On