Synopsis

An animated figure walks through a surreal, collapsing version of America, where political power, military force, drugs, policing and economic exploitation are fused into one nightmarish system. Ronald Reagan appears less as a historical individual than as the face of an enduring ideology, surrounded by presidents, weapons, criminals and grotesque symbols of authority. As the imagery grows more violent and mechanical, the video transforms Killer Mike's political sermon into a dystopian visual assault, ending with Reagan's legacy represented as a rampaging cyborg.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video premiered on Pitchfork's YouTube channel on October 3, 2012, shortly before that year's U.S. presidential debates.

• The animation was produced through the Williams Street Records orbit, the label associated with Adult Swim. The project's creative connection came through the filmmaker's contacts at Adult Swim.

• The production took approximately one and a half months to complete.

• The creative team deliberately included humor because the song's subject matter was so heavy. The jokes and exaggerated cartoon violence make the political argument more approachable without softening its anger.

• The video's visual language draws on political cartoons, science fiction and propaganda imagery. Tanks, presidents, drugs, violence and puppet-like figures reduce complicated institutions to stark, deliberately uncomfortable symbols.

• The final cyborg version of Reagan presents "Reagan" as an ideology rather than simply a portrait of the former president. The image suggests that the policies and power structures criticized in the song survived the man himself.

• The video was selected for the official music video competition at SXSW in 2013, with screenings scheduled during the festival in March.

• "Reagan" was issued as a limited white-vinyl 7-inch single on November 6, 2012, the day of the U.S. presidential election. The release was limited to 1,500 copies and included an instrumental version on the B-side.