Exploring Beyoncé’s New 'Black Panther' Self-Branding


(guess ya hafta click thru to youtube now; sorry.)

From TRNN’s ‘Elections, Reparations and Beyonce: Class Politics in Black America’

Founder of BreakingBrown.com Yvette Carnell and BlackAgendaReport.com columnist Pascal Robert joined us for a rousing round table discussion of leading topics of the day. (the transcript; I’m only using the wee bit on Beyoncé)

From ‘Beyoncé Slays Black People’, by R.L. Stephens II, at orchestratedpulse.com  (And yes, the website is a band-buster, most especially black brands as propagandist ‘manufactured consent’.)

“A textual analysis of a Beyoncé video tells us almost nothing of the political conditions facing actually existing Black people, regardless of how “Black” one believes its content to be.

“I think parts of this video are as radical a seeding of visionary futures as the lunch counter sit-ins,” one author says. Wait a minute. The lunch counter sit-ins actually happened. They weren’t a music video, and they weren’t a cultural representation. The sit-ins shut down businesses and sometimes even whole towns, upending day-to-day realities in the fight against racial segregation. People got hurt. It’s beyond me how those insurgent events can be favorably compared with a Beyoncé song that says “Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.” 

Yeah, not quite of the same disturbance of the Sith Force as John Carlos and Tommie Smith giving the black power salute at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, was it?

tommie smith and john carlos

Stephens includes some illustrative quotes from Adolph Reed’s book Class Notes you  may be interested in considering.  He then suggests we examine Beyoncé’s work within its real-world context; he concludes that her cultural doesn’t illuminate political conditions, but instead ‘obscures them’.  He must have had at least a little bit of fun demonstrating the intersection of ‘the Bey’s’ use of Katrina with her apparent Twitter Love for neoliberal Teach for America pimp DeRay McKesson, and his for her.

“7,000 teachers, most of whom were Black, lost their jobs immediately after Katrina. They filed and won a lawsuit against the government for their wrongful terminations, but that didn’t save their jobs. The neoliberal shift in New Orleans’ policy gutted not only the Black middle class as a whole, but Black teachers in particular. From 2002-2012, New Orleans has seen the Black teacher population drop by an astronomical 62%, with most of that loss coming after Katrina. At that same time, the number of white teachers has increased 3.3%.”

(See Drew Drew Franklin’s Oct. 6 ‘The Movement Lives in Ferguson; Teach For America, Black Leadership, and Disaster Capitalism’, also at orchestrated pulse.com.)

Yep, he says Beyoncés politics line up perfectly with TFA’s recruitment of often white teachers with scarcely any training to replace black teachers at a cut-rate price.

“DeRay Mckesson, the celebrity protester who rose to prominence in the wake of the Ferguson riots, is a product of Teach for America. He defends and promotes TFA’s neoliberal political machine any chance he gets. Last year, Teach for America gave him a $10,000 award for his work. With the announcement of his Baltimore mayoral campaign, DeRay is positioning himself to take Teach for America’s neoliberal vision not only to Baltimore’s schools but to every agency in the city.’

DeRay and da Bey: radikewl black militants!

Ah, and Ajamu Baraka weighed in on her act at the Stupid Bowl half-time entertainment in ‘Beyonce and the Politics of Cultural Dominance’; some snippets to consider:

“Real opposition to this white supremacist, colonialist/imperialist order is not cool, or sexy.”

I confess, I am a culturally alienated, old, disconnected 1960s and ‘70s radical trying to live and struggle for revolutionary change in a world that might have passed me by, because I cannot for the life of me understand how Beyonce’s commodified caricature of black opposition was in any way progressive. Instead what I saw was the cultural power of neoliberal capitalism to co-opt opposition, monetize it and provide some mindless entertainment all at the same time.  I didn’t see opposition; I saw the imagery and symbols of authentic black radicalism grotesquely transformed into a de-politicized spectacle by gyrating, light-skinned booty-short-clad sisters. 

I am told that I am being too harsh. That there were positive messages encoded into Beyonce’s performance. In their rebuke of my interpretation, my friends return to that old canard that “we got to meet the people where they are at” and take every opportunity within the domain of popular culture to push positive messages.”

He explains the sad reactionary nature of that position being part of deep cynicism and alienation of black radical politics that were assaulted so deeply in the ‘70s that they never returned.  There are recent movements to bring them back globally, thankfully.

But the thrust of his essay that I find most noteworthy is this bit of the theme:

“Beyonce’s performance and her video is conservative and accommodationist.”

