through using the motif of the black square, but also the black square getting released from the prison identifies how black people have been freed from prison, and essentially shows how black culture is slowing improving for the better.
Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture. This could be seen through the video of Letter to the Free, in which Common is trying to put across the point how hard it was for black people in America, due to the white capitalist culture in America, this video raises the issues of how black people have a lack of freedom. Also, Gilroy points to the slave trade as having a huge cultural influence on modern America – as highlighted by Common’s Letter to the Free.
Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes.He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’. This could be interpreted with black hip hop, and how music is not often taken seriously due to the stereotypes often associated with hip hop, however Letter to the Free often subverts these stereotypes about hip hop.
Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free.
1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
Common takes on stages performing many powerful songs including Letter to the Free and The Light in order to speak out passionately to raise awareness and black love. He also starred in a Film
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
One shall not be treated as a slave unless they have committed a crime meaning that they can be punished and used as slavery 3) What were the Black Codes?
The Black Codes was introduced after the American Civil war whereby Black Americans are not entitled to freedom and that they should be compelled to work and been given low wages. 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?
Legacy of slavery is still crucial aspect to American culture because of how badly they were treated but unfortunately even though in todays day and age black people have freedom, there is still racism and black people being violently attacked for their skin colour
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
She made a Netflix documentary in order to address the fact that slavery still exists in todays day and age in America and that black people are still being suppressed in a physical and emotional level 6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
I believe that the late 80's and 90's was the period for the rise in political hip hop as hip hop started to talk about black empowerment, love and consciousness whereby before that consisted of pro-black movement artists. 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?
He mainly talks about the artist Kendrick Lamar. Even though Chance the Rapper does not speak in black consciousness he is still has self awareness and has consciousness in him.
Black America again which received a rating of 88 out of a 100. It is said that the rhyming of Commons lyrics which contributed to national conversation.
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).
In this video, there is a variety of long shots used throughout, this could be done to create a sense of realism in this video, as it is trying to make the video as realistic as possible, this then makes sure there is an absence of close ups, but there is some evidence of some medium shots used in this video. Throughout the video there is slow tracking shots/pans, as at the start of the video the camera is moving in, and towards the end it moves out, this could simply just signify the end of the video, but this also could create audience identification, as this could create sympathy and also engages with the audience. Also, there is no direct mode of address to the camera, this creates a sense of seriousness and also isolation, which the black people could be feeling, in the society they are living in.
As stated previously, the camera is constantly moving in and out, which the audience can indicate for audience identification, and this could create sympathy but also audience engagement with the audience as it creates new meanings with the use of the moving camera. Also, the moving camera could also signify how black Americans were constantly moving around in America, and never really got settled, also a deeper meaning into slavery could suggests how slaves were expected to work long hours and constantly moving from place to place, and in this video the camera is moving at a slow pace, and that's how it could have felt for the slaves during slavery, and the pain that they endured whm facing situations such as these.
This video could be shot in black and white in which to signify the serious tone of this song. Also, it could represent a more factual and historical representation, as in this song it signifying how it was for black people in America. It also could be interpreted that it could be shot in black and white to signify the contrast between black and white people, and it is trying to show how equal America has got, therefore they decided to shot it in black and white to show the equality between black and white and how far black people have come, and how they have 'freedom'
They have used a prison setting, to signify how black people feel in America, constantly trapped, mistreated etc. It also reinforces the stereotype in which black people are always in prison, and using the prison as the central theme, could show how they done it on purpose to reinforce the stereotype, and raise awareness on the issue. The use of costumes are quite bleak, in which they are not as eye-catching as normal stereotypical, 'hip-hop' song would be, this shows a more serious tone, to match the song, so they use of costume is very simplistic, for example all the musicians are wearing black clothes, and all standard outfits which indicates how they want people to listen to the lyrics rather than the video, it also matches the theme of black and white in this video, as it is not trying to draw focus on the musicians, to creates a sense of realism.
Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13 Now whips and chains are subliminal Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country - In this lyric it could suggest that Common is referring to how despite the fact that the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery, slavery can still be used as means of punishment for criminals. Common is also a referencing Ava Duvernay’s documentary 13th. “Letter to the Free” is the song Common pitched to Ava, “as a poignant summation of her powerful documentary”, and it makes an appearance in the documentary as well.
We ain't seen as human beings with feelings Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!- In this lyric, Common is essentially asking the audience, especially those in the U.S. Do black lives matter to the system that controls the U.S.A? The message that black people have spoken out over countless of generations seem to fall upon deaf ears. Do they have a voice? Do their opinions count?Using a play on words, Common asks if black people, us, will ever have a place in the U.S.
The significance of the floating black square motif is that it signifies black people in the U.S. At the start of the video, the black square was floating in the middle of nowhere, but if you look closely you can see the reflection of the prison cells in the black square. As the music video progresses, the floating black square appears to be in the prison cell, which could represent black people in the U.S and how they were stereotyped to be in prison, and the black square could represent them trapped in the toilets of the prison cell, nowhere to go. As the music video draws to an end, we see the floating black square finally escaping the prison cell, this could indicate how black people finally have a voice and have freedom, but the establishing shot of this place shows the black square in a cotton field, which again could show another way slavery is being presented as often black Americans had to work at fields etc, which again reinforces how even when they escape prison there is still something holding them back.
The most striking reference to racism in this video, is again through the black square at the end of the video, the establishing shot of this place shows the black square in a cotton field, which again could show another way slavery is being presented as often black Americans had to work at fields, this reinforces how black American were expected to be slaves and this video tries to raise this through using the motif of the black square, but also the black square getting released from the prison identifies how black people have been freed from prison, and essentially shows how black culture is slowing improving for the better.
Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture. This could be seen through the video of Letter to the Free, in which Common is trying to put across the point how hard it was for black people in America, due to the white capitalist culture in America, this video raises the issues of how black people have a lack of freedom. Also, Gilroy points to the slave trade as having a huge cultural influence on modern America – as highlighted by Common’s Letter to the Free.
Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes.He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’. This could be interpreted with black hip hop, and how music is not often taken seriously due to the stereotypes often associated with hip hop, however Letter to the Free often subverts these stereotypes about hip hop.
- Racism within the government and police system
- The lyrics suggested shows that Common believes Donald Trump is very reminiscent to Reagan in regards to his views, policies, and slogans such as “Make America Great Again” and his emphasis on “law & order”.
- Equality black people face in America.
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