The Revolution is About to Be Televised

They picked the right time, but the wrong guy. (Even though he was the absolutely perfect guy for the moment).

I have to confess, I don’t follow football. Yes, I knew the Superb Owl was last weekend, but I didn’t really pay attention to who was playing or who was headlining the halftime show. Monday morning, however, after hearing MAGA and other White* heads exploding all over the country about Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show, I doubled back to check out all the hoo ha.

As you know, I’ve been exploring the ways to fight the information war, in which MAGA America is in a sealed bubble of lies, and the values-based progressives are well-versed in fact and history. And on the “blue” side, we need both a way to talk about politics without talking about politics, and be very clear about our message, without all the nuance we love to love so much. This show was everything.

So, as I looked back at the video of the halftime show, I saw a hip hop artist I don’t really know (I’m OLD), strutting around a stage designed like a video game controller I didn’t recognize (I told you I’m OLD) rapping a song I didn’t know, backed by Black dancers in red, white, and blue. And also I noticed the bell bottoms (sue me!)

Dance floor shaped like Playstation controller. Photo Credit: NYT

Here’s what I, in my non-sports-oriented life, did when one of my former podcast guests put out a call for a non-condescending explainer for White Rural America. I dove in to a) watch the show itself; and b) explore Kendrick’s work and what his show portrayed.

I quickly learned he was a multiple Grammy winner and for F’s sake a Pulitzer Prize winner. So my nerdy little heart did a dance, because if someone can win a Pulitzer, they can rock nuance better than most.

Here’s what else I learned:

White (MAGA) America watched, didn’t understand what they were seeing, so went on the attack, calling racism because they didn’t see any White bodies on stage. It’s the MAGA go-to…don’t understand it, don’t see yourself represented in it, attack it, destroy it, make yourself the center of the grievance narrative.

What I found was that this show was genius political art. Kendrick Lamar gave a masterclass on how to talk about the country and Black experiences without actually speaking directly about it. Here are two explainers here and here you can watch, along with dozens (hundreds?) more on every conceivable platform. I’ll break a lot of it down below. It’s way way too layered and complex to come even close to breaking it down fully. And I tried to make this piece as relevant as I could to a general audience (like you).

The Great American Game
The show starts off with stage lit like a playstation controller with a video game loading in the back. Samuel L. Jackson appears like a mix between the iconic Uncle Sam and a circus ringmaster, saying “This is your Uncle Sam, and this is the Great American Game.” This game is Kendrick’s journey through the American experience and Uncle Sam is the narrator channeling White America. Jackson kicks off the game, and then in the middle of the show pops up again to say Kendrick is too LOUD, too RECKLESS, too GHETTO, which is indeed the criticism of the show leveled by MAGA/White America. Kendrick refuses this admonition to code switch and tone down his performance for a white gaze. Later, Uncle Sam stares down the camera and says, “Scorekeeper, deduct one life,” for the audacity of the show to represent authentically Black themes. There is no naiveté in this performance, no dumbing down, no catering to White preference.

While most Super Bowl shows feature artists’ greatest hits, Kendrick opened the show with an unreleased song that casual listeners hadn’t heard before. With his playlist he turned the event on its head, as he did with all the other choices he made. In the middle of that first song, he breaks the song by saying “The Revolution’s about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” His show is undeniably a commentary on the divisions within the United States, and the performance is one of the most watched segments of TV of the year.

The Revolution is About to be Televised. Photo Credit: Deadline

How does this appear in the performance? Three groups of dancers, dressed in all red, all white, and all blue, emerge from a car that appears on Kendrick’s latest album. The dancers remain separated by color through much of the show. Though this separation clearly represents the divisions within America, it’s far more complex than that. Eventually, the dancers position themselves in the shape of the American flag, but are divided right down the middle, with Kendrick in the center. The all-black group of dancers then lean over, hands on the others’ shoulders, to form a complete American flag. This configuration and artistry imply that Black bodies built the United States (which is true).

Black bodies making an American Flag. Photo Credit: The Atlantic

Kendrick’s journey continues, the flag disintegrates, and a sign in light states, “Warning, Wrong Way.” Soon, Kendrick and SZA (another performer who is about to go on tour with Kendrick) sing the duet, “All the Stars,” from the movie Black Panther, slowing down the pace and highlighting the singing. At that point, Uncle Sam Jackson says, “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what America wants. Nice and Calm. You’re almost there. Don’t mess it up.”

Between Jackson’s admonitions to keep the performance calm and unthreatening, and Kendrick’s outright statement that “This is bigger than the music,” we know for sure that this performance is an overt cultural commentary about Black history and experience. He also says, “They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” Kendrick calls out White cultural appropriation of the Black experience—music, dance, fashion—and understands that despite that appropriation, White MAGA America still wants Black Americans to adhere to White notions of propriety and hierarchy.

I’m now skipping hundreds of layers because the allusions are thick on the ground and you can go look all of them up if you want.

Kendrick ends the performance with “Turn the TV Off. Game Over.” And THAT’s how you discuss American life and politics by widening the aperture so that music, art, and culture do the talking.

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*When I refer to White America, I’m focusing on the MAGA folks who believe America itself is a White country and are trying to erase Black history and contributions in large chunks.

Sources:

Kendrick Lamar’s Superbowl Halftime Show: YouTube
Kendrick Lamar Superbowl Halftime Show Breakdown! Easter eggs and details you missed by The New Rockstars, YouTube.
Kendrick Lamar’s Superbowl Performance Explained: Hidden Messages and Cultural Commentary by Bobby Foster on You Tube.