Well, yes, he references Obama’s abysmal drivel on the 50th anniversary of Selma, including his use of racist and manifest destiny jingoism being embraced and applauded by ‘the new Negroes of the Empire’.  Yes.

“In an era where the image is dominant and meaning fluid, what is still real, concrete and observable is the operation of power. Situated and controlled by an elite that bell hooks refers to as the White Male, capitalist Patriarchy, it’s a power that exercises with devastating efficiency its ability to shape consciousness through its control of the major means of communication and cultural production. It was those white men and their representatives that placed Beyoncé on that stage at the Super Bowl. It is incredibly naive to think that anything subversive or even remotely oppositional to the interests of the capitalist oligarchy would be allowed expression on a stage that it controlled. 

Beyonce’s performance and her video is as conservative and accommodationist as the demand for justice for ____, fill in the blank, after one of the defenders of the capitalist order executes one of our folks. Everyone can give lip service to the demand for racial justice or oppose the “bad apples” in the police forces that abuse their power, and most people, (except the most rabid racists) can and do get behind the idea that black lives should matter. That is why the movement has not been shut down, at least not yet!”

In a BAR radio broadcast, Glen Ford on ‘Beyoncé, James Brown and Black Movement’, Ford noted in the accompanying text:

“Only two days and one Superbowl performance after Beyoncé released her video, “Formation,” the song had registered 7 million views on YouTube. These numbers are not really all that surprising for an artist who is rated the nation’s number one celebrity, with a net worth of $250 million and the highest yearly earnings record. Beyoncé and her multi-millionaire husband Jay-Z are by no stretch of the imagination political radicals. But they do know how to ride the waves of popular culture, putting their own signatures on existing social movements. It’s good business, and they are good at it.” [snip]

“In the video, a young boy dances in front of a line of cops, as the camera flashes to graffiti demanding “Stop Shooting Us.” We immediately make the connection to 12 year-old Tamir Rice, murdered by Cleveland cops – except in the video, the police put up their hands in surrender to the dancing child. New Orleans is the motif for Beyoncé’s rhythmic fantasy, which ends with her atop a police car as it sinks beneath the flood waters.”

What?  Did I miss the rest of the performance with my above clip?  Seems so, sorry, but I’m sure you can find the rest on youtube)  Still: Airsick bag time.  But didn’t JayZ make noises about running for President a few months ago? Are they satirical, or for real?  But it does go with some of the lyrics about ‘getting what she wants with her name…’

“In the video, the Beyoncé character calls herself a “Black Bill Gates in the making” and is money-hungry to the bone. This is not a radical song. What it does, is signify that Beyoncé wants to be perceived as being down with the new movement.”

I will say that after watching Janelle Monae and friends’ ‘Hell You Talmbout’ a hundred times, I sighed when a White House email came to my inbox…from Janelle asking me to be sure and register to vote, and Vote Democrat!  Still, I still watch it, and love it.  (more sighs)  Who knows?  Monday I may get one form the Queen of the Black Panthers.

beyonce

by artist Anthony Freda

(cross-posted at Café Babylon)

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wendy davis's picture

i've been mooking around with this trying to end the bold font for awhile now, and just can't make it so. can i have credit for at least centering the images, pretty please? if any sixth-graders had stopped by the house, i swear i wouldda asked them to help me.

on edit: thank you, Johnny; i just came back to start over, thinking mebbe that would take care of it.

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Aisle 3 has been cleaned up. I removed all the bolding but I noticed that the crosspost from CB had some (bolding) peppered throughout the piece. I can synch them if you want. My guess is that there was a broken tag somewhere that caused 2/3 of it to bold without a break.

You did earn credit for centering the images, good job, the tubes are done the same way. I try to match your posts from CB as closely as I can.

Thanks for the post.

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wendy davis's picture

bolding the other stuff: now that would be a major pain in the drain. you're so helpful; at one site i co-administered (administrated?), i just loathed fixing folks' stuff. so few knew how to do any of it, arrgh.

well...centering videos; i might try sometime. but dang. i'm prone to hegg-aches, and looking at all that code gives me gangsta ones.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

It's a take-off on a traditional football (soccer) half-time Haka. Participants generally dress in scary warrior clothing. Usually, the competing team answers back with a Haka of their own. I thought it was a very clever Haka hat-tip, which will be immediately familiar to global fans of the "other" kind of football.

Americans need to take more medicine and get over themselves.

[video:https://youtu.be/Zhs3EUfY-sA]

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

did you happen to see this? it made me cry for the love of it: 'New Zealand bride joins in haka by groom's family – video'' knowing from 'the whale rider' that females were not allowed to learn the ceremony.

didn't the sorta recent film about mandela feature a haka as well? (i confess i make that tongue-out face in the mirror not infrequently....)

