Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK Literary Cafe 2018 Mother's Day Issue | Page 35

Sierra Kay
On Friday, May 4, 2018, I wrote a sketch for an
upcoming showcase. On Sunday, May 6, 2018, I
watched Childish Gambino’s, “This is America.” I
cursed, booted up my computer and went back to
work.
See, my sketch, while funny, read basic. To be
completely honest, it read basic and a bit blue.
Michelle Obama warned me about going low, but I
just didn’t listen.
Then, my eyes feasted on the “This is America”
video and honestly, I found myself inspired. The
depth of thought and historical context that appeared
caught me off guard. It was so smart. And I hadn’t
managed to do it. Aargh.
You won’t see deeply insightful commentary from
me about the video. Let’s be real. I would need to
read five more books and maybe a few associated
Cliff Notes to even make an attempt. My “A” in high
school history was useless in this case.
If you need commentary, plop that title in a search
engine. People have picked that video apart like
vultures on a chicken bone. And it’s hearty enough
to provide fodder for many different points of view.
That’s what makes it so good. Intelligent art is a
beautiful thing.
Plus, it makes me question my own work. “Can I
do better?”
As a country, we are becoming increasingly tired
of whitewashing over real issues that need to be
addressed. Art reflects life. Yes, our lives have bits of
senseless fun. Everyone’s life should.
However, often, our lives have layers. Yet, just as
often, our media only feeds us cotton candy that
looks robust until it touches the tongue. At that point,
issues that theydeem worthy to cover dissipates into
nothing.
Society is starving. So when we get a masterfeast
like, “This is America,” we consume it until the platter
is empty; we’ve sopped up the gravy with a biscuit,
and we need to unbuckle our pants just to breathe
or make room for more. Which explains why people
have watched, “This is America” multiple times.
As a writer, this serves a reminder that audiences
can’t survive on sugar alone. When I need to up my
game I’m going to watch, “This is America” again,
twice. Watch once for the foreground. Watch once
for the background. Curse, delete whatever random,
basic prose I typed, and then get to work on my true
artistic meal.
NKLC Magazine | 35