Lil Wayne’s music video “God Bless Amerika” uses the American flag to show what the flag stands for now versus what it did originally. The American flag used to represent freedom and now it does not stand for much because of the chaos and violence that happens in this country every day. To the citizens of the US the American flag is very important, it is a guide for some people’s lives. The flag is a beacon of hope for some people, it lets them know that through all the bad the country goes through eventually the country as a whole will come out on top. The American flag appears three times in the video. The first time it is in every shot at the beginning of the music video from (0:00-1:15). 

This instance of the American flag is shown in all of the shots at the start of the video. These shots show Lil Wayne standing in front of the flag and explaining how America is not doing very good right now. The American flag remains in the background of the video while it flashes between Lil Wayne; A woman and child, two young men, two young women, two women, and two police officers. The music video uses these sets of two in front of the American flag to show that it takes to people to create most conflicts, whether it be family, friends, police officers, or strangers. Violence happens every day in this country, and the US tries very hard to prevent it but sometimes it cannot prevent it. All of this happens in America underneath our flag, the flag that gave us the freedom we have today. Some people abuse this freedom and do evil things with their freedom, while others risk their life for it to protect it. Freedom in this country is a very sacred thing and that is exactly what our American flag stands for, not violence.  Then at (1:15) in the video the flag falls to reveal a crowd of African Americans behind Lil Wayne. These are the people that our country is not standing up for the way it should be. 

The second appearance is very quick and only for a second at (3:00). When the American flag appears for the second time in the video and it is very quick and if you blink at the right moment you might miss it. In this instance the American flag rises from the bottom of the screen to the top and covers the entire screen before it disappears. The first time we saw the American flag it fell to the ground and this time it was raised from the ground. This raising of the American flag represents hope and the fact that this nation can change for the better. When the American flag is seen this second time it is only there for a very short second unlike the way the first time it was there for almost a minute and a half. When the flag is shown this second time it represents the transition from the first half of the video to the second half of the video. This occurrence of the flag shows us that all of the poverty and crime in America can disappear, we just have to come together and work as a nation to fix it. This may be the shortest time the flag is on screen out of the three occurrence but it is still significant because after Lil Wayne talks about everything wrong with the nation he shows us that we can fix what is wrong with our nation. 

And the final appearance of the American flag is at the very end from (4:56-5:00). The third time the American flag is seen in the music video it is at the very end of the video for a few seconds. This time the American flag is seen it is being raised the same way the flag in the second instance was being raised. When the flag is shown this time there is no dialogue accompanying the image unlike the other two occurrences. Also like the second occurrence the flag is being raised showing that there is hope for our country. This raising of the flag shows that as a country we can do better. We need to live up to the standards that the American flag sets, and not dishonor it by random acts of terror and violence. Lil Wayne places the American flag in the video very strategically, once at the beginning, middle, and end. These three time that the flag is shown can mean many things but it appears as if the people in the video believe the American flag being in the video three time represents life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American flag is a very beautiful and sacred icon for our country. 

Lil Wayne uses the American flag as a symbol in his music video “God Bless Amerika” three times. Each one at an important part of the music video; first at the beginning, second in the middle, and last at the end of the music video. The flag in all three occurrences is the same flag except in the first instance the American flag is being lowered while in the other two occurrences it is being raised. The flag is shown the longest at the very beginning of the song, then second longest and the very end, and then it is briefly shown in the middle of the music video. The standard American flag does not appear anywhere else in the video besides these three occurrences analyzed in this paper. The American flag represents Freedom, dreams, and hope. The American flag has always been flown high over our nation except now the flag is flying over a country that has people that shoots other people for the purpose of violence for violence. The nation as a whole needs to grow so that it can overcome poverty, crime, and terror. America, or as Lil Wayne says “Amerika”, needs to accept what is wrong with some of the people so we can help them and prevent crimes, discrimination, and terror. Lil Wayne’s music video “God Bless Amerika” points this issues out and makes fixing them seem like it should not be that bad. The American flag should not represent these dark and terrible things. It should not represent the negative aspects that it currently shows in America.
