Beyonce’s Lemonade🍋

In Beyonce’s lemonade documentary, the women displayed in the beginning were different shades of, women of color. They were staging in the documentary in their vintage casual garments. They were staging near feilds and old wooded homes, giving off a sense of unity and attitudes, of the colored woman. The beginning of lemonade, an hour long documentary reminded me of the film, “Harriet” and the “color purple”. Both of these women were strong and faced multiple challenges, in which they had overcome and they too in the beginning wore faces and attitudes of seriousness. They too suffered multiple challenge, pain, and alsodalso not wear smiles on their faces.

The documentary could be a depiction of many women of color, whom can relate to the art of Beyonce telling a story and being artistically vulnerable and emotionally naked. Beyonce’s lemonade, Artistically displayed sadness, seriousness, and a flat emotional affect of the women shown throughout. Beyonce, was ready to tell us a story of her pain and not only her pain, but the pain of many other African American woman. Throughout the documentary, what is shown is also the strength of the women. Beyonce displayed Trayvon Martin’s mother holding a picture of him. This mother lost her son, due to racial profiling of a police officer. Which is another form and different type of struggle and strength of an African American mother/woman. Just Trayvon’s mother appearing in Beyonce’s video, shows resiliency and that she is not alone and has a platform to display black lives matter.

The emotional distress and nakedness displayed throughout Beyonce’s documentary was not just about lies, cheating and the disrespect of a man to his African American Queen, but was a depiction of colored women going through pain. Beyonce, was hurting in the beginning as she talked and sang a language, which captioned her emotions to the listening audience. Then through the visual imagery in the documentary. The audience should be able to visualize all. Including, the healing, and resiliency of the main character, Beyonce. In the reading Hall, S (1997), he describes, just what Beyonce’s art and imagery can do to a group of people. He states that a cultural circuit is a way in which persons search and try to relate to things, identity, differences and try to find meaning. Beyonce was able to express many of those components. She showed healing through the visual appearance of what appeared to be women, walking in white clothing, soaked, modeling that of a baptism. Which, in some instances can signify a baptism. In which isois significant to one being cleansed and becoming closer to God. An understanding of new beginnings, to having bad behaviors washed away. Many may also see baptism as a new start to try new behaviors and ways of living.

Beyonce’s documentary may have been very symbolic to her. However, it spoke to her many audiences, which may have their own personal struggle of abuse, infidelity, losses, disrespect, judgement, discrimination, “other” and stereotypes. In which, Beyonce has a huge following and may connect with more than just one specific race. However, culturally, I connected with Beyonce’s imagery as she spoke of pain, because I too am an African American woman, who has witnessed the pains Beyonce sang about.

A Million dollar women and I had something I could connect with her about, as she sang and provided imagery and gave life to her album lemonade. For this reason also, others may also hear and visualize, and can have a different type of relationship and meaning to Beyonce’s documentary.

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For instance, the visual effects in Beyonce’s documentary can make one feel a sense of emotion to the music itself and the visual images she has displayed throughout. While watching the documentary the visual art provided me with a sense of pleasure with how the music was crafted into a documentary. I was also pleased with, the way Beyonce chose to display the strength of some colored women, through pains and also show unity. The documentary was able to have an effect on my mood, I felt happy.

In a article, which supports research in art and visual art by Biasi,Valeria et al (2019), it states many possible positive and negative affects art can have on the human race. Mostly good. It also tells about a therapuetic component, as well as educational. Art heightens awareness and promotes thinking. Especially, through the art seen in museums or crafted by hand. Art is an expression that captures the minds and hearts of humans and Beyonce did that, and did it well.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00739/full

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

BLACK WOMEN AND THE SACRED: WITH “LEMONADE,” BEYONCÉ TAKES US TO CHURCH — West Fork Unitarian Universalists

“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity” by Robert Alan.