By: Ben Bergerson and Brianna Bonham
Good art makes you feel something, great art makes you feel what the artist is feeling, which is something that few artists can do repeatedly. Beyoncé has delivered provocative, beautiful music for years, so don’t be surprised that her new project slays on a new level.
The global superstar has blown the world away with her release of “LEMONADE,” a powerful visual album about infidelity. The hour-long release on HBO and Tidal took us through the pop star’s process of recovering from Jay Z’s “betrayal,” and fans suspect that it is also about her parent’s relationship.
The video is amazing. An artistic portrayal of her emotions throughout the grieving process, it consists of the tracks from the accompanying album “LEMONADE,” and spoken word poetry. Words such as “denial,” “anger,” “apathy,” “emptiness,” and “resurrection” flash across the screen, corresponding to the next scene. Beyoncé is unafraid to show her emotions in the video which created a genuine and raw product that was, at some points, difficult to listen to.
As “PRAY YOU CATCH ME,” the first track on the album, is played, Beyoncé sings while she is crouched on a stage, dressed in black. After that scene, she is shown in a room filled with water, floating and using spoken word poetry. “You can taste the dishonesty, it’s all over your breath…” are the last words she speaks before changing to the next scene.
The whole visual album is built this way, a combination of spoken word, songs from the album, and illustrative video. All this builds up to the end of the scene where she says, “But still inside me was the need to know … Are you cheating on me?” Our jaws dropped as it quickly switched to the next scene, leaving us to digest the shocking information.
Throughout the video she consistently features black women. She uses the poetry of Warsan Shire as interludes, and is joined by famous black women such as Serena Williams, Zendaya, and Quvanzhené Wallis. Blue Ivy and Jay Z are also in the video.
Featuring strong, black women in the setting that this video does celebrates their beauty and power through stunning visuals and representation.
Wrapping up the whole project, the title “LEMONADE” comes from a quote from her grandmother, Agnez Dereon: “I had my ups and downs but I always found the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
Contact the authors at bebergerson13@wou.edu and bbonham15@wou.edu or on Twitter @ben_bergerson or @brianna_bonham.
