Jonathan Schneider

Professor Skelly
ENG 1201
14 June, 2020
Jesus Walks
“God show me the way, because the devil is trying to break me down.” Kanye West talks
about very important messages in the lyrics of “Jesus Walks.” Those of which contain his close
attachment to Jesus that protect him from the evil that surrounds the world. The two versions of
the music video to this song show that many people, especially African Americans are the most
vulnerable to the evil and violence that constantly harm the communities and families trying to
live day by day. In “Jesus Walks,” Kanye uses the art of cinematics to show the hardships and
racism that the black community faces and how through Christianity and following God, He will
show the way to peace.
In the first video, Kanye has much older camera technology and editing, but still keeps
the importance of the message visual. The video shows brief moments of harm being put on
black men and women, although not in an inappropriate way to keep the use of pathos alive.
The first sign is a black man who seemed to have gotten shot in the streets, later waking up in
heaven to an angel next to him. This message is communicating to people about the problem of
police brutality that is prominent in America, as well as other countries. The video also shows
poverty with black men holding their hands out, as a call for help. This leads to a deeper
message within poverty, showing the feeling of being lost and looking for a path to the light.
In the second video, it has a lot more detail in the cinematics, which makes it easier for
Kanye to show his message more clearly. This gives him the chance to incorporate more
religious signs, showing that he has God showing him the light, as well as Jesus helping him
find the right path to take in life, so that he does not have to suffer from the controversy and
violence that many African Americans have to face everyday. This is brought out with a light
shaped as a Halo, protecting him from the heat of a fire erupting behind him. The video also
starts with the most important message of all which is that slavery still exists today, just in a
different way. This is shown with black men in chains and shackles walking to the beat of the
song. The KKK is also shown in the middle of the video, possibly pointing to a claim that white
power is still overpowering in America. There are many different ways to interpret these
messages, but they are carefully shown in such a way that doesn’t give people the wrong idea
of what he is trying to tell the audience, which is that black lives are still at risk in America and
around the world, and by following Christ you will be shown the way to true happiness.
The message in these two videos are both trying to tell the audience the same thing, but
version two is Kanye’s way of showing his true potential to preach his truth to the audience in a
more detailed way, which clearly shows a lot of time and effort put into the video. Many artists
are afraid to even speak on topics and messages that Kanye has spoken on throughout his
career, but this music video (specifically Version 2) shows that this message needs to be
spoken on until it is no longer a problem. Peace will be found in the world in some way and
hopefully artists like Kanye West will continue to put in the effort to help the people in pain who
need that extra help.