The Black Eyed Peas is a well-known music group that has evolved from alternative hip-hop to dance pop. The American group is composed of notorious rappers such as Will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and singer Fergie. The artists converged not only because of their similar taste and talent, but also because the four of them believe in racial equality. Their music video from the hit  “Where is the Love” uses different camera angles, color, schemes, and certain symbols to show the viewer to the issues surrounding our world today. 

The music group purposely uses different camera angles to emphasize the important scenes in the music video. The angles may seem unimportant, but they actually serve a much greater meaning. The video contains multiple different types of shots. There’s the long shot, the medium shot, and the close up, each one having it’s own purpose. The video begins with a close up of this mysterious question mark. The question mark is shown all throughout the video and as the video continues, the view begins to see what it is portraying. As the video goes on, the audience can see how the piece of paper with the question mark is being held by African-American men running away from what seems like the police. The long shot camera angle is used to display the two men running. The long shot is also used in a very intense and emotional scene a few seconds later. The main rapper, Will.I.Am is standing in front of a mural that reads “We are NOT a minority.” There is an African American man’s face painted on the mural as well, which helps emphasize the quote. Since the long shot camera angle is used, Will.I.Am looks very small in front of the mural which also reiterates the importance of this scene. The contrast in size represents how racism is a larger problem than the individual. This scene highlights the racism some people endure throughout their lifetime. 

The long shot is important because it is meant to force the viewer to focus on the background more than they would the foreground. In this case, the mural is so detailed and important they had to use the long shot to ensure that the reader’s eyes wouldn’t wander else where. The medium shot is also used multiple times in the visual text. A medium shot camera angle is when the character is shown knee or waste up so both the character and the background is visible. The most important medium shot camera angle scene is when an African American man is arrested for supposedly telling the truth. This scene is important because it shows the emotion on his face while also allowing the audience to see the characters body language. The scene is necessary in the video because it ties the audience back to the actual song when they talk about media and the government  attempting to cover up negative issues. The last important camera angle used is the close up. The close up is used numerous times throughout the video, because it exposes the emotions of the characters by focusing on their facial expressions. The scene during the chorus of the song illustrates multiple children and the close up shot is used to really capture their emotions regarding the world’s issue with racism. In every child’s eyes the audience can see the pain and misrepresentation they endure.  However, the camera angles aren't the only important aspect of this visual text, the color scheme is also very crucial. 

Throughout the visual text a red question mark placed on a white and black sheet of paper is constantly being advertised. Whether it’s a sticker, piece of paper, or tattoo, the question mark is always present. The red contrasting with the black and white background grabs the viewer’s attention. The question mark symbolizes the question prosed all throughout the visual text, where is the love? The visual text is mostly made up of black, white, and some red. In multiple scenes a group or crowd is shown wearing black and white. To capture the audience’s attention a single individual is wearing red.  Fergie is pictured in certain scenes wearing all white as she sings about love and peace. The background is dirty and seems very sad and disturbed. In this scene, Fergie is depicted as an angelic character bringing light to the horrible situation. She is in what we would consider, a “bad neighborhood” but the people are the same as anyone else. This music group highlights a relevant social issue and illustrates hate, love, peace and racism throughout their music video. 

The video focuses on racism today, showing images of police officers aggressively handling African-Americans.  While the video’s purpose is to ask its audience where is the love, it also discusses and shows individuals being persecuted for what seems to be, their race. Many scenes show African-American children mouthing the words to the song and running after the truck where the music is produced in the video.  The video is trying to portray the blatant inequality that is dismissed throughout all parts of our country.  The song says

“But if you only have love for your own race 

Then you only leave space to discriminate,”

addressing that the problem lies within all races, not just African-Americans and whites.  The problem will not resolve on its own, but it will take a united effort to 

The Black Eyed Peas successfully conveyed a song and image displaying their feelings toward discrimination today.  The camera angles helped the audience focus on the point being made, and the color scheme used white and black to represent different races with red to perhaps signify hope.  The story told in the video leaves the audience thinking about social discrimination and the affects it has now, and will have on today’s youth and their future.  The Black Eyed Peas aimed to draw attention to discrimination and hate in a positive way, using scenes that are emotionally trying and realistic.