August 31, 2016 - 10:01
The title of this post is inconsequential. I will not be discussing my favorite drink, because I do not have one. Or if I pick one, it just feels very self induldent. So I will continue the discussion of Lemonade, and what it means to me. Really I want everyone to see Lemonade as I do, becuase even though it's not perfect (and what peice of art is ever perfect?) it meant a lot to me. I will bring up one point that was kinda mentioned in one of the articles we read, but I want to provide my interpretation of it. Jay Z's appearance in Lemonade. I see Jay Z appearing in two ways. One is emotionally, which I identify as the parts where Beyoncé sings about him but he is not there, and the other is physically, which is self explanatory. In the article when they mention Jay Z's presence, they mention it in a negative way. That Beyoncé is too soft on him. That he gets to look like a hero. But to me, his presence is powerful, yet I don't see him as holding the power. Because I view Jay Z as being present during the whole film, I see him as being put down and put in his place by Beyoncé in the beginning. This is Beyoncé tearing down toxic masculintiy, with Jay Z as her muse, without making Jay Z the face of it. So we never actually see Jay Z in a negative light. I see Beyoncé as choosing to only show Jay Z positively because she wants to rebuild masculinity in a positive way. Especially in an age where black men are demonized and criminalized, I see it as powerful to be able to critique of black men without contributing to negative visual representations of them. Let me know if that makes sense.