“Fresh lemonade is my drink of choice”. This is how an essay, entitled Moving Beyond Pain, by bell hooks begins. The post is about Beyoncé and how she uses images of black females in the video for “Lemonade”, how it relates to feminism and race, and the social commentary that it inspires as a whole.
“It is the broad scope of Lemonade’s visual landscape that makes it so distinctive—the construction of a powerfully symbolic black female sisterhood that resists invisibility, that refuses to be silent. This in and of itself is no small feat—it shifts the gaze of white mainstream culture. It challenges us all to look anew, to radically revision how we see the black female body” hooks writes.
Though there is also some criticism that is expanded upon, for example: “Even though Beyoncé and her creative collaborators daringly offer multidimensional images of black female life, much of the album stays within a conventional stereotypical framework, where the black woman is always a victim”.
Hooks also adds that “violence is made to look sexy and eroticized” which is described as negative because women do not “seize power and create self-love and self-esteem through violent acts”, contrary to popular belief.
The essay is well-written and brings up many more points, so read it all here.
#Peace.Love.Lemonade
