{"id":4645,"date":"2016-04-27T15:04:50","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=4645"},"modified":"2016-04-29T15:12:01","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T15:12:01","slug":"from-generations-of-infidelity-and-pain-beyonce-makes-lemonade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/from-generations-of-infidelity-and-pain-beyonce-makes-lemonade\/","title":{"rendered":"From generations of infidelity and pain, Beyonc\u00e9 makes ‘Lemonade’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naeemah Clark<\/a>, Elon University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But apparently a woman scorned is also the foundation of a creative tour de force.<\/p>\n

On HBO this past Saturday \u2013 in a time slot generally reserved for feature films \u2013 Beyonc\u00e9 released \u201cLemonade,\u201d a series of music videos compiled into a short film that\u2019s both eclectically cinematic and starkly personal. The songs and accompanying visuals are laced with poetry; each offers historical and psychological codes for hurt, betrayal, depression and renewal.<\/p>\n

The story begins with her suspicions of a cheating husband. By the next vignette, we know he\u2019s been untrue.<\/p>\n

As a professor of representations in media, I get to spend my days diving into popular culture, and picking apart why it inspires and entertains us.<\/p>\n

In \u201cLemonade,\u201d Beyonc\u00e9 contrasts her life as a deity with the struggle of being a black daughter, wife and mother. At a time when race, gender, sexuality and politics are merging in her public life, they are also colliding inside of her home. In Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s case, this collision leads to familial strife ending in hard-fought reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Where Prince had \u201cPurple Rain\u201d and Michael Jackson had \u201cThriller,\u201d Beyonc\u00e9, with \u201cLemonade,\u201d now has her own authentic, self-reflective masterpiece.<\/p>\n

A gift from mother to daughter?<\/h2>\n

In \u201cLemonade,\u201d betrayal chips away at Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s self-identity and, at points, sanity. Who is in the house when she\u2019s not there? What secret is her husband hiding? Who is this bifurcated man \u2013 a good father during the day who, in the middle of the night, contributes to his family\u2019s demise?<\/p>\n

In one of the vignettes, she says she knows he\u2019s been cheating because she sees him behaving in the same suspicious ways her father did when he cheated on Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s mother<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although some might critique Beyonc\u00e9 for airing her dirty laundry, others could argue she\u2019s using \u201cLemonade\u201d as a teaching tool for her daughter, Blue Ivy.<\/p>\n

In one sense, Beyonc\u00e9 is telling a story of recognition and rebirth to her daughter in the best way she knows how \u2013 through song.<\/p>\n

In another, she\u2019s surrounding her daughter with a support system that all women need as they navigate becoming women. In \u201cLemonade,\u201d tennis icon Serena Williams, intersectional<\/a> feminists and actors Amandla Stenberg<\/a> and Zendaya<\/a>, and Somali-British poet Warsan Shire<\/a> make appearances; all have stories to tell of being broken, experiencing a rebirth and emerging stronger.<\/p>\n

While women of all races can relate to stories of infidelity, \u201cLemonade\u201d isn\u2019t made for them. Instead, it is a mature lyrical epic of the journey black women take \u2013 the attempt to triumph in a world that frequently tells us we are not enough.<\/p>\n

Within black families in America, a legacy of struggle is passed from one generation to the next<\/a>. A dominant trope is that the mothers in this community are the ones that make the sacrifices. They are the ones that must stay, persevere, and succeed \u2013 even when their fathers or husbands mistreat them or leave.<\/p>\n

This is the story Beyonc\u00e9 is telling. And by interweaving these confounding societal structures, it makes her husband\u2019s betrayal all the more poignant.<\/p>\n

As images of a contented black women flicker across the screen, an excerpt from a Malcolm X speech<\/a> tells viewers:<\/p>\n

The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Their smiles convey resilience in the face of nearly insurmountable odds.<\/p>\n

For black men, society cultivates insecurity<\/h2>\n

While Jay Z\u2019s suggested infidelity isn\u2019t excused, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner appear in \u201cLemonade\u201d to remind viewers that the black man, too, has been literally broken and beaten.<\/p>\n

Their sons, killed for simply looking or acting suspiciously, now symbolize the pervasive fear black male persons feel<\/a>. The toll this takes has been highlighted by social work scholars Christopher Salas-Wright and Trenette Clark, who have shown<\/a> how the disrespect and hostility of racial discrimination negatively impacts mental health of black men.<\/p>\n

How could any man \u2013 even a man as wealthy and famous as Jay Z \u2013 retain his psychological security in a world that cultivates his insecurity?<\/p>\n

Of course, it is from \u201cBecky with the good hair\u201d (the other woman, according to Beyonc\u00e9). What more does a man who has everything need? More validation of his masculinity, of course.<\/p>\n

By the end of the piece, it does appear that Beyonc\u00e9 has forgiven her husband and father, deciding to let love heal the familial wounds.<\/p>\n

Her decision to forgive \u2013 but clearly not forget \u2013 is her choice. This is significant, too: Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s black feminism celebrates the ability of black women to choose out of love, not necessity.<\/p>\n

The story of Beyonc\u00e9 healing her black family is one of those rare moments where an artist ascends to icon status.<\/p>\n

And by telling her truth, Beyonc\u00e9 takes what is bitter and gives it new life, setting herself, her mother and her daughter free.<\/p>\n