Samuel L. Jackson was featured in a cameo during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl commercials offer humor and celebrity appeal, while the half-time show is frequently one of the biggest events of the year for music lovers, bringing iconic artists onto a stage in front of tens of millions. This year, prolific hip-hop artist and recent Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar took the stage for a divisive performance.
Kendrick Lamar has long been regarded for his ability to integrate powerful social commentary into music with broad appeal, and he continued to do so at this year's Super Bowl. However, another major component was the included Tennis icon Serena Williams, along with movie star Samuel L. Jackson.
The Symbolism Of Kendrick Lamar's Half-Time Show Explained
Kendrick's Show Examines His Role As A Performer In A Complicated American Political Landscape
Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl half-time show performance has received backlash for bringing politics into professional sports, although, in of the conversation around it, it's taken a backseat to the beef with Drake. However, there's a lot worth unpacking beyond that, with symbolism in Kendrick's performance that pertains to how he might view America, how he views himself, and most importantly, his role as a rapper and entertainer. The word "entertainment" is key here, as this is the first time a Pulitzer prize-winner has performed at the Super Bowl half-time show.
The word "entertainment" is key here, as this is the first time a Pulitzer prize-winner has performed at the Super Bowl half-time show.
Kendrick Lamar built his reputation on being an artist who could offer mainstream enjoyment while also being adamantly anti-establishment. Thus, fans of the artist were concerned when he took on the Super Bowl gig, as being an activist on one of the most prominent corporate stages available can come with its limitations. Oppositely, critics were worried his performance might be too political and too crude for what is typically a grand and glamorous show. Kendrick Lamar's half-time show directly incorporates these concerns into the performance, offering a strategic approach unlike anything that's been seen before.
Notably, the dancers flood the stage in red, white, and blue, at points forming the American flag, at others evoking the Bloods and Crips of Lamar's L.A. home. Some of this could be seen as a nod towards unity - the dancers swirl around each other, coming together as one - and in others, divisions, such as the rapper standing in the middle as the dancers divide into two sides to create the image of the flag. As Time noted, they "marched like soldiers striding into war and then protesters at a rally, their energy conveying the joy and messiness of America’s body politic."
Why Samuel L. Jackson's Uncle Sam Challenged Kendrick Lamar
Samuel L. Jackson's Uncle Sam Represents A Meta Critique Of Hip Hop As Entertainment
Kendrick Lamar's half-time show notably begins with a close-up of Samuel L. Jackson, who's dressed as Uncle Sam. This character appears frequently throughout the show and offers crucial thematic value to the narrative Lamar weaves in his performance. Before diving deeper, it's important to note that Jackson's Uncle Sam character is reminiscent of his role in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. In the film, he played Stephen, an antagonistic house slave who's fiercely loyal to his monstrously racist owner, Calvin Candie. In the film, Stephen believes in a hierarchical order where white people reign at the top.
His Uncle Sam character is a representation of the typical Super Bowl half-time show performer, offering vibrancy and patriotism to contrast with Kendrick Lamar's subtle and understated performance.
It's vital to Samuel L. Jackson's role as Uncle Sam that his character sounds like Stephen, as in both cases, he's playing a Black man who works against his own race in order to thrive in American society. It's also crucial to making this work that it's Jackson, specifically, in the role - a man who has a long history of political activism, even serving as an usher at Martin Luther King's funeral, serves to further highlight that Lamar is making a point here.
Jackson's Uncle Sam character is there to remind and try to enforce what the typical Super Bowl half-time show performer should be like, and of what certain sections of America expect from that, offering vibrancy and patriotism to contrast with Kendrick Lamar's subtle and understated performance. This is partially for Kendrick to acknowledge that he's not J-Lo or Rihanna and that his showmanship will offer a measured, more particular meaning instead.
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With that in mind, it's easier to examine what Samuel L. Jackson was saying throughout the show. In response to Kendrick's performance of "Squabble Up," Jackson exclaimed, "Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto," and "Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?" His character is intended to challenge Kendrick Lamar's performance, suggesting that the songs aren't proper for a show like the Super Bowl; that he is telling this to Lamar and his dancers - a group of Black people forming the American flag - is also indicative of them being told their place. However, rather than submitting to Uncle Sam's request, Lamar continued to deliver tracks that were true to his reputation.
Similarly, this is true of Lamar stating: "The revolution 'bout to be televised... you got the right time but the wrong guy." As The Atlantic posits, this may be him again reckoning with his own place in America and the expectations placed upon him to make a political statement of some kind here, wanting him to "be more of a messiah than a musician." However, it's also apparent in this context that Lamar referring to himself as the "wrong guy" is countering Uncle Sam's demands. Underscored by referencing Gil Scott-Heron's Black Liberation song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," he's saying that he will not just do what Uncle Sam's "America" wants and play its "game."
That said, Lamar knew he was on that stage to provide entertainment and that by delving too deep into certain elements of his discography, he might alienate a significant portion of his viewership, and the rapper's setlist finds a carefully constructed and considered balance. Ultimately, Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance is a self-reflective examination of his role as an artist on an entertainer's stage, with Samuel L. Jackson's Uncle Sam there to represent the prodding force of American media and politics.
