“Where is the Love” is a music video produced by UMG Records, Inc., and performed by the Black Eyed Peas in 2003. The music video for “Where is the Love” is fast-paced, bold, and visually iconic. Many of the video’s brief shots match the beat of its fast-paced song. As a mainstream music group, it was bold of the Black Eyed Peas to challenge problems with the media so directly. And the video attempts to be visually iconic by frequently placing the spotlight on a graphic question mark logo. These three characteristics of the video—fast-paced, bold, and iconic—exemplify what the video for “Where is the Love” is attempting to achieve: a commentary that challenges what journalists choose to show their audiences in the United States. But while the song preaches universal peace and love, its attempt to convey a powerful critique about American journalism is softened because neither the lyrics nor the video’s shots distinguish a clear target for criticism.
Since the lyrics of “Where is the Love” do not clearly target one social problem, the audience loses
sight of what the song’s main message is. “Where is the Love” contains lyrics that prompt audience members to question why journalists selectively show their audience sensationalized violence, crime, and suffering. The Black Eyed Peas are quite explicit in their criticism when they sing, “Wrong information shown by the media.” This message aims to challenge American journalism. But once other messages are introduced in the lyrics, the song’s critique of journalism grows weaker
For example, during one shot, the band’s lead singer, Will.i.am, stands in front of a mural signed, “We are not a minority,” next to a portrait of Fidel Castro. The mural brings up racial discrimination, while the image of Fidel Castro could have political undertones or just be a sign of rebellious graffiti. As seen in this scene, there are so many visual symbols that they end up confusing the viewer as to what the song is actually trying to say. The lyrics may have conveyed a stronger, clear message had they not attempted to tackle a handful of other social problems also.
The fast rhythm and short duration of shots in “Where is the Love” quicken the pace of the music video and slightly disorient viewers. Short shots in music videos sometimes excite and engage its viewers in the song’s messages. However, in the video “Where is the Love,” viewers are rapidly pulled along from scene to scene with little time to piece together the main message of the video. Viewers are uncertain about what the exact message of the video is and what all of the shots will lead to in the plot. The video concludes with characters staring at an unknown thing in the sky, which does not answer certain questions that the video introduces, such as what the undercover messengers (dressed in all black) were trying to accomplish. Much like the people wondering at the sky at the end of the video, viewers of “Where is the Love” are left wondering what specifically the Black Eyed Peas are preaching.
Since the lyrics of “Where is the Love” do not clearly target one social problem, the audience loses
sight of what the song’s main message is. “Where is the Love” contains lyrics that prompt audience members to question why journalists selectively show their audience sensationalized violence, crime, and suffering. The Black Eyed Peas are quite explicit in their criticism when they sing, “Wrong information shown by the media.” This message aims to challenge American journalism. But once other messages are introduced in the lyrics, the song’s critique of journalism grows weaker
For example, during one shot, the band’s lead singer, Will.i.am, stands in front of a mural signed, “We are not a minority,” next to a portrait of Fidel Castro. The mural brings up racial discrimination, while the image of Fidel Castro could have political undertones or just be a sign of rebellious graffiti. As seen in this scene, there are so many visual symbols that they end up confusing the viewer as to what the song is actually trying to say. The lyrics may have conveyed a stronger, clear message had they not attempted to tackle a handful of other social problems also.
The fast rhythm and short duration of shots in “Where is the Love” quicken the pace of the music video and slightly disorient viewers. Short shots in music videos sometimes excite and engage its viewers in the song’s messages. However, in the video “Where is the Love,” viewers are rapidly pulled along from scene to scene with little time to piece together the main message of the video. Viewers are uncertain about what the exact message of the video is and what all of the shots will lead to in the plot. The video concludes with characters staring at an unknown thing in the sky, which does not answer certain questions that the video introduces, such as what the undercover messengers (dressed in all black) were trying to accomplish. Much like the people wondering at the sky at the end of the video, viewers of “Where is the Love” are left wondering what specifically the Black Eyed Peas are preaching.
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