In 2018, singer-songwriter Todrick Hall released a concept and visual album entitled Forbidden. The album was paired with a 90-minute short film of the same name. Although all the tracks on the album are socially conscious, the song All-American speaks to me the most due to its commentary on racial division and LGBTQ+ rights.
Forbidden takes place in the distant future where the United States is known as Nacirema. African Americans are at the top of the social hierarchy, and homosexuality is the norm. Caucasians experience the same systemic oppression that African Americans face in the real world while heterosexuality is strictly outlawed and considered taboo.
The idea behind the project is to look at social issues in reverse: What if heterosexuality was looked down upon as unnatural and ungodly? What would happen if whites were the ones who were relentlessly persecuted and targeted by the authorities? Hall succeeds in providing a much-needed perspective on these sensitive topics.
The Prodigal Rainbow Son
The song “All-American” gives some insight into the childhood of the main character Nolon Renner, played by Hall.
In the video, Renner explains that he was the only son of the mayors of his hometown, Nacirema Falls. His fathers raised him with the idea that a man should be with a man and a woman should be with a woman as per God’s Third Testament.
As the son of the community leaders, Renner is forced into being a living example for the people around him, meaning he can’t question his fathers’ teachings nor is he exposed to other types of thinking.
This phenomenon actually exists in the United States today and plagues so many people who dare to think differently than those around them.
Throughout the video, Renner’s parents are seen reinforcing gender stereotypes but in a reverse fashion. Rather than giving him typical male toys like action figures and cars, they present him with a unicorn and a baby stroller.
In these moments, Renner is usually left feeling confused, and rightfully so. The idea that one must act a certain way because he/she/they were born with certain reproductive organs is outdated and ludicrous.
If a boy feels happiest when wearing a tutu, then let him be. If a girl wants to join the local rugby team, so be it. A person’s body shouldn’t determine how society perceives them, period.
Message Within an Anthem
When I first heard this song, I instantly fell in love with it.
I would often have fantasies of joining a Black Lives Matter rally and blasting this song in my earbuds as I marched with our generation’s movers and shakers.
As a woman of color, this was my 2020 anthem, the piece of art that inspired me to fight the good fight and help make change happen in our nation.
But as I listened to the lyrics more closely, I realized that the piece is more of a commentary on America’s current social atmosphere rather than a celebration of the people trying to change it.
In a way, the album as a whole provides an explanation as to why people are fighting to change America in the first place. Even in 2020, a majority of people still refuse to acknowledge the systemic injustices happening to minorities. They are also unwilling to educate themselves about the issue.
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