Let's Unpack Because The Internet | Mic The Snare

TWITTER: / micthesnare
INSTAGRAM: micthesnare...
This month's Examining episode is dedicated to an album I've been wanting to talk about for ages: Childish Gambino's Because The Internet. More than just an album, Glover's second studio project was the center of an entire multidisciplinary universe - including short films, interviews in character, and a 72-page screenplay. But how does the experience hold up today? Let's see...
Let me know your thoughts on this album and its various pieces in the comments!
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SOURCE LIST
Database: create.piktochart.com/output/...
Short Films:
- Chicken & Futility: • Childish Gambino's Sho...
- Clapping for the Wrong Reasons: • clapping for the wrong...
Music Videos:
- Sweatpants: • Childish Gambino - Swe...
- 3005: • Childish Gambino - 3005
- The Worst Guys: • The Worst Guys (Feat. ...
- Telegraph Ave: • Childish Gambino - Tel...
- Yaphet Kotto: • yaphet kotto
Interviews
- • Childish Gambino bring...
- • Childish Gambino at Th...
- • Childish Gambino Frees...
- Screenplay (from Genius): genius.com/albums/Childish-ga...
- Screenplay Scenes Set to Music: • Childish Gambino - Bec...
Vice Article: www.vice.com/en_us/article/6e...
Scenes of Glover’s Acting:
30 Rock: • Video
Community:
- • Community La Bibliotec...
- • Community - Troy the ...
- • Community - My emotions!
Derrick Comedy: • Girls Are Not To Be Tr...
Solo: • SOLO Movie Clip - Han ...
Lion King: • Hakuna Matata (From "T...

[@austinr.g8349]

this album was so damn ahead of it’s time, its like it was made strictly to be a masterpiece FOR the internet generation

[@kiayamwak3778]

IVE BEEN SAYING THIS ALL THE TIME. This is the album that really define the internet culture right here, right now.

[@L3lpop]

EXACTLY. the vapid nature, real emotions replaced with emojis, everyone is kinda empty and desensitized to horrors, roscoes wetsuit is actually a glitch code cause glover even talked prior to the release about life just being a large simulation in his eyes, everything is fake, everything seems real until something breaks it and The boy is the only one who questions those breaks, driving him literally insane to the point of trying to kill himself but it doesn't work so what does he do? He figures out a way to get someone else to kill him... But he still fails because he tries to control in which way he dies and that's just not how life works in this universe, so he gets reset. Just like the internet, we will always be there until something bigger than us takes us out.

[@DOOM31520]

You could say this album was streets ahead

[@austinr.g8349]

kiayamwak! Totally!!

[@austinr.g8349]

L3l Pop EXACTLY YOU WORDED IT PERFECTLY I AGREE HOMIE :)

[@Emme-Kappa]

La Biblioteca feat. Danny Pudi is still Gambino's greatest song.

[@jaylonbeatty2553]

But it was only the second best rap on the show. The Dean’s Payday rap was the best.

[@DaRealEarth1]

Nah sweatpants or bonfire is his best song

[@tommo531]

@@DaRealEarth1 You're streets behind, my guy.

[@ncrtrooper1782]

@@DaRealEarth1 bonfire remix

[@ncrtrooper1782]

@@jaylonbeatty2553 The real criminals are at Wallstreet

[@ResidentNobody]

Aw yeah, I love Childish Gambino's screenplay, "Because The Internet." What a great standalone work. The hell you mean there's an album?

[@gothicreggae]

You can’t just quote the video

[@freddieb1903]

Well they did. ​@@gothicreggae

[@alexball6271]

flight of the navigator is the most beautiful song I've ever heard

[@falo4043]

"I had a dream, I had a dream I was flying over all of us"

[@ChocolateBear14]

Easily my favorite Gambino song

[@DOOM31520]

Urn is too short 😔

[@cooksze0322]

I had that song on repeat for two years straight no lie.

