Summary
According to the article, Beyonce wanted to display black female empowerment, but not at the expense of degrading black men. She also wanted to depict how the police have long stood against the Black Community, and despite this, they still prevail. And lastly, she wanted to show the impact of slavery on black love and how black men and black women are socialized to not be together. In my opinion, nothing in the language of her song uplifts black men, nor does it necessarily degrade them, but it could very well be perceived as emasculating to black men. Beyonce states that she would take her man to Red Lobster if he sexually satisfies her, or she would take him on a ride in her helicopter. In my opinion, to read too much into these lyrics would be a fool’s errand, because despite Matsoukas’ stated intentions for the song, it still has to be a song at the end of the day. In today’s day and age, songs have to be provocative and sensational, first and foremost, if you want people to tune in. So what can I actually say about why she would tell black men that she would take them out to the lowly Red Lobster, when she is obviously one of the most wealthy people on this planet, and then turn around and flaunt only some of that wealth by saying she’d take them on a helicopter ride, is not much at all. The one thing I can say is that part of the song seems to be devoid of any message other than, “I’m Beyonce and I wear the pants in all my relationships because I’m ultra wealthy”, which isn’t necessarily a message that resonates with the majority of people, because the majority of people aren’t Beyonce. It also doesn’t serve to offer any commentary on how black men and black women are socialized to not be together. As for showing how the black community stands tall despite the Police being against them, laying Beyonce over a Police car as she’s lowered into water did not at all scream that message to me, and I wouldn’t have known that was the message until I read the article.
I think the use of the phrase “Albino Alligators” to describe her haters was a euphemism. I think she’s obviously referring to white people when she says that, and I guess Albino Alligators serves as a euphemism in the sense that it softens the blow, but then again, it still seems derogatory so perhaps it’s actually a dysphemism. I’m not really sure about that to be honest, I’d be interested to know what others think about that, and I think terms like that are definitely what made the song controversial.
Also, when she says she might be a black Bill Gates in the making, that’s definitely a use of sarcasm/irony to convey the message that she is (or can be) as influential as an ultra wealthy white man like Bill Gates. This is one of the few lines in the song that definitely has a clear message of black female empowerment that can be appreciated.
