“Moving Beyond Pain” – response by Ali Husain

In the article “Moving Beyond Pain” the author analyzes  Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade. With in the article the author mentions that there are enticing backdrops and Black female bodies were put in the center. “ black female bodies—placing them at the center, making them the norm “. Which is to represent how dignified Black female Bodies are through the use of symbolism. This also is to represent the sisterhood of Black females who have remained invisible and silent are no longer. Now they “resists invisibility, that refuses to be silent.” Which is challenging people to change the way that the black female body is seen. However the author also states that, “Among the many mixed messages embedded in Lemonade is this celebration of rage.” An example would of this would be the “ sexy-dress street scene.” This is showing that women always need to respond with rage to show domination. Not all Black females respond with violence and to say this characterizing them all as violent. On top of that, the violence in the video is made to look Eroctic and appealing. Showing and promoting violence is not a way to change peoples views positively of the Black Female Bodies.

 

One quote that Intrigued me was ““ Violence does not create positive change”. This quote intrigued me because through history it has been proven right and proven wrong. An instance where this is true is with Martin Luther King. He promoted the idea of nonviolence. Even though the whites were constantly attacking the blacks in violent manners. Eventually he was able to get his goal through, which was the integration of Blacks and Whites. One instance where this in not true is with the Revolutionary war. Great Britain at the time was not listening to the needs of people who were living in the Thirteen Colonies. Eventually the people in the Thirteen Colonies got fed up with this and started pushing back against Great Britain. This led to British redcoats and Colonist exchanging fire at lexington and Concord (which is Massachusetts) and marked the start of the Revolutionary war.

 

Comment ( 1 )

  1. Christopher Collaguazo
    I agree with you, Hooks analyzes Beyonce's album Lemonade portrayal of black females as dignified which makes them look norm. On the other hand, Hooks goes on to mention how Beyonce depicts black females as violent people or seen as the victim. I also agree with you about how not all black females respond with violence, Hooks criticizes Beyonce for this portrayal of black females. Beyonce did not do a good job on showcasing the real side of black females and all she did was including a scene where violence was seen as "sexy".

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