Ebony Musings

Black is King

From the perspective of someone who doesn't listen to Beyoncé.

Damn some people are heated over this movie! Like the reviews that I'm looking at are insane. Too much colour. Too much Beyoncé. and I quote, "incoherent crap".

Sir, that is just a different language

The movie wasn't so much of a movie as it was a long music video, but I'm a fan of musicals and music so that didn't really bother me. In my opinion the movie was beautiful. It was full of colour and light and gorgeous black people from all over the world. It featured traditional dance, traditional ceremonies, traditional hair and clothing. In the end it was a display of tradition and a way of connecting black people to their roots.

I try my hardest to see these things from other people's perspectives and I understand why some people are mad. Actually I don't understand per say but I can see what people are upset over. Kind of.

The first thing I'm going to address is what got people boiling in the first place—the title.

Black is King. The title is striking, however I didn't really think twice about it. Others, however, thought a little too much. People—mostly white people—looked at the title and saw it as a way of saying that black people are above other races. They looked at the title and said, "with everything going on is this really the best time to be dividing people." They failed to understand what was truly being said in this statement. Usually I'm the person saying, "chill, it's not that deep," but in this case I'm more like, "bro, it's so much deeper than that."

People have to take a step back and think what are the connotations of the word king? The word King doesn't mean above it all. A king is powerful, yes but he is also strong, and knowledgeable. A king is just in his choices and noble in his actions. This title was not saying that black people are better than other races it was saying that Black people are powerful too. Beyoncé was working to elevate people make them realize that they are are not beneath others like they have been told. Most people don't know that the majority of people taken from Africa during the slave trade were the leaders, it was the kings and queens and other powerful people taken so that those who depended on them would falter. In this statement Black is King Beyoncé is speaking directly to African Americans, she is telling them remember your heritage. She is reminding them that they are the descendants of royalty and the children of people who were more than slaves.

I had a debate with a close friend of mine (a black male) who insisted that Beyoncé should have chosen a different name for the movie. Claiming that it would be so much worse if the tables were turned and the movie was called "White is King". I mean, yeah true enough. But I didn't hesitate to remind him that everyone already knows that white people practically ruled the world and for them to remind us and rub it in our face would just be dumb. I had to remind him that words and their connotations matter, but so does context. With the history of colonialism and slave trade if you were to say, "Black is King," it is returning power to them, but if you were to say, "White is King," you're just restating what everyone already knows.

He still continued to argue that white people had a right to be offended by the title. And yeah I see it, at first the title may take one back. But in the end—and I know what I'm gonna say will offend people but it's facts—the movie wasn't made for white people. There. I said it. Black is King was made for the black audience. Every movie has a niche that they are trying to appeal to and for this one it was the black population. And because this movie was made for the black population, the opinions of white people in terms of this movie—and I apologize again cause I'm bouta get attacked—are...irrelevant. I'm not saying your opinions aren't valid, because they are. But in the end the impact of the movie on a white person won't be remotely close to the impact on a black person. It's like a white person talking about racial injustices in America, you can do all the research you want but you'll never be able to relate to it having never faced any of those difficulties. And you can watch the movie as many times as you want, you could have someone spell it out for you and even then you would only understand a fraction of the intent and message behind the movie.

Another thing people are saying is that it was a cash grab by Beyoncé. That she used African culture as a cover for a vanity project. Yes, Beyoncé was featured in the movie a lot. But she also directed it, wrote several of the songs, and acted in The Lion King movie...so if she wants to flex a bit, I'm not about to complain.

Beyoncé served as a common thread throughout the movie. She was a familiar face for those who didn't know the other artists featured. The majority of the outfits worn by Beyoncé and the rest of the cast were designed and made by Black designers. And clothing worn was used to display the diversity of African culture. It was used to show just how colourful and vivid it is. Her hair was styled by Neal Farinah—a man from the Caribbean—who drew his inspiration from traditional African hairstyles each with different meanings. The directors of the movie were almost all people of colour—five out of seven. All five directly from Africa (three Ghanaian and two Nigerian). This movie was a display of black art in so many different ways. It was a showcase of all the amazing things black people can do. From directing, to designing, to dancing, to singing, to the people who played the instruments—our talents are illustrated in vivid colour and show that we are infinite in the things that we are capable of.

There is so much more I want to say...but I don't want this to turn into an essay, so I'll end with this. As a woman raised by African immigrants in North America, I've always felt a disconnect to my culture, and it's movies such as this one that remind just how beautiful and diverse Africa is. Hearing my language spoken and sung, seeing the cultural clothing and customs and dance of my people made me so proud. And that was the point of the movie. Not to say that Black people are superior. Not reverse racism. Not a grab for money. Not a vanity project. Just a display of the beautiful diversity of Black culture. And a message: "Be proud of who you are, you are worthy."

So thanks for the reminder Beyoncé.

O dabo ati dupe,

Gogo