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Pluto's Republic's picture

And the funeral Hakas are very moving.

I thought Beyonce and Bruno killed it.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

or do you just mean...they killed, as in you liked the show?

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Pluto's Republic's picture

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

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hecate's picture

silly rabbit there:

"Real opposition to this white supremacist, colonialist/imperialist order is not cool, or sexy."

Au contraire. Real opposition to this white supremacist, colonlialist/imperalist order, is always cool, and sexy.

At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he were about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the Cause.

I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things. Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world—prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.

—Emma Goldman
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wendy davis's picture

not wanting to join a revolution if she can't dance are wonderful, and also meant that it should be fun. are you intimating that this dreck passes the test for anarchism and The Cause, hecate?

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hecate's picture

is what I quoted. She never said "If I can't dance, it's not my revolution," or any of the other variations thereon. Just like Orwell never said "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

I don't think it's dreck. And I think it passes the test for anarchism and The Cause with flying colors. That's certainly what I'm getting from people of color.

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Real opposition to this white supremacist, colonlialist/imperalist order, is always cool, and sexy

It's always cool, but it never looks sexy.
Generally real opposition to the colonialist/imperialist order is done by poor people who can't afford $10,000 skin-tight outfits and personal trainers. It also usually involves a lot of killing, torture, and spending time in dark prisons.
Sexy isn't a word that comes to mind.

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hecate's picture

"looks sexy"? No, I did not. There is a major difference between "sexy," and "looks sexy."

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Pluto's Republic's picture

In fact, I thought of the Che-look when I saw the performance. The Black Panther thing went right over my head.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Big Al's picture

on some websites, "you won't believe the net worth of ______" or you cry when you see the inside of _______'s mansion? I saw
one the other day that said, "You won't believe the mansion Beyoncé lives in".

She's one of them. When we can get that across to enough people we might get somewhere.

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wendy davis's picture

quick google brought me one in n'awleans, one in beverly hillbillies and i didn't check the years. nah, i think it's a bit like catholic churches: fans, i mean parishoners...love the bling and art. her twitter news thing may have houses, i only scrolled down so far.

nice to see you, big al.

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This is the way generalizations start.

She's one of them.

I'm not going to dignify that. I will point out for the benefit of any others concerned about B's money, that she and her husband donated $1.5 mil to Black Lives Matter the other day..

This isn't an isolated gift.

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Big Al's picture

She's one of the rich, of the rich, therefore part of the ruling class. She can renounce it and give free concerts or stay with the genocide causing, war waging ruling class.

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Big Al's picture

it's the system and those that participate and benefit from the system. I read the other day that a baseball player from the Washington Nationals was looking to sign a contract for $400 million! Next year the salary cap (self imposed) in the NBA (pro basketball) is significantly rising and they'll start having contracts of 50 million per year and more. That doesn't even include outside endorsements. It's not just the bank CEO's and hedge fund managers, it's a capitalist system completely out of control and it has to be stopped. Those participating and benefiting are not going to help us with that.

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JayRaye's picture

Really? you're going to put a popular performer into the same class as the Koch brothers? Could you possibly get any more superficial in your class analysis? Simplistic in the extreme.

Rich does not necessarily equate with ruling class. Beyonce is not a part of the ruling class, not even close. That they will allow her to perform for them does not in anyway mean that she has access to the levers of ruling class power.

That said, her performance here, while controversial and disturbing to certain sectors of the ruling class, is in no way revolutionary. If it were, it would not have been allowed.

There was nothing in her performance that reminded me of the actual women in Black Panther Party whom I met when I volunteered at a Black Panther clinic in the early 70s. Those women weren't concerned with becoming the "black Bill Gates," they were concerned with providing medical care for people who had no access to medical care. And for starting breakfast programs for kids who went to school without breakfast.

These women held training sessions for those of us who were volunteering. Topics were brot up, such as what we should do if the police raided the clinic while we were there. This was a real possibility since the clinic had already been torn apart by the police looking for guns (in a clinic!!!) That was the real concern. But we couldn't let it stop us.

Beyonce's dance was a great number, I enjoyed it. Yet I have mixed feelings about it, of course. We can take her performance and expand upon it without totally trashing it.

Now it would be good time to get the actual story of the Black Panthers out there. Many poor children of all colors later benefited from free breakfast programs, including my own. I wonder if they know what role the women of the Black Panther Party played in their children getting breakfast at school. That's something I've talked about to younger women whose kids are now getting free or reduced price meals at school.

