The music video based off the song “Where is the Love,” by the Black Eyed peas, was written and produced by Will. I. Am and Ron Fair. This music video features a song focused on “socially conscious thoughts,” that pained Will. I. Am since the terrorist attack on 9/11 (Moss). The music video features the Black Eyed Peas covering a rundown neighborhood with question marks and projecting their song on a moving van. While the Peas are moving throughout the city, the video portrays images that represent an underprivileged town, violence, and inequality.
The symbols found throughout the music video along with the tone of the video fully develop the themes that Will. I. Am stresses, creating a deeper and emotional understanding of the message of the lyrics. The first shot of the video holds the main symbol; a wrinkled piece of black paper with a
question mark outlined with a white frame. This question mark is placed on walls, graffiti, mail boxes, windows, cars, briefcases and so on. The question mark represents the question plaguing Will. I. Am’s mind- “Where is the love?” This act of placing the marks on everyday objects calls the viewer to question if love is represented in all the mundane actions of the day. This mental state image connects to the lyrics which say “Take control of your mind and meditate, Let your soul gravitate to the love.” These actions of changing the surface with a question mark relate to the internal switch of understanding in the small things that will create societal transformation. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol and icon for the United States of America; however, in this video Lady Liberty is missing the flame on her torch. According to the National Park Service, the torch is a “symbol of enlightenment” which fully represents “Liberty enlightening the world.” The thematic choice to show the Statue of Liberty with no flame, but a question mark instead, puts question to whether the United States is truly a country of enlightenment or rather a country in need of enlightenment. From the lyrics of the song, the viewer can conclude that the video is representing the later. These symbols invoke question, which further invokes a deeper understanding that will hopefully lead to change.
The music video develops a tone throughout all the shots that invoke an emotional feeling of disgust. The mood is influenced by the lighting, shade, and color of the shots used throughout the video. The overall video has an overlying shade of grey, on top of faded colors and overlapping graffiti. These colors represent dirty and rundown objects which form feelings of sadness and disgust. These feelings further the viewer’s understanding of the video. The use of visual and audial queues throughout the video, along with the implicit emotional feeling the video produces further develops the question “where is the love?” and deepens the understanding by creating the internal view of the need for change.
The song “Where is the Love” brought the Black Eyed Peas out of the gutter and into the spotlight; however, it also brought suppressed injustices to the public eye through use of explicit and implicit representations throughout the video (Moss). There is no excuse for ignorance, it is through this video that that Will. I. Am’s thoughts of race inequality, violence, and focus of life are brought to the viewer’s attention. He places the responsibility in your hands, how will you respond to the question “Where is the love?”
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