In Moving Beyond Pain the author is saying that in Beyoncé’s lemonade video she is showing woman empowerment and how they are just like man and that woman should be seen the same no matter the shape or size. “there are diverse representations (black female bodies come in all sizes, shapes, and textures with all manner of big hair).” She also used images and families and made black people the center of attention on this video that made them even seem like royalty. However the author points out that although the video is intended to mean something positive it also has its negative meaning  in the way Beyoncé expresses the woman empowerment. Such as the scene where “ Beyoncé’s character responds to her man’s betrayal with rage.” Which she uses violence to express her anger by destroying a car to use it to help her with the betrayal. What she does not realize is that this is a “ Contrary to misguided notions of gender equality, women do not and will not seize power and create self-love and self-esteem through violent acts.” In a way it makes sense because violent doesn’t ever help wether you are a women or male.

Something I found intresting was the article when the author talks about at the end like I feel like I know what the author is saying but I am a bit confused. Is he saying that woman should stop fighting each other as they do in society but instead support each other physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Throughout the article, “Moving Beyond Pain” by Bell Hook, the author states a contrast of good intentions and of various issues throughout Beyonce’s album. For example, in Beyonce’s Lemonade video she demonstrates black women in a new perspective that the world has not interpreted. In this video, she shows that black women’s bodies are supposed to be seen as royalty so she purposefully puts these women as the center of attention in her video. Beyonce tries demonstrating that black women should be seen as they are, through a new perspective and a new interpretations. As states in the article, “… its purpose is to seduce, celebrate, and delight—to challenge the ongoing present day devaluation and dehumanization of the black female body.”

Furthermore, Bell Hook addresses several issues with Beyonce’s album Lemonade. For instance, it states, “And even though the father in the song ‘Daddy’s Lessons’ gives her a rifle warning her about men, she does not shoot her man. She dons a magnificently designed golden yellow gown, boldly struts through the street with baseball bat in hand, randomly smashing cars.” Beyonce decides to use violence throughout her album to demonstrate that when women are being lied to and betrayed they should use violence to act onto the issue. Some women might actually view her video with this interpretation and might go an extra mile even if Beyonce herself did not physically hit someone. As Hook said “Violence does not create positive change.” I agree with her statement because the more violence there are the more chaos and issues can come.

In “moving beyond pain” the author, Bell Hooks, discusses the positives and negatives of Beyonce’s album lemonade. Hooks claim that the purpose of lemonade is to: “seduce, celebrate, and delight—to challenge the ongoing present day devaluation and dehumanization of the black female body”. This is clearly shown in the album when hooks says, “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”. This proves Hooks’s claim about the purpose of lemonade and how it is meant to change the way black women are looked at and thought about. The author however talks about a song in which she was betrayed, “he was my man alright, but he done me wrong”, then goes on to say, “[her father] gives her a rifle warning her about men, she does not shoot her man. She dons a magnificently designed golden yellow gown, boldly struts through the street with baseball bat in hand, randomly smashing cars”. Although this shows empowerment in a way, I personally disagree with the method because it can be easily misinterpreted with the promotion of violence especially because stereo-typically people tend to associate blacks as being more violent. I feel like there could have been a much better way than fury and violence to depict empowerment. one point that confused me in the article is where she states, “No matter how hard women in relationships with patriarchal men work for change, forgive, and reconcile, men must do the work of inner and outer transformation if emotional violence against black females is to end”. I feel like Hooks is making it seem like only black women experience emotional violence in relationships when in reality many women not just black women and even in some cases men feel emotional violence in relationships.

After reading “Moving Beyond Pain” by Bell Hook, I better understand the messages Beyonce conveys in her songs and music videos from her 2016 album Lemonade.  Bell discusses several issues highlighted within the album and yet one peaked my interest most. Beyonce’s visual essay from her sixth studio album depicts black women in an honest and realistic manner – a way in which black women are typically not seen in.  The appearances of the performers in the videos reflect the typical African American woman, and the metaphorical expressions within her videos provide insight on the true feelings of black women in America. For instance, in Beyonce’s video for “Hold Up,” the singer walks through the streets, bashing in random parked cars as a means of releasing her anger.  In American media, it is uncommon to convey the anger felt by black women without the attachment of negative stereotypes. However, in her video, Beyonce chooses to remove the negative connotations typically partnered with angry black women in the media and instead chooses to celebrate rage (Hook). This depiction of black women is not often portrayed in the media and is instead replaced with images that aid in the “devaluation and dehumanization of the black female body.”  As a young black woman myself, I recognize the misrepresentation of black women within media and I commend Beyonce for aiding the eradication of prejudice against black women. As Bell Hook discusses, this misrepresentation of black women leads to not only the world viewing them in a negative light but to black women negatively viewing themselves as well. Beyonce’s Lemonade album allows black women to be heard, and understood.