And most of those young mothers really enjoyed Beyonce's performance also. That doesn't mean that they've all gone over to being dupes of the ruling class. They are the same women out there supporting Bernie and fighting for single payer health care.

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

Big Al's picture

We disagree, simple as that. I don't differentiate. I explained that if they're benefiting and participating from the system, they're part of the problem. It's like George and Tom owning slaves, it is what it is.

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JayRaye's picture

whine like a cry baby because someone here disagrees with you, then so be it. And if, to you, criticizing your analysis is the same as calling you, personally superficial, then so be it. The inability to make that distinction is part of why you can't distinguish between very well off working person and members of the ruling class.

"I don't differentiate." yep right there you said it yourself that your analysis is simplistic and superficial.

Beyonce does not own slaves, now you are venturing into the absurd.

We all benefit to one degree or another from capitalism even as we are oppressed by the ruling class. Guess we should all give up the fight then, and go into our closest and flog ourselves.

Do you have an exact dollar amount at which someone becomes "one of them." Please, tell us what that amount is so we'll know exactly who is and isn't on your enemies list.

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

Big Al's picture

So be it.
I've never gotten personal with you that I remember. If that's the way you want to play, so be it.

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JayRaye's picture

someone becomes "one of them."

I think it's pathetic that you consider vigorous debate "getting personal."

Rather than whining about criticism of your class analysis (or lack thereof) you could further explain your analysis of how being rich is the same as being part of the ruling class, or at least give us the exact dollar amount at which someone becomes rich, and, therefore "one of them."

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

Points are better well made without the contention. You can have rigorous debate without being personal about it.

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JayRaye's picture

Trashing Beyonce, putting her in the same league as the Koch brothers, is very personal to the many many young women I know who are fans of hers. Are her fans part of the enemy class now also? Or are these young women merely dupes who need someone wiser to set them straight?

And what of all the other actors, actresses and singers and authors who have become rich. Are they now in the enemy class too. Michael Moore for example, or Bob Dylan, or Billy Bragg, etc etc. All enemies now, just "one of them." And what of all of their fans, are they just dupes of the rich.
So how exactly is it that we are supposed to make a revolution after we've alienated millions of fans of popular entertainers who make an unacceptable amount of money?

And I'm still waiting to hear the exact amount of money it is that is unacceptable to Big Al, the required amount to make someone rich enuf to where they become "one of them." If this isn't a shallow superficial and simplistic analysis, then perhaps Big Al could explain it to me so that I could better understand it.

I had really hoped that this web site would offer a chance for deeper political analysis, but perhaps that is not to be.

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

and a reasoned argument. Much more forceful without the personal stuff. Hopefully you'll now get a response from Al.

You have to understand JR, as a moderator, it's my role to keep this place from becoming a Thunderdome, hopefully resulting from that we'll reach a deeper political analysis.

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Big Al's picture

of them. Her and her husband are reportedly worth over a billion as a couple. That's enough for me to say, simplistically and superficially, that they're one of them. I say the same thing about sports stars, sports being something I've always been heavily involved in. Peyton Manning, JJ Watts, Joe Montana with their relationship with super conservative Papa John, they're one of them. Michael Jordan, billionaires, he's one of them. Lebron James, ya, he's one of them.
There are people who think Bill Gates and his wife are of the good because of their philanthropy. Not me, not when they live in a castle bigger than the Pentagon. Not when they continue to build wealth at insane levels.
I didn't watch the halftime show, I took a walk to avoid it. I really don't care what she did, that's not my point.
I really don't care for nuance on this issue. If they're super rich, they're super rich and they're part of the .01% that SOME of us are at war with. I believe we have to take off the gloves and get down and dirty if we're going to change the system. And if those benefiting and perpetuating the system are in the way and won't change, they're going to get called out. It's no different from those in the military being called out for participating in a killing machine, or cops as part of the fascist police state.
Take it or leave it, that's me.
I do plenty of deep political analysis, that's why I know what I know.

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Big Al's picture

with Pepsi, which surely will expand. Pepsi is part of the corporatocracy that profits from the war machine. All those making millions off Pepsi are in effect making millions off the wars in Iraq, Syria, Libya, etc. They should be called out for it in my opinion and many others.

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JayRaye's picture

actually is? An entertainer with a pile of money is not a part of the ruling class. No matter how much money Beyonce and her husband have, they are simply employed as entertainment workers by the ruling class, they will never be considered part of the ruling class.

We won't get anywhere uniting the working class to overthrow the ruling class by attacking popular entertainers. But if that is the best you think you can do at organizing working class people, esp, young people, then go for it.

