Post by StevePulaski on Jun 21, 2016 12:33:01 GMT -5
Lemonade (2016)
Directed by: Beyoncé Knowles, Dikayl Rimmasch, and Jonas Åkerlund
Rating: ★★★
Directed by: Beyoncé Knowles, Dikayl Rimmasch, and Jonas Åkerlund
Rating: ★★★
Feminist author and writer bell hooks states that Beyoncé's Lemonade is a film that positively exploits the black female body. She states that Beyoncé even effectively goes on to normalize black female bodies of all different sizes, boasting haircuts of different textures and styles, in a world where all of that detail can be otherized or downright ignored. The difference is bell hooks sees Lemonade as a film that continues to showcase female aggression as a precursor to acceptance of male violence and domination. She sees it as a continued adherence to patriarchal norms.
hooks has a valid point. Lemonade, which serves as Beyoncé's sixth album and second visual album, with a sixty-five minute long special component, winds up showing its structure not so much on the album but in its special, as the songs and visuals wind up being germane in showcasing a slow-moving, gradual progression of Beyoncé's thoughts and anger management. Anyone who has heard even the most vague whispers of buzz and hype surrounding this album knows that one of its core elements is addressing accusations of Beyoncé's husband Jay Z cheating on her.
Consider the opening track for the album and this visual component - "Pray You Catch Me," which is more or less a threat on Beyoncé's behalf as she hopes that someone (presumably Jay Z) catches her whispering and listening in on what he does behind closed doors. This provides for introductory moments that are somber in contrast to the succeeding tracks, such as "Hold Up" and "Sorry," which are much rowdier and more brazen. The clip to go along with "Hold Up" shows Beyoncé dressed in gold, resembling that of a goddess, taking a bat to storefront windows, cars, and fire-hydrants as Beyoncé belts out hard-hitting lyrics reminding him that "they don't love you like I love you."
"Sorry," on the other hand, has intense riffs and chords from alternative rock singer Jack White to assist Beyoncé in creating a cacophonous blend of alternative sound and R&B as she continues her complete deconstruction of her feelings regarding her predictably cheating husband. Punctuating the elaborate images and visuals here are shots of various black women of shapes, sizes, and social classes, with emphasis directed at their features and their bodies in a way that almost works to address what we as a society have ignored for so long. Even included in Beyoncé's showcase are Sybrina Fulton (mother of Trayvon Martin), Lesley McSpadden (mother of Michael Brown), and Gwen Carr (mother of Eric Garner), all mothers of men victim to police brutality - many of whom can't even make it through their five second spotlight without tears falling down their face.
Beyoncé does a wonderful job at creating a special that's as impacting as it is immersive. Lemonade works to remind us of pain and ignorance as much as it does put it right in our face, and even if closing scenes show Jay Z with his child and offers a more sympathetic glimpse as album cuts "Freedom" (with Kendrick Lamar) and "All Night" play, we're reminded of Beyoncé's commanding power during the final sequence/song "Formation." You might remember it; it was the song that stirred up a whirlwind of controversy during this year's Super Bowl halftime show. It was powerful because it was as if it was symbolic of Beyoncé ripping up her once perceived ability to connect with the white women of America and embrace her own personal black heritage. For some reason, that was deemed as radical and controversial behavior.
When Beyoncé sits atop a police car submerged in floodwater in New Orleans or dances with a group of choreographed performers proclaiming she has hot sauce in her bag during her "Formation" skit in Lemonade, it doesn't feel like the defeat or conformity to patriarchal norms as hooks puts it, but as if Beyoncé is reclaiming her struggles and branding them as her's. A big part of the third wave feminist movement is reclamation of things that were previously viewed or deemed as being offensive or demeaning to women and Beyoncé wears her hurt as a badge of strength and an opportunity to showcase just how powerful she can be.
NOTE: Lemonade aired, to my knowledge, once on HBO in April to coincide with the release of the album on April 23, 2016. The special is now included on DVD with purchase of the physical copy of the album Lemonade.
Directed by: Beyoncé Knowles, Dikayl Rimmasch, and Jonas Åkerlund.