
The Black Eyed Peas bring to light a missing component in today’s society in their music video, “Where is the Love?”. This missing component is love. A reoccurring question mark sign clarifies the message they are trying to make. The main visual motif of a black and white sign with a red question mark supports the overall message of ending hate and instead, create a movement of loving around the world.

At the 34 second mark, the question mark symbol is seen in sticker form, stuck to a wall behind a Statue of Liberty replica. The Statue of Liberty replica is missing the top of the torch; the question mark sticker replaces the torch. In the background, there is a white stone wall on the bottom and a red brick wall on top of the white stone. On the white stone there is a banner reading, “ISC IS NOT A LAW OFFICE WE ARE IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS.” In the midground there is a black Statue of Liberty replica standing on unhealthy grass. The foreground shows a metal fence that surrounds the Statue of Liberty replica.

The flame on the Statue of Liberty represents lighting the pathway to freedom. The Black Eyed Peas use the missing torch to say that the pathway to love is lost. They replace the flame with the question mark symbol to ask viewers, where is the pathway to love? This is the main point of the scene that the Black Eyed Peas are trying to drive home to the readers. They also use supporting details in this scene to clarify their message. The white stone symbolizes a strong foundation and how pure humans can be. But, the red brick represents the bleeding of pureness of humans which negatively affects the foundation of love. Another example seen in this scene is the fence surrounding the Statue of Liberty. Since the Statue of liberty is enclosed in the fence, it cannot find its flame, just like humans cannot find love. This grass is also dying which proves that the love is trapped and needs to be set free in order to find love and make nature balanced, bringing life back to the grass and to society. 

The motif is clearly seen at the 41 second mark: a person on a bike rides through the city streets with a question mark symbol flag on the back of the bike. The foreground is left empty in order to let the viewer see all of the midground and background. In this scene, the midground and background are split. On the left side, the cars all appear to be black and the lower level of the building is black with a red logo and a black man. The black man in the red logo appears to be looking at the right side of the scene which is predominately white. The black man in the logo is stuck at the border of the black and white divide. On the right side of the screen, the main color appears to be white. One-way street signs are on the white side of the split and appear to be pointing to the black side of the screen. In the midground, the biker with the question mark flag rides from the white side of the screen to the black side of the screen. 

The left side of this scene represents the minority community and the right side of the scene represents the white community. This relates to the idea of racial tension and racism that is seen all around the world. The black man in the logo is surrounded by red. The color red symbolizes blood, which shows that minorities suffer and are the ones who are negatively impacted by the racial divide. The one-way street signs on the white side of the scene point towards the black part of the screen. This means that minorities are not allowed to enter into white society. This symbol adds to the racial discrimination that is dominant in society today. The music video displays a man riding his bike from the white side of the screen to the black side of the screen with the main symbol, the question mark flag, attached to his bike. This is the Black Eyed Peas trying to bring both sides together through love. They cross the border of racial hate from one side to another in hopes of uniting both sides to loving one another for their differences.

One minute and 10 seconds into the music video, the question mark symbol is seen pasted on an exit sign on a highway. The three green signs show different paths to Pasadena, Hollywood, and San Bernardino. The question mark symbol is taking on the San Bernardino exit sign. The camera moves to three different zooms for this scene. The first shot is a long shot where the view shows both lanes of traffic and homes in the background. Then the view changes to a medium shot where the view shows just the one side of traffic and the signs. The last shot is an extreme close-up of the sign with the question mark symbol. The main color schemes of the cars were black, white, and red.

This scene is meant to be a wakeup call to viewers. Too many people are only focused from getting from point A to point B. This is especially seen on the roads, where people only care for themselves and tend to be less friendly. By putting the question mark over the destination on the sign, it makes drivers second guess what they are doing. Instead of being caught up with their own lives, people may start to care more for others if they ask themselves, where is the love? The question mark symbol could also be seen as a destination. This is what the Black Eyed Peas want viewers to think. The drivers represent society, and the road symbolizes society’s path. The Pasadena and Hollywood signs go straight, which is the current path society is on; a path without love. The San Bernardino exit represents an exit from the hate that society should take to find love. By redirecting society’s current path from hate to love, the world will be a better place.

Throughout the music video the question mark symbol is used to symbolize the question, where is the love? It represents a movement of changing society’s ideals and priorities. The Black Eyed Peas use the visual motif of the question mark symbol supported by the colors red, white, and black in the music video, “Where is the Love?” to depict the need for love in today’s society.