Where is the Love? MVC 2

by Cameron Hayes

“Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas is an indictment of American Society today. The music video is a fast paced portrayal of many things that happen in society, with people posting question marks all over the city, and very dramatic camera cuts that make it feel very fast paced. This is contrasted during the chorus when they show people's faces looking at the camera singing, giving it a slow paced feel. The indictment of American Society is seen while listening to the song, but becomes even more evident after watching the music video. After watching this music video, it really does make me ask the question, Where is the Love? This video exposes the irony that in a nation seen as such a Christian nation, we have kids starving and discrimination all around.

In the music video, there are many examples of all of the bad things going on in this nation. In the lyrics there are such things as “Nations droppin bombs, Chemical gasses fillin lungs of little ones. With ongoin sufferin as the youth die young” and “People killin, people dyin, Children hurt and you hear them cryin”. From the video there are many examples of this as well. From a black man running from the cops, (Which represents racism and inequality in America) to a drug deal going on (Which represents the moral decay of America), this video is full of examples of how bad America has gotten. This is brought into perspective when you understand America in context today. America today is thought of as a very Christian nation. This really exposes the dichotomy between us being a

Christian nation, and all of the bad things that are happening in our country. If you look at the bible, many of the things shown in the video are against what it says. For example, the bible does not condone the drug deal going on in the video. The answer? The Black Eyed Peas want people to start “Practicing what they preach” as they say in the song. In the lyrics, this is shown in lyrics such

as “Father, Father, Father help us, Send some guidance from above” and “Gotta keep my faith alive til love is found, Now ask yourself, Where is the love?”. This is evidenced in the music video when the preacher is holding the bible up to the sky. This bible is special because it has a question mark on it. Which in this music video, really represents the question, “where is the love?”. He is screaming at the sky holding it, and the music video is saying that, he is asking God where the love is, asking the question about how such a Christian Nation could be so messed up.

The Black Eyed Peas did a very good job exposing the irony that America is a Christian nation, but does not follow traditional Christian values. The way that they used the music video to support their lyrics really makes the music video impactful. However, the most important part was that, even though they exposed the bad parts about American society, they also gave the answer to fix it: Love.