Summary
According to article The Provocateur Behind Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Issa Rae, Beyonce’s mission of improving the nuclear family of Black Americans is a catch-22 situation. On one hand, she’s a feminist that advocates for the advancement of women’s rights; on the other hand, she supports the black man’s plight against racism. Black feminists that aim for black empowerment are often ‘‘forced to pick between being politically black or politically female.’’ Achieving these objectives simultaneously is contradictory because improving one objective is impossible without undermining the other objective.
Unfortunately, I did not perceive Beyonce’s intended message in my initial reaction to her video, nor was I able to interpret her intended message after I read the lyrics. The music video was unbearable to watch, and reading the lyrics was no better than watching the video because of the overuse of emotive and unprofessional language.
Unprofessional language such as ‘‘I did not come to play with you hoes’’ (a dysphemism) and ‘‘earned all this money but they never take the country out of me’’ (sarcasm) undermines Beyonce’s intended message. I believe Matsouka can improve the lyrics so that the audience can perceive the message in a more positive light. Moreover, Beyonce’s excessive emphasis on materialistic wealth detracts from her message and alienates her audience who can’t relate to her infinite wealth.
This song became controversial because Beyonce’s credibility is questionable. Moreover, the song fails to convey her intended message of black empowerment because the language is off-putting and sends the wrong message to the audience.
One thought on “Germain Soriano Conversation 2”
I agree with you, there was a large amount of lyrics that were very unique to say.I had to rewatch the video about four times to understand that the music video actually connected to certain lyrics specifically and also the general message she ws trying to get across.I helped me by focusing on the lyrics first then the music video to generalize their own purpose on each other or what association they had to each other.