[@visitstothebank]

First time I heard it I was on acid and man the best feeling ever that song was in my soul 😂

[@mandaloriancrusader3746]

I understand how Awaken My Love is more musically proficient but I'd honestly just rather listen to the best tracks off BTI than the best ones off AML

[@tayoo.1965]

thank you for putting this into words. I think the real crux of the BTI v AML debate is that one is a critcally acclaimed EXPERIMENTAL album and one is a critically acclaimed GENRE album. They both accomplish their goals within their fields exceptionally so its difficult/pointless to rank them against each other. Like I love BTI way more than I like AML but its because I gravitate towards more hip hop and electronic music on a daily basis than funk. BUT WHEN IM IN THE MOOD FOR FUNK, AML is easily an amazing album for its time.

[@geesixnine]

SAME

[@mr.nazareth4501]

they both slap tbh.

[@BaneRain]

I get that this is his life and hes free to do whatever he wants, but man it would be so nice if he put the rapper hat back on one last time before retiring from music. Maybe mix it with the new stuff

[@farhannr28]

not for Redbone

[@jaminjay13]

Mostly agree, except the bit about the lack of other character development in the music video series being a detractor. I think the 2D-ness of others around the boy is totally THE POINT. He exists in the this cloud of celebrities, random porn stars, and meme references but doesn't have any actual relationships - it's all parasocial. So whether he's "really" with these people or they represent encounters over the internet, he's just as distanced from them. My interpretation of the boy's sort-of-arc is that he's succumbing to internet addiction and becomes estranged from his entire real world...within the fro yo store...within the internet...

[@bensmith4759]

Aw yeah, I love Childish Gambino's screenplay, "Because The Internet." What a great standalone work. The hell you mean there's an album?

[@koth_harvest_final]

honestly i came to the opposite conclusion about why 'an album that means nothing' is actually an interesting concept it's the perfect way to show the complete hollowness and nihilism of the internet generation.

[@magpineapple]

we use the internet it forget about nihilism

[@bogmanhimself4656]

one of the reasons i really like Atlanta is because it's kind of about nothing, like there's an overarching plot but it kinda doesn't matter

[@BuggyChokeTheWorld]

well i mean its existential dread the album means nothing yet its good but theres no reason for it to be good because it means nothing its a though loop like his one liners on the track.

[@anojansmart]

BTI the album, the soundtrack, and the so-called BTIEU is all Bino's take on absurdism (the philosophical concept that human beings try to find meaning in a meaningless reality). That's why things like lack of plot direction and character growth are purposely built into the narrative. From The Boy's perspective, there is no point to anything, and so anything he does or experiences comes across as comedic nihilism or insanely random good fortuity. The various short skits, the music videos, the songs, the "script" (you're right in that it's basically inner monologue disguised as a script to give the feel of a "play") are all examples of the absurd at play. "Roscoe's Wetsuit" was just a phrase to give life to the inherent meaninglessness of reality, and The Boy's desire to figure out what the phrase meant was really a microcosm for The Boy trying to figure out his place and meaning in life. The fact that he has access to Rick Ross' fortune is really a backdrop of how futile human endeavour is even with sufficient funds to live lavishly-- in fact it could've aided in his lacklustre motivation to be his own person, precisely what he needed to escape the void of nihilism. The importance of the script/story is is not in overall direction, but in each moment and scene, how it stands on its own with no relation to past and future (there is only present). Since BTI, I look at Bino/Glover's work as attempts to create meaning where this none, except at this point he's content with the absurd, and would rather continue to live in the fallacy of free will if at least to gain satisfaction through creation, humanity's greatest FU to the universe.

[@sakuragi9607]

this comment is better than the video , and i havent watched the damn video yet ...

[@NothinG_notthesame]

Agreed

[@kingrovd8960]

If you witnessed the Because the Internet era and you notice what Bino was doing in real time, it was more than him dropping an album then going on tour. It was an experience.

[@nansalem2142]

"Shut up, Leonard. Nobody even knows what Roscoe's Wetsuit is. And what's the point of Because the Internet??" "You're talking about it."

[@nowlun]

YEPPPP

[@nat6892]

as a teen in 2024, i think BTI is so much more relevant now. it really feels like that’s what we’re going through now, especially as young people.

[@lancer1982]

“Glover wasn’t in the mcu” *is casually in spider man homecoming*

[@sprb4725]

But if you will use Wu tang name generator to name your children who’s names will you base them on?

[@garfxeo4469]

Base it on the parents names

[@paulhill4382]

asking the real questions here

[@ChicagoMonsterPunk]

Interesting video and fair criticism. I think BTI’s chaotic universe reflects the complex and chaotic flow of informations in our age. I don’t think Glover read Baudrillard but I think BTI’s main purpose is to portray hyperreality: that’s why he created so many fake Twitter accounts, that’s why he acted like an amalgamation of himself and his character, that’s also why he tried to blend so many medias. He wanted to blur the line between virtuality, fiction and reality.

[@tamarragreenwood4876]

this album was so damn ahead of it’s time, its like it was made strictly to be a masterpiece FOR the internet generation

[@CPubi]

man said he was never able to get into flight of the navigator smh

[@cooksze0322]

If listen to the lyrics closely you can decipher it yourself

[@nansalem2142]

On 6:10 tho, about That Power, he wasn't trying to ask her out, he was just confessing how he felt about her, and then fell asleep, and by the time he woke up she was gone and turns out had told everybody and so they were laughing at him. He felt betrayed, humiliated and learned to never trust again... and in my opinion that shame he felt is the metaphor for the bus that he never got off of...

[@alexas.3306]

I stopped paying attention when he didn't appreciate Donald's genius after summarizing the interactive Because the Internet experience

[@GameScoreFanfare]

I'm a fan of BTI, as an album it's probably his most consistent release. But to me it feels like the project of an artist who wasn't quite ready to approach it. As you touch on at the end, it's kinda like this proof of concept that Glover is an artistic visionary, but just wasn't ready to tackle a project of that ambition. And that's cool with me! I have a lot of respect for him as he puts out whatever projects he's cooked up whether or not they meet fan expectations. Especially with his new album, I feel like he's just making music for himself.

[@Fongy99]

I may be wrong but I think part of that was because he actually wanted to realise the script into a film to release with the album but couldn't sell it (?). I'm pretty sure that was the case at least. So the proof of concept makes sense because it probably was, and when he couldn't get it funded he just released the concept work and made the most out of what he had.

[@joaoduarte3009]

Crazy, been obsessing with 3005 these days. Amazing timing

[@alejandro_deathray]

João Duarte yes

[@Betta66]

I'm kind of the opposite way. I think BTI is better than AML

[@FormalFilmsProductions]

Same here

[@jakrispy3005]

I don’t think they are comparable

[@sagedaze1634]

i feel they arent comparable cause they sound completely different its like comparing goblin to igor (in tyler the creators case)

[@ezrawitane]

aml is overrated

[@johnindigo5477]

@@sagedaze1634 both are great but for diffrent reasons.

[@daeshonfields1402]

I didn’t even know that there was a whole movie and a script. The script sounds like a fanfiction or a leak that kind of adds to the overall theme.

[@kidinPJs]

You did him dirty with that ending

[@OGNICKMARSH]

One of my favorite albums of all time, thank you for this.

[@kyleking3087]

You mention that the script was necessary to explain details like the pitch shifted voices and jazz solo, but those were just some of my favorite left turns of the album I didn't realize were in the screenplay

[@youtubeisevil]

It's along the Gambino's best surely, awaken my love is his best.

[@k9tez]

I like camp just because of Bonfire and Heartbeat

[@enazrevots4753]

no

[@undun7356]

vxrtez no

[@mr.j9103]

Nah

[@theyute726]

Horeshit opinion

[@DominationOC]

Camp is my favorite album but BTI is my favorite era. Album, screenplay, live show, interviews just everything was amazing

[@sprb4725]

Also you should try one of these on TPAB, I feel like that would be a good album to get this treatment

[@jackmoody235]

that video would have to be like 3 hours long just to do the album justice

[@vivianavilchis3186]

yes

[@PaolaTheTimeLord]

never knew there was a script. it's my favorite gambino album and one of his finest works

[@AustinNovel]

ITS TROLLING YOU. THE JOKE IS YOU SHOWED UP. I’ve been stuck on that for years. Thank you!

