During Lil Wayne’s “God Bless Amerika” music video the scenes are dominated by African American people but, in a handful of them there are white, male, cops. In the first instance of this there is a long shot of two of them. Their faces are obscured and they are dressed in black body armor, black riot helmets and are carrying riot shields and black batons. This is followed by a closer up pan shot of what they’re wearing and what they’re carrying. This is a much different image from the one which was shown before the interlude made by Lil Wayne. The image before is of two adult African American women dressed in relatively bright street clothing with scowls upon their faces. One woman is dressed in a light gray tank top and black and white striped shorts. She is tattooed and wears a cross around her neck. The other woman is in a black crop top and light colored jean shorts. She bears a collar like necklace around her neck with no tattoos. Although both images are in front of an American flag they send very different messages. The officers radiate an aura of power and authority, such that they are protecting America. Whereas the women project unhappiness yet strength which has been forced upon them by America. By placing these images close together it evokes the common thought and issue of police brutality against African Americans. 

In another scene, two to be specific, there are two very powerful images of the police. In the first they are still in their riot uniforms. It is a close up shot of a single, white, male, police officer with a scowl on his face which is slightly blurred due to the smudging on his helmet. Along with this his shield and baton are raised up. By using a close up shot the viewer can clearly make out the disgust on his face and it can only be inferred that this distaste is due to something done by an African American. This can be inferred because of the sinister looking African American man in the shot before. There is a split between the two scenes which is a group of African Americans, three of which are wearing bandanas around their necks, the other is wearing a plain black shirt. It is a brief shot but helps enforce the idea of police brutality against African Americans. The second scene is of a line of four male police officers, still in their riot attire as before but now there are two African Americans among them. They all have their shields raised. Out of the four, two of the officers’ faces are clearly visible; one is white and the other is African American, both of which look unhappy to be doing what they’re doing. This particular scene creates a small conflict. Before it was only white, male, cops that were being shown but now that there are African Americans involved it seems less like a racial prejudice situation. This thought is also furthered by the look of displeasure on both the white officer’s face and the African American’s face.

Throughout Lil Wayne’s “God Bless Amerika” music video the images of African Americans being in undesirable states reigns. These images correspond with the lyrics. For example; in the chorus Lil Wayne says “God bless America, this so godless America, heard tomorrow ain’t promised today, the end of time is like an hour away, damn military minded, lot and can’t find it, the stars on the flag are never shining, I saw a butterfly in hell today, will I die or go to jail today?” By saying this repetitively it reinforces the idea that police brutality is an issue in America, especially concerning African Americans. This is proven by Lil Wayne’s consistent use of police in their riot uniforms matched with the faces of downhearted African Americans.