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

hecate's picture

know what you know, then you know that the American sports and entertainment figures you mention are, in terms of money, power, and control, as nothing, compared to, say, the billions accumulated by Vladimir Putin and his boyfriends, the $200 billion that Muammar Gaddafi stashed away, and the Chinese billionaires who run Hong Kong, to whom Xi went, hat in hand, to learn how he should deal with the Umbrella people. I eagerly await your jeremiads concerning folks such as these.

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wendy davis's picture

and i heard that putin most likely had ordered that he be poisoned.

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If I wanted a hot, hip-hop dancer then Beyonce fits the bill.
But if I wanted a serious political statement I'll look elsewhere.

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hecate's picture

know who is Messy Mya? I think Beyonce may know more "politics" than you give her credit for.

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wendy davis's picture

hecate, so much as love and friendship. of course i'm open to being educated on the matter.

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and Big Freediya (both from the Formation video) are transexual bounce queens, much beloved in New Orleans. Messy Mya was murdered. ]

The political here is a shout-out to anyone female, cisgender, LGBT. All who dare to be female because together, we're a force.

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hecate's picture

here and here and here and here and here are some things you might want to consider.

Some selections:

[S]he dropped it very intentionally on a weekend that means something to the current movement. It is, of course, Black History Month, February, but that was Trayvon Martin's birthday, and the day before Sandra Bland's [birthday]. I mean, this is a generation that was kind of woke up by the Trayvon Martin killing, in terms of activism, in terms of being kind of nudged out of their post-racial slumber. And I think it was really significant that she dropped the video on Trayvon's day.

[I]t's very important that it's located visually and actually in Louisiana, which, of course ... is the site of this other trauma, and a kind of freedom and resistance also. It's longstanding trauma. Louisiana is this famous slave port, where so many cultures came together and mixed, but also she references the site of Katrina, where this horrible crime was committed against black people; where its nation didn't show up for us and where this generation is having to learn that its nation continues to not show up for us. And in that, she's both centering black women—her formation is one of black women, who are proudly wearing their natural hair, and she makes a circle amongst her daughter and three girls, which is a little bit of magic and conjuring. But there's also, you know, the centering of queer folks and trans folk, and both by the vocals that we hear and of what we visually see. And that has very much been an intentional thing that's been happening in this new Black Lives Matter movement. From the very outset, there was real messaging that talked about centering queer folks and black women in leadership. So it's really amazing to see all of that reflected back to us in a Beyonce video.

The brilliance of "Formation" is that it boiled down and stewed Black life, art, and culture into an epic 5-minute music video. "Formation" isn’t about Beyoncé or even about her constant conflation of capitalistic success with feminist liberation. This video is about how Black folks have learned how to sing songs, kiss babies, yell for joy, make love, and recite poems all while holding a mouth full of our dead.

Think about it: the biggest star in America has drowned a NOLA cop car and decked her backup dancers in Black Panther berets (at the flipping Super Bowl, no less). White American sorority girls are going to be singing along—not un-problematically!—to a song about the beauty of wide noses and afros. And every person in America under the age of 30 has now watched a black child, using only the power of his badass dancing, make a riot squad surrender.

By separating blackness from the art created by black people, we complicate the conversation of ownership, of participation. Beyoncé, singing about Red Lobster and hot sauce in her bag, has created something so specifically for black people that it cannot be denied. If you want to participate, indulge, be entertained, you must acknowledge black lives and black issues in the process. If you don't, you were never really here for us to begin with. Carry on.

Below is the original video, which is that most often referenced in the linked pieces.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCHz1gwzTo]

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mimi's picture

I just said in another comment that I didn't feel touched and didn't have had so far an interest in Beyonce. Looking at the video, for me that is art, which she uses like many other artists, to make a point in support of a political cause. Wasn't Michael Jackson's art or Harry Belafonte's or Bob Dylan's art also making political statements? (I am so old that;s the only ones come to my mind) It is an artistic statement and whoever looks at the art sees something of different importance in it. Oprah is also very hard working and "owns" her wealth, as Martha Steward did. Oprah also donated and engaged in many projects that had a clear political statement with it. In the way Bill Gates donates money to causes that are in some way 'political'. Within a very capitalistic and exploitative system. I can't forget that artists, making a political statement with their art, make money off those statements. So, the questions comes to mind, do they make the art to earn money more than they use it to make a political statement. To me there is a difference between a Bob Dylan or a Joan Baez art, so I do make a difference in the kind of art they produce. I would have to find her lyrics to make up my mind of what I think about her art.

