![]() ![]() As one of the directors of the film, Melina Matsoukas explained on Beyoncé’s decision of this message, “She wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love, and what it has done to the black family…And black men and women-how we’re almost socialized not to be together.” The representation of slavery however does not take the form of women in the videos being beaten or forced to labour while being depicted in a demeaning manner, instead the women in the film are given an empowered sense of dignity and agency. Much of Lemonade is filmed inside and around a gothic Southern home reminiscent of a slave plantation used very consciously. Throughout the entirety of the film Beyoncé makes subtle allusions and references to black history to serve as a collage that explains how black womanhood came to be what it is now in modern American life. Historical and Cultural References in Lemonade: When black women see themselves being represented in media and art as equally significant beings as men and white women they are able to take greater agency in their own identities as unique individuals. Through this, Beyoncé is slowly but surely making small steps to help eliminate the narrow view society has of black women as emotionally unintelligent, one-dimensional persons whose behaviour is irrational coming from a place of inarticulately created thought. When Beyoncé is furiously flailing her arms in “Don’t Hurt Yourself”, carelessly laughing with her friends in “Sorry” or holding back painful tears in “6 Inch” she is doing more than simply playing roles in a film but she is showing her audiences the complexity of identity that black women posses as individuals. Rarely do black women get the privilege of being allowed to express themselves as multi-layered beings with depth of character much like their white female counterparts. Black women are predominantly forced into figurative boxes as to what their characters in media may be which often fall into harmful stereotypes: the sassy hairdresser, the angry black woman, the twerking video hoe, etc. The significance in this representation of emotional range is to showcase the versatility of character that black women posses, a luxury rarely afforded to most black women in media and art. Although Lemonade plays as one fluid singular full length film, there is still the filming, set, costumes and themes that change noticeably for each song to differentiate the chapters and their themes from one another. Lemonade is told through 11 chapters, each one for a different song (excluding “Formation” which plays after the closing credits) that each individually represent a different theme in Beyoncé’s journey through her husband’s adultery: Intuition, Denial, Anger, Apathy, Emptiness, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection, Hope, and Redemption. From this it can be understood how Beyoncé, a notoriously private celebrity who is rarely heard from, as an artist is able to convey her beliefs and messages through artistic expression rather than objective verbal dictation. Throughout the film Beyoncé pays homage to historic black womanhood through images of art, fashion, culture and even mythology to further drive the celebration of black female identity in visual culture. Lemonade does not discuss the two narratives of Jay Z’s affair and black womanhood separately but instead illustrates the two themes in a marriage of shared artistic expression allowing audiences to understand both concepts through one another. However, through the use of cinematic imagery in the film Beyoncé also illustrates the concepts of black womanhood and their struggles of identity resulting from historical influences of slavery and misogynoir. Lemonade sonically through its music recounts the story of her husband Sean “Jay Z” Carter’s alleged affair while narrating the themes of betrayal, anger, redemption, and ultimately triumphant love. Surpassing the standard level of what a music video is supposed to represent in the 21 st Century’s music industry, Beyoncé’s sixth studio album Lemonade delivered audiences more than simply a handful of soulful, catchy songs but incorporated with it a feature length art film to further deliver her artistry’s message to the masses. Lemonade’s Secret Recipe: Decoding the Messages ![]()
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