She's not a racist. Obviously. She is a successful black business owner, musician and mother and above all a passionate advocate for black culture both audibly and visually. I believe Beyonce is now embracing her black identity after years in the spotlight of the mainstream because she, like many other black people today, are only just discovering the beauty and power such public identification can bring them.
However, her recent music videos such as Formation make the cynic in me aware of the commercial opportunities afforded to people of colour such as Beyonce, who can structure their content around buzzwords such as #BlackLivesMatter and receive crazy exposure. This is much like the 'feminist' advertisements that companies pay for- not because they have some deep belief about gender parity- but rather because they recognise that feminism and gender equality aren't actually niche interests anymore- and that most mainstream discourse centres around issues of social justice. I guess what I am wary of is the capacity for anyone to monetize off of social trends. Although appreciating and advocating black rights and culture is not new, the #BlackLivesMatter campaign has undoubtably revitalised discourse around such topics, and therefore potentially brought them to the attention of advertisers or other content producers.
I guess the question is which cultural texts are authentic representations of black culture, and which are appropriation. This necessitates several questions, for example, what is the intention of the content? Is black imagery being reproduced for purely commercial gain? What if the content creator identifies as black- do they not have a right to monetise off of their own culture? What about white creators such as Macklemore- even if we can be sure the creation of his song White Privilege was not driven by commercial imperatives- does his ethnic identity doom his hip-hop as inappropriate? Is it impossible for white artists to appreciate black culture? What role does audience play in this, if any?
What do you guys think?
I think that you make some interesting points, however i think the approach in you're conversation towards the financial gain from these things is misguided. Beyonce is hyper-aware of her position and ability of exposure in society. The power that she holds as a substantial figure in pop culture is useful but she uses this to promote socio-political issues of race and culture that otherwise would go unnoticed. Yes, her success in mainstream music does have advantageous qualities in regards to her coverage but i do not think her intentions are financially focussed. Instead I think she uses her financial success for equal-opportunity coverage of black issues. We tend to forget that being embedded in centuries of Eurocentrism, anything that challenges this seems threatening. Beyonce has every right to use her success to promote the cultural ideologies she stands for, many white artists do the same without contestation. Its about time the spotlight was shone on something other than Western culture.
ReplyDeleteI think that you make some interesting points, however i think the approach in you're conversation towards the financial gain from these things is misguided. Beyonce is hyper-aware of her position and ability of exposure in society. The power that she holds as a substantial figure in pop culture is useful but she uses this to promote socio-political issues of race and culture that otherwise would go unnoticed. Yes, her success in mainstream music does have advantageous qualities in regards to her coverage but i do not think her intentions are financially focussed. Instead I think she uses her financial success for equal-opportunity coverage of black issues. We tend to forget that being embedded in centuries of Eurocentrism, anything that challenges this seems threatening. Beyonce has every right to use her success to promote the cultural ideologies she stands for, many white artists do the same without contestation. Its about time the spotlight was shone on something other than Western culture.
ReplyDelete