As Beyonce belonging to the working class, sure, so are sex workers members of the working class. Which means among others that they are exploited. For example while many progressives feel comfortable supporting working class sex workers as category like any other work, they overlook the fact that if they are categorized like that, it gives potential employers (what used to be called pimps I guess) now the legal underpinning for the option to force people into that 'sex working profession' to get them "off welfare", speaking of true progressive values here.../s

Well, I can't stand the heat, so I leave the kitchen. Makes me a little sad. My skin is not thick enough. Sorry.
Heh, make up, people.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

But she has partied at the White House.

The same thing, in some circles.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

well, we know she ♥s power and $, and would like to be bill gates. she gets what she wants when she wants it...with her name.

and she doesn't mind (ahem) borrowing a serious movemental freedom movement to earn a boatload more money, so...i dunno; that may be as serious as she gets. but srly, i never knew she was so big that folks ha even learned Alt codes to type her name with that final é. ay yi yi. (smile)

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[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0EjlRIBpAg]

We can thank Chimamanda Adiche and Beyonce for the women and girls who used to reject "the label of feminism," and now understand it's all about equality.

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I don't understand this at all. I'm going to work, but I do want to say that Beyonce is a feminist. Like me, like most people I know.

I see it, I want it, I work hard. I own it.

If you're going to wear a diamond or have a car that people will notice, it means nothing unless you earned it and paid for it. Taking gifts from others? Not so much. They nearly always have a price tag, though it may not be visible at first. A feminist doesn't need or want to display something she didn't purchase herself. Doing that, in my neighborhood, is "ratched." It implies you're lazy or worse if you don't buy what you want all by yourself.

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Big Al's picture

and she's part of the opposition due to her wealth and power and her glorification and perpetuation of the evil system. I am against immense wealth and power because it is unfair, obscene, inherently causes the poverty and inequality we're experiencing and allows those with that wealth and power to control the rest of us. It allows genocides and slavery and immense poverty to occur. It causes wars and the murder of innocents. Those participating and benefiting are on the other team whether they think so or not.

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LapsedLawyer's picture

And they ain't nothin' artistic 'bout the real ruling class, not even their deals. What makes you ruling class isn't the money you got, it's what you own. The ruling class owns the levers of economic power -- the mines, mills, factories, and financial institutions -- and makes the rest of us dance to their economic dictates.

They direct what gets made and what doesn't get made.

They use those levers to buy the politicians and politics as well, to tell the rest of us what is acceptable political discourse and what is not. They get their money by exploiting the rest of us -- they rake off the surplus value* we create from our hard work.

I don't see that same vibe in any way, shape, or form from Beyonce or Bruno Mars. They are hard-working entertainers, rewarded handsomely for their work. They make their money off of their own hard work.

*Apologies for the necessity of scrolling down to the bottom of that page to get to the definition, btw.

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"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
-- John Lennon

JayRaye's picture

Some of them are part of the very very very well paid working class, but working class nevertheless. Many of them are even union members. Some, like Tom Morello, are even Wobblies.

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

I see a feminist as someone who doesn't have to prove a damn thing to anyone. They take gifts graciously, and they pay their own way.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

wendy davis's picture

for keeping the flame alive here.

I admit that so many of the comments on the thread have left me incredibly dispirited. I don't seem to share the same worldview as most of you, nor the same dreams. I'd wondered that my recent Part II of deep state Dem war pimpin', Putin hatin', dark people hatin' NGOs received no comments as to the message of the post.

Small wonder that as I periodically checked the comments, in the main I kept my date with Miz Fisher and Dr. blake mysteries on pbs.

This may be my last post here, cuz i'd bet you'll not care much for my post on who funds the Big Green brands, and what they really are and have been about in terms of keeping the status quo, or promoting capitalism as the answer to climate change.. I'll try to answer more fully in the morning, but for now I'll say I don't think you collectively have much understanding about who the Panthers were, how the movement was deemed the the most important to crush by murder (fred hampton, sean bell, et.al., or imprison for decades), what the larger Black Lives Matter movement is about, and why this woman did more harm than good with her 'my magic made the cops put their hands up'. Pfffft.

Well, sleep well,
wd

(their tribute the great freedom fighter ella baker):

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mimi's picture

yet. And Beyonce, well, didn't watch the superbowl, nor the ads, nor the halftime and when I saw a short clip of it I found it so meaningless, I didn't even have the appetite to read your diary about it and was not curious to know why there was noise about her in the media. I could not care less about Beyonce, sorry. I read the article on truthdig half through. Understood what it was about, but had no stamina to read it to the end. My head is somewhere else.

There are not many people reading here. We have all our heads full of stuff. Don't take the lack of response personal, that would be sad.

