I don't see the problem some of you seem to have with the production. It's simple, yes, but it's not bad at all. I personally love how airy and light it sounds. The dub elements and the wonky bassline are a nice touch, too.
Omg i'm watching now and I'm crying this is too much, Rihanna has now enetered politcs and showing us the good and the BAD of the USA, I just cannot the new Ani Difranco has risen God take me now please I can't deal anymore with this slayage
I don't like it simply because it doesn't communicate the idea clearly. It was easy to show the good (because there's not that much) but if you're gonna show the bad... I want 100%.
There should be an emphasis on how capitalism plays a key role in the good and bad of America. That's the underlying issue that no one wants to address. I mean this is Rihanna, who benefits from capitalism greatly which is another reason the video rubbed me the wrong way.
Phenomenal. One of the best music videos I've seen released in quite awhile, and easily her best since WFL. I love how it complicates the American Dream narrative. We're forced to reinterpret the song. I don't the song is optimistic at all. I think it's ambiguous enough that, when paired with the video, you're able to connect the dots to form a darker picture. "Sweat for a nickel and a dime, turn it into an empire" to me at first meant, simply, that you can make anything of yourself since America is the land of opportunity (i.e.: Jay-Z, etc.). But after watching the video, it could easily mean that the general population sweats (and has sweat for centuries - see: slavery, sharecropping, the working class) for the creation of the American empire (a woefully unequal society based on capitalism and the military-industrial complex). She seems to be encouraging everyone to fully embrace this feeling and analyze the complex and tenuous relationship between the ideal of the American dream and its reality. Ultimately, the ambiguity can lead to an optimistic (hopeful) or pessimistic reading of the song/video, but it doesn't shy away from calling out America's shortcomings.
I don't like it simply because it doesn't communicate the idea clearly. It was easy to show the good (because there's not that much) but if you're gonna show the bad... I want 100%.
There should be an emphasis on how capitalism plays a key role in the good and bad of America. That's the underlying issue that no one wants to address. I mean this is Rihanna, who benefits from capitalism greatly which is another reason the video rubbed me the wrong way.
Phenomenal. One of the best music videos I've seen released in quite awhile, and easily her best since WFL. I love how it complicates the American Dream narrative. We're forced to reinterpret the song. I don't the song is optimistic at all. I think it's ambiguous enough that, when paired with the video, you're able to connect the dots to form a darker picture. "Sweat for a nickel and a dime, turn it into an empire" to me at first meant, simply, that you can make anything of yourself since America is the land of opportunity (i.e.: Jay-Z, etc.). But after watching the video, it could easily mean that the general population sweats (and has sweat for centuries - see: slavery, sharecropping, the working class) for the creation of the American empire (a woefully unequal society based on capitalism and the military-industrial complex). She seems to be encouraging everyone to fully embrace this feeling and analyze the complex and tenuous relationship between the ideal of the American dream and its reality. Ultimately, the ambiguity can lead to an optimistic (hopeful) or pessimistic reading of the song/video, but it doesn't shy away from calling out America's shortcomings.
!!!!! When watching the video, the lyrics can instantly take on a whole new meaning. And I agree, the song and visuals were intentionally ambiguous so that the viewer/listener can interpret it in more than one way
I don't like it simply because it doesn't communicate the idea clearly. It was easy to show the good (because there's not that much) but if you're gonna show the bad... I want 100%.
There should be an emphasis on how capitalism plays a key role in the good and bad of America. That's the underlying issue that no one wants to address. I mean this is Rihanna, who benefits from capitalism greatly which is another reason the video rubbed me the wrong way.
She's against a "capitalism" that pretends to make it possible for anyone and everyone to succeed if you just work hard enough, when in fact the system is designed to run on the poor "sweating for a nickel and a dime" in service of an empire that oppresses them and keeps them down. It's not embarrassing; it's radical.
I know this isn't America you are talking about. Russia maybe...
this is too much, Rihanna has now enetered politcs and showing us the good and the BAD of the USA, I just cannot the new Ani Difranco has risen 
Russia maybe...
The video is alright, I hope she's not just standing there for BBHMM though.