Donald Glover and Hiro Mukai (the creative duo behind Gambino and Atlanta) recently announced the release of Guava Island. Teased as a mysterious film project, starring Gambino (Donald Glover), Rihanna (Ocean’s Eight), and Letitia Wright (Black Panther), it arrived just in time for Gambino’s Coachella act and forced regular folks like me to get a free Amazon Prime trial so we could watch it online. The result is a partly a fable about capitalism’s greedy eye, partly a Gambino visual musical set and a Coachella pleaser.

The Story – the legend of Guava Island and the story in Guava island

The movie opens with an animated sequence about the creation of Guava Island, which was long ‘before coffee beans’ says Kofi (Rihanna). It was in the time when the 7 gods of the 7 lands created the duelling truths – love and war. The gods decided then (with good reason, imo) that people needed a place away from them and created for this purpose Guava Island. The most precious resource on this island is the clay worm which produces blue silk and as the Red family took control of the silk, they also took control of the island. Repulsed by their greed, the gods turned their back on them.

Guava Island’s other treasure, continues Kofi, is the music of Deni Maroon (Donald Glover), the boy-next-door who vows to make a song as beautiful as she is. Tough luck! A few years later, the island is ruled by the tyrannical Mr Red’s (Nonso Anonzi). Kofi works as a seamstress in Mr Red’s blue silk factory, while Deni works several jobs, including playing music on the radio for his people and Mr Red. His music is a beacon of hope for the oppressed and a powerful instrument. He decides to play at a concert and hopes that his music will lead to a change. The news reaches Mr Red who decides to stop him.

Symbolism in Guava Island

The hour-long movie plays with symbolism from the very beginning, where the two duelling truths, love and war, are depicted as red and blue colours. Blue is the colour of the precious silk, the island’s source of joy, freedom and doom, exported for others to enjoy. When Kofi emerges in the end as the leader of the people she is dressed in blue, the colour of Yemaya, the archetypical mother queen in Santeria, the Yoruba based Afro-Caribbean religion. She is also entrusted with the ancient wisdom and collective memory.

Music is the other key to unlocking some of the symbolism behind Guava Island. Deni is employed at Mr Red’s radio and plays music for the island community where his music reinvigorates the spirits of the workers. The music Deni plays is reworked edits of Childish Gambino’s music, all framed in a new way. Gambino’s reflections on the state of the rap industry from Feels like Summer is played by Deni live over the radio. Here it brings a means of escape, it brings a ‘sense of community’.Β 

Guava Island and This is America

One of the most exciting moments from Guava Island is undoubtedly the new rendition of last year’s viral hit This is America, Childish Gambino’s electrifying satirical music video. Here, the set is the factory Deni works in and he sings the song as a few words of warning to our of his fellow workers, who dreams of escaping the island and pursuing the American dream. Here, ‘America’ is a concept and Deni warns that you can find America everywhere you need to make someone rich in order to get rich yourself.

The set for the new rendition of This is America proves that it all comes down to framing and context. Where Gambino comes off as scary, haunted, and cynical Deni Maroon is effortlessly charming and canny, an echo of Glover’s charismatic turn as young Lando Calrissian in Solo last summer. If This is America is the dark yin of modern horrors for the average black man in America, Guava Island is its breezy yang of capitalism and exploitation. In the first case, art is a coping mechanism, here it is the way to freedom.

Guava Island and Coachella

Coachella is a fascinating pick for the release of Guava Island. The festival is seen by many as a walking contradiction. On the one hand, it gives a platform for memorable politically charged turns like Beyonce’s tribute to the Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), at the focus of her new Homecoming documentary. On the other hand, it is run by a guy whose anti-LGBT politics clash with the festival’s inclusiveness. This has stirred controversies in the past and isn’t likely to conveniently fade away.

This being said, Coachella seems like a perfect stage for Guava Island. The movie is shot in Cuba, a visual feast with a dream-like quality due to the desaturated film grain. There is some symbolism, as well as political allusions here and there but it is all ripples on a summer day. Those who catch it will smirk, those who look for it may wish for more and those who don’t care for it won’t be bothered. One thing is for sure, the experience of watching Guava Island at Coachella can’t be replicated by watching it at home.

Conclusion:

Β Guava Island is a beautiful and intriguing artistic affair, which adds another layer to the multi-faceted career of Glover/Gambino. All of Gambino’s career, especially Because the Internet has relied on the power of transmedia, the viral effect and fan interaction so it is challenging to view it as a traditional musical. It is more of an extended musical act, which firmly puts its central star upfront, denying us Rihanna’s music or Letitia Wright’s energy. As Deni reminisces, ‘Art, you never know how people are going to respond to it’.

Guava Island is out and you can watch it for free on Amazon (Prime).

Disclaimer: All rights belong to their respective companies and owners. All media is used for educational purposes only. This language isn’t even my native language.