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Big Al's picture

Keep on keeping on as we used to say. I'll see ya at the Café. We're not alone, on here and elsewhere.
I assume you saw this one.

http://blackagendareport.com/beyonce_politics_social_dominance

It's all part of the problem, we can't keep playing the same game and expect to win. While Beyoncé is doing her thing at halftime, the sheeple are absorbing all sorts of propaganda and conditioning from the Star Spangled Banner to the military showmanship. It takes a moral commitment I think to fight against it.

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eclectic and open minded enough to handle whatever you post.

Is it likely Beyonce is politically interested and involved? Yes, but I don't see Beyonce as ready to give up her money and dress in sack cloth for a cause. What she did is probably more like investing in the stock market, but only in stocks that support the environment as opposed to stock in Exxon. I really don't follow Beyonce or JayZ. I find him off-putting, and I'm being nice. I think the number she did at the superbowl was quite entertaining, and if it also gave her some political satisfaction, I don't mind a bit.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

mimi's picture

I said in one of my comments that I couldn't care less for Beyonce and realize that was not a nice thing to say. I am not a consumer of much current entertainment music and/or fiction videos. I don't know if I have to apologize for that, because that also means I was not aware of her potential political activism, which might have been part of her songs. It was just not what I so far had an interest to pursue. I don't know if that is a mean thing to say, but she doesn't caught my attention more than Oprah. So, to both ladies, my apologies for being untouched.

In that regard I wanted to know if the TV channel from Howard University in Washington DC is available nation wide. I just ask, because that's where I get most of my education of anything about black history and culture. And boy do I need that. That's also one of the reasons I always appreciate Denise Oliver Velez diaries, no matter what, mostly they are giving details that are very valuable to know about. That they come with some "sisterhood" exclusivity is just something that is like the side dish to the meat and gravy. No big deal.

Just saying, if you are capable to view that TV channel (WHUT called in our area) it has lots of stories that open your eyes.

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MarilynW's picture

posts papers from her job as a professor of anthropology. I find them limited as they only focus on Black history in the USA. I want to know international Black History and how other countries were treating emancipated slaves. (so-called emancipated) The US does not exist in a vacuum. I want to know about Black heroes in the world. I avoid her blogs because I refuse to introduce myself in order to get her permission to comment. Why she insists on that I will never know - all she has to do is click on our names and check our profiles. She can check on our history from day one, every comment and every diary we have posted.

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To thine own self be true.

mimi's picture

her capacity as a professor. I think it is good that she only posts on subjects she clearly has a lot of knowledge about and that she doesn't cover modern African or ancient African history, because that is not her field. It is a bit much to ask to be a historian of the whole African continent and write about it on a site like the gos. There are lots of books which would cover that probably in much better detail than a blog essay.

One can feel a sort of hostility at times in her group of friends towards I don't know who. But it's there. I guess it's a disadvantage. The discussions in her diaries could be much better, if there were the air of free thought exchange between white and black commentators without hints of hostilities. But that has been suffocated and is basically a sad and imo an unnecessary development. I don't know if that has something to do with the sensitivities of the white commentators or Denise's sensitivities (more so her friends, which regularly show up to support her). It's one of those things which saddened me quite a bit. But to me her diaries are still a good read and I always follow her diaries til today. It's better not to read the comment section to her diaries. Usually one of the two sides is offended by something. Makes no sense to get caught into it. It hurts and who likes that?

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I have never introduced myself to her, but I do comment with or without her permission. Maybe that's why she seems to know who I am. lol

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

let me say a few things. This is a site that allows open discussion from all points of view, as long as one's not being a dick. No one should come here thinking that they'll find an echo chamber, differing opinions are allowed. But those differing opinions should be expressed in a civil manner, I don't care that you have a strong debate with someone as long you keep it civil. See the FAQ about DBAD.

With that said, this thread is pushing the envelope and I ask that it be toned down.

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wendy davis's picture

First, some serious serendipity from today (and happy valentine’s day, by the way):

The History of State Repression Against Radical Social Movements
‘In this episode of imixwhatilike! TRNN Journalist Jared Ball speaks with Former U.S. Political Prisoner Eddie Conway about his book The Greatest Threat: The Black Panthers and COINTELPRO’ (not transcript yet)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7jLD07GqqU]

I couldn’t find a list of Panthers still in prison, but two of the Angola 3 still are, one was released because he was dying, and felt freedom for 2 days before ‘his ride came for him, iir. (i didn’t read the stories to refresh my memory)

Some black panther history, although I can’t claim that it’s accurate.

assatta shakur in her own words

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYqYlvboEg]

40th anniversary of the murder of fred hampton and mark clark by the fbi, pt. I

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KF9xycQITo]

short excerpt of the black power mixtape documentary. consider beyoncés cadre of angela davises in their black panther caps and booty shorts. ooof. brilliant. now angela has mellowed a lot, so she might just laugh at all this, but i doubt the two left in solitary in angola after 40 years would find it all so...charming.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26CVcA2678k]

for those who believe that the music industry is a meritocracy, sadly...no. boatloads of talented musicians and dancers are left behind while others rise to the top. women who sell ‘teh sexy’ do best. but i will say that at least beyoncé and her comrades didn’t grab their crotches like katy perry and friends.

and seriously, i half expected one of you to report that you’d hear Bey pays her maids, gardeners, and nannies in their mansions really, really, well. (trickle down economics, yada, yada) as for the beat driving the drum causing young women to not abjure the term ‘feminism’, i’m an accidental feminist of the amazon kind, and in my opinion, a lotta feminists paid a lot a dues not to be referred to like this in the “C’mon, Ladies; get in formation!” or however it went. and yes, i’m aware of ‘stiletto feminism’, never mind.

I never paid any attention to her either, mimi, it was just this huge brouhaha that had cause me to look at all, as well as my sincere appreciation for the Panthers, the original AIM founders, and the black lives matter alliance folks who really are trying to find the history of the movement.

John trudell was the AIM founder i’ve loved forever; his spoken poetry concerning the long history of first americans never receiving justice by way of capitalism itself, as well as vivid imagery speaking to many other human conditions...died recently. Or as he said just before his next journey: “My ride’s come for me”. this is the last song he recorded: ‘Time Dreams’; it’s breathtaking.

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQY0s73BUqk]

Mr wd laughed at my dispirited puzzlement about most of your reactions on this thread; he said that the trouble is that i’m a hippie revolutionary of the non-violent kind, the kind which requires a massive global shift in consciousness. guess it’s gonna take longer than i’d imagined (smile)

Thank you for all the help and warm welcome, JtC, and i hope i wasn't a dick(ette).

the end.

and peace to all of you if you’re willing to fight for it, as fred hampton used to say.

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mimi's picture

made me look at her too, for the first time, but I need to look again ... with magnifying glasses...:-)

I never paid any attention to her either, mimi, it was just this huge brouhaha that had cause me to look at all, as well as my sincere appreciation for the Panthers, the original AIM founders, and the black lives matter alliance folks who really are trying to find the history of the movement.

I had an appreciation of the AIM, Panthers and am not a stranger to the material you posted in your comment. I came to read and listen and learn about them through writers on the gos, through the FB and through my memories I had of the late sixties and early seventies in Berlin, Germany. It was not much, but we were aware of the Panthers and Angela Davis and many more. Just not in that detail. In the mid seventies til the mid 2000 I forgot all about it. Other stuff filled up my mind. It came back though, when I detected great old video material from the sixties, which German TV camera crews shot way back then and was dusting away in some dark, dusty basement rooms. Sometimes I had to gather material for our producers they could use in their documentary and news pieces. And then I tried to gather and read material a lot, but in no way enough. The only category I am really a loser in, is music videos and singers of the last 15 years or so. I have no clue. My colleagues thought I am just a total old woman ignorant scoundrel when it comes to pop cultures and movies. So, therefore it' was hard for me to become curious about artists like Beyoncé.

Just wanted to say that I am far away from all of it, culturally and language wise, that I do not get many nuances of what is written and usually don't get lyrics by just listening either.

And then I am also very tired in these days over anything that reminds me of racial tensions.

It is a good experience to go through this and ending up reading everything again and over again. I learn always something, just have not enough "zest" anymore very often to process it like I were in my "better days". Smile

Peace.

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to the table. I was just reading about the Black Panthers. Learned things about their origin and who they were that I never knew. As Killer Mike said on Real Time, "nah, that's what they say in white man's schools". That is what they also say on propaganda tv. interesting conversation.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

MarilynW's picture

the movie industry is not one. A.O. Scott has a new book out on being a critic.

Everyone’s a critic, and that’s how it should be, argues A.O. Scott, in his new book Better Living Through Criticism. As the New York Times respected film critic, Scott has spent the last 16 years weighing in on every manner of movie, and has learned to save his wrath for the projects that truly deserve it (ahem, Adam Sandler). Here, he shares some of the secrets to his success, including why it’s okay to be pissed off at the Entourage movie.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/six-habits-that-helped-ao-scott-beco...
I love this guy for his movie reviews, whether you like the movie or not, his writing is a pleasure to read.

We need critics.

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To thine own self be true.

some excellent essays have been posted today, don't let them pass you by.

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