[@notryangosling3065]

Every CG work has been an insight into who he was at that time or what he was thinking. At this time he clearly was feeling empty and nihilistic and self defeating, and in the context of what came before and after with other works it’s great to see his journey and see this particular point

[@Shrimpy08]

This is a weird way to put out Animal Collective deep discography dive

[@sami6998]

I thought that these were his most intense and memorable dreams turned into one giant one.

[@chrisanthonylopez]

Found this video in my recommended and although I disagree with some things, can’t help but show some love to how well this video was made. Been a fan of Gambino for years now and this opened my eyes to certain aspects of BTI. Good stuff!

[@tinwintech]

I think that was a fantastic point noting that even though this isn't his 'best' work, it best reflects who Gambino is as an artist overall. BTI definitely dominates tonally in his discography. Nice stuff

[@freddydickson3071]

I’ve listened to the album hundreds of times and never knew about any of this stuff. The fact that it stood on its own for me all this time speaks to just how talented he is. A lot of artists need the publicity to prop up their careers while gambino can do that and still let the music speak for itself.

[@reyhasanov7662]

6:44 I cant believe they used footage from a failed assassination from my home country small world

[@ealacraven6048]

oh my god

[@wontonschannel]

I really like the troll interpretation because it really does fit the name: "Because The Internet" really well.

[@steadyrhythms9571]

dude how do you make such incredible and in-depth videos every week. i don’t think i get as excited for a release of a video on any channel more than yours, it’s just always so entertaining, informative, and interesting. and you somehow manage to put one out every Friday (i think. is that right? it feels right, i can’t check writing this comment on mobile). don’t burn yourself out, you are making some of the best content on KZbin and i keep pushing these videos to my friends because they’re so good, and i think they’re catching on. i will take this channel over any other video essay music channel any day, it just gives you so much more, feeling like a full production or presentation rather than simply a KZbin video. great video as always, and thanks for what you do.

[@MicTheSnare]

Thank you so much! (And yes I try for every Friday, plus a break every 3 weeks)

[@towel-wn5ot]

yeah...this is actually the first video of his that i've ever watched, but it's far better researched than most videos released by his peers. In fact, I really can't stand a lot of the music commentators such as Volksgest and Alfo Media (although i must say Alfo is better than volksgesit, volksgeist is the worstttt when it comes to doing his research, it often just feels like he's reciting an artists wikipedia page)

[@QuinnYouTube]

"it reads less like a script and more like a hybrid between a story and a stream of consciousness" Then that's what it is, what's wrong with that?

[@thilypad557]

I thought that was intentional tbh.

[@mattwaldman3346]

Aw yeah, I love Childish Gambino's screenplay, "Because The Internet." What a great standalone work. The hell you mean there's an album?

[@casanovaflyyy]

this video brought me back to my high school days reading the screenplay and putting all the songs in order to go with it. thank you for this

[@soaribb32]

I didn't know there was a script. Someone should try making a project with it.

[@gollygeology]

Gambino already did

[@codypalumbo2199]

Was so into every piece of the universe when it first come out. So happy you put everything into a video to relive this

[@tylerhackner9731]

One of Gambino’s best ever

[@basyboy]

Aside from the videos, screenplay and all the antics, I just appreciate the sound of this album. Every song is so unique all piling together to create an album that at the time I first listened to, felt like something Otherworldly to me. A product of its time and the cover art is just iconic. One of my favourite albums ever

[@nickmoss2046]

Whaaaaat? I think it's time I finally whip out that screenplay that came with the vinyl. That's bonkers.

[@Vandygrandy]

This is pure nostalgia. Junior year of high school was when this album came out in my life and it I've listened through the entire album on so many roadtrips. Every part of this album is gold and this is Glover's magnum opus, imo.

[@rotempinhasi8850]

BTI is one of my favorite albums. I really liked how you talked about all the BTI side-projects !!!

[@MONST3R118]

I really appreciate this video. BTI is one of my favourite albums of all time, and it inspired me greatly during an important time of my life. Your breakdown helped me remember just why i loved this project so much (aside from the songs themselves).

[@xhantikoti2821]

you opened up a door I hadn't really seen before, and I already LOVE the album bro

[@viktorcorleone647]

This is my favorite CG album, you did a great job editing and showcasing this whole rollout. U earned a subscriber

[@Julzyo.0]

thank you for making this video i have been waiting for someone to do a video like this for a long time

[@geeflow6669]

This album has gotten me through so much. It's literally the first album I spent my lunch money on to listen to. And it has honestly gotten me through so much. Although the underlying message is "whats the point" that nihilistic view has made me grateful of the experiences i was able to go through.

[@brianna677]

cool throwback!! i had forgotten about the weirdness surrounding this album. i remember at the time feeling kind of in awe of mr. gambino, but you're right--looking back it's a little uh.....strange. and nothing can hold a candle to awaken my love (obviously)

[@LazymanCreations]

I really love this album. The songs on it have really helped me over the years. The album isn’t consistently great but the high points on the album are really high for me. This album was one of the first steps into Hip-Hop for me, and 3005 and Sweatpants are imo, classics. Flight of the Navigator, hits very close to me and really has represented how i’ve felt at some of my lowest lows. Telegraph Ave. and The Worst Guys are so relaxing I could listen to them forever. Shadows is kinda cheesy but in a fun, just happy to be alive way. Crawl and Urn are some that I don’t listen to frequently but are definitely some great tracks. Overall just really love it and couldn’t imagine living without it.

[@gagemcclure8630]

One thing Gambino is always able to hit with his albums is different aesthetics. They all have a different vibe and BTI definitely has my favorite vibe.

[@AdequateEmily]

See, I think I enjoy it a lot more than you do, but this analysis is so well done and explains so much, that I find myself entranced by this vid! Great job and keep up the great work!

[@GoblinGamingChannel]

I tried explaining this to my friends back in 2013 and they thought I was crazy. thank you.

[@ellielikesthings]

Idk. The message really resonates with me. When I found this album I was really depressed. I felt like nothing mattered. I wanted to kill myself because nothing mattered. It helped to know someone else felt that way. This is still my favorite album by him.

[@nordaj_]

hope you’re ok now cause i felt the same way so i understand

[@erinr5848]

this album will forever be the best. i’ve never gotten sick of hearing it and i don’t think i ever will.

[@lukeanimal]

MtS making a video of one of my favorite albums! Let’s gooo!

[@johnmarcdegaard6589]

New Mic The Snare upload? On a lovable cult record? How are you not more popular?

[@Mftrout101]

God I love this album and this just deepend my love

[@ericcanfly]

Ive always wanted a video like this. Awesome!

[@kryiad]

It may not be his best work but it holds special place in my heart, and it always will.

[@DanPurcell]

Oh dang you gotta do an artist deep dive of him sometime soon, I'd love to hear what you have to say about everything else

[@HeWhoHighFivesBears]

oh man i cannot wait to watch this

[@cabinfeverff]

amazing video. rn I'm in the process of making a video about my favorite albums, so it's really good to see people share my love for BTI.

[@elliscollingborn1096]

Excellent video, BTI used to be my fave album when I was like 14, I still love it for a variety of reasons but from objective standpoints can see the flaws and also think AML is a better body of work. But thank you for this video, excellently researched and executed, keep up the good work! PS. You always end your videos so well and proactively, looking back at BTI now you're spot on with it laying the groundwork for a lot of the endeavours he got better at and with the tone of imperfection and trolling it's almost like it was always meant to be a jumping off point for various other skills he hones in on.

[@otto-alejandro5994]

Damn. Great video! I've been listening to BTI for a few years now, but I never completely understood it. Thanks for clearing all of that up though.

[@KidGhost23]

love that you opened with Yaphet Kotto, one of my favorite gambino songs

[@lickitysplit3575]

As someone who considers the screenplay a 21st century literary masterpiece, and as someone who's read the screenplay way too many times to remember, maybe at least 30 times, I think this analysis is horrible. I'm almost considering starting a KZbin channel style analysis or creating a website to dissect what I mean. I appreciate you trying to make this accessible to people but I dislike the critique because it feels very superficial. It's ALL deeply tied together and much of it actually is related to the Great Gatsby. Again, the analysis and attention is still appreciated, but I think this is superficial and as a diehard fan I feel the need to voice this.

[@odachitv]

do it

[@bigworm5129]

Damn do it I would sub

[@beez3DAcc]

Make your own man im curious what you think bout it

[@jenguskhan5537]

I 100% would watch that.

[@81ELDIN]

Definitely do it , you’ll get my view + subscription!

[@mandaloriancrusader3746]

I haven't finished the video yet but I'm so excited about this one for some reason

[@mattm.6279]

Great video, so well presented. It might not be Gambino’s best work, but it’s my favourite. I thought the screenplay was awesome not for narrative reasons, but it really communicated the vibe of a lost, selfish dude. Something about it just hits me the right way and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Love these videos, hope to see more in the future.

[@always_serpico]

I was 26 when the album released, and it was the first time I had ever related to a music project. It was the soundtrack to my life for a long time. Even now, I can listen to it and feel like somebody gets it.

[@sauceboss8999]

This was a great breakdown! Loved it.

[@scorpiusdiamond]

Still my favourite Gambino album. The existentialism is the whole point.

[@Avboyyy]

I haven’t heard Yaphet Kotto since 2013. You just brought a lot of memories

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

I really like this series, glad I subbed!!!!

[@neutral_fox_hotel]

holy shit bti was my favorite album in high school but literally all i knew abt was the screenplay. i had no idea there was this huge multimedia rollout i recognize that its imperfect but fuck man, this completely reframes the record for me in such a cool way

[@kh0357]

i’ve listened to this album no joke 3 times this week alone it’s so incredible

[@groovy_kid3958]

I remember listening to this album my freshman year in hs and i was just so confused but loved the music. And after i graduated i bought the vinyl and opened the screenplay and was still confused. Thanks to cole at dissect he helped me understand it. One of my top 10 favorite albums of all time.

[@HighLordOfHouseIX]

Heard yaphet kotto at the beginning and off rip I’m glad you didn’t forget about all the throwaways

[@aeaeae7]

Finding out that That Power is the jumping off point for my one of my favorite rap albums is a great feeling. I fucking love that song and the outro is genius honestly.

[@rileyschmedeman652]

Mic the Snare, that frozen yogurt shop is right down the street from me

[@MED-rd9yu]

Should remake the scene with yourself sometime

[@farhannr28]

Great work man. Lucky me for discovering your channel

[@Emme-Kappa]

Glover IS in the MCU. He's meant to be Prowler and Miles Morales's uncle. In Homecoming he's the criminal Peter interrogates with the modified voice.

[@jh7616]

The album came out way before that. Him not being in the MCU was meant as him not playing Spider-Man

[@cameronlightsey6633]

That's exactly what I was thinking lol

[@joenuts420]

Great vid man

[@cashiscamping5126]

I feel like a genius for printing out the entire screenplay now.

[@yaphetkotto7516]

Thank you so much for this.

[@josephf.2126]

Wow this was amazing, thank you

[@BrandonRiddley2024]

Mic The Share: since Marvel wouldn’t let him in the MCU Spider-Man Homecoming: 🤨 am I a joke t-.... nevermind

[@callmesoul1468]

It’s really funny that he’s in Homecoming especially because of who’s he’s playing. The character Miles Morales was created due to the push to have him play as a black Peter Parker. In the movie he’s playing Miles’ Uncle “The Prowler”. And he has voiced Miles in the cartoons

[@xboxgamer474246]

After the plot summary, I have never wanted to listen to an album less than this.

[@phvros]

Loved the video :)

[@kidtheday]

thank you!

[@Lunatemi2222]

your channel is so underrated

[@Kiss_My_Aspergers]

I love all those cuts to you looking at the camera like "...wtf am i reading" I'm a sucker for running jokes.

[@johnb2nde]

First time on this channel and I just have to say that you have one of coldest sense humor... You have my attention and Subscription.

[@alejandro_deathray]

How does this only have 131 views? This is great!

[@hidbid1]

This just came out.

[@augustsipped]

such a good album

[@adamnope4577]

Liked for that intro alone