Drake - God's Plan

God's Plan

Drakes latest video for his song God's Plan is all about use of wealth and clearly gives a good representation of the artist. The key themes are money, fame/stature, generosity and community.

Money is shown on screen a lot throughout the video and is often done through close ups on screen like the one shown above. Not only is the money shown close up to make it clear to the audience but it's also in a visibly large bundle that's used to emphasise the generosity of Drake. Another clear message about money is shown at the beginning with a title card showing the videos budget which is then later shown to be given away to many people in need throughout the video.

This is here to once again emphasise the generosity in the video. The video also mentions that this is a budget given away so despite Drake taking all the glory it is likely that this isn't even his own money. Thinking about hypodermic needle theory if a passive audience was to watch this then they would immediately have a high opinion of Drake as they can see the money and can see him giving it away which creates links in the audiences minds between generosity and Drake. The black background and white font here is typical of when a media product wants to make something feel impactful as it focuses the audiences attention on the message they want to convey. There is no room left for interpretation as the video literally makes it as black and white as possible.

Leading on from money is generosity which is the most important theme in the video. The basis of the video is that Drake gives the videos budget out to those in need ,and yet can still afford to film the video somehow. He gives some to schools and sends some people to university and buys someone a car etc. The gifts are well received with lots of crying and excitement which elevates the emotional impact of the video. Emotion is key to this video as it makes the audience more likely to commit to the preferred reading of the video. The preferred reading is that Drake is incredibly generous and has a kind heart and just wants to help people. The oppositional reading is that this is all just done to make Drake look good, he's only doing it because in the long run it will benefit him. The negotiated reading would be that these are good acts and may inspire people to do as he does however why does he need to make such a big deal about charity why can't he just give without needing to use it to look good.

Fame is also key as much of the video shows fans overreacting to meeting Drake which shows off how much of a big star he is. This helps to boost his ego as well as shows the audience how much he is valued by his fans. Many shots show Drake physically above his fans which could be interpreted as him seeing himself as above his fans perhaps showing a disconnect between himself and reality.

Overall the message is good but could be received negatively if viewed by someone with a more cynical point of view.