A Critical Analysis of "Where is the Love?"

The message behind The Black eyed Pea’s 2009 smash hit “Where is the love?” isn’t exactly groundbreaking, and it certainly isn’t subtle. That is not to say, however, that it isn’t poignant. In a world characterized by ever-increasing consumerism, violence, and resulting existential angst, it is easy to forget that in many ways all people are the same. As such we should have nothing to fear from one another, but the fact remains that we do; we are our own most dangerous enemy. With this in mind, the question posed by the Black Eyed Peas is simple; why? Where is the love?

The music video opens with a shot of a red question mark poster, which slowly pans out to reveal more similar posters, held by several young African American men who frantically run and post them around their city—“Where is the love?” is a relevant question both at home and abroad. In this same vein, the first lyrics are “What’s wrong with the World?” Again, the message here is no mystery, but this makes it no less powerful. As a whole, the video offers a string of powerful, often off-putting imagery: a gas station with a “?” posted over the price, brainwashed-looking children playing a violent video-game, close-up shots of people of all races and creeds looking forlornly into the camera—their eyes seemingly asking “why?”, a street-preacher screaming frantically and being ignored by those around him, an aerial shot of a wheat crop with a “?” plowed into it, and a black man being chased and abused by white policemen are just a few.

Indeed, from these portions of the video alone, the song’s message seems rather bleak. Whatever and wherever this “love” is, our chances of finding it, and more importantly the prospects for the future of our species, don’t look good. One has to look significantly harder to find the positive, hopeful message hidden within the video, but it is there, and it resides with the young. About halfway through the video, the aforementioned bleakness is interrupted by a snippet of hope: tens of smiling, jubilant children of all races are shown chasing after a vehicle with the question mark posted on its backdoors.

This could be interpreted in many different ways. Perhaps the message is still fatalistic—after all there is no way a mob of children could ever hope to catch up to a moving vehicle. This interpretation is certainly tempting, but I would suggest a more light-hearted one. Yes, the children may never catch the vehicle, and yes world peace will probably never truly be achieved. Still, it will, and is being striven for by the youth, and perhaps that is all we can expect. Any step in the right direction is a good one—a sentiment that the Black Eyed Peas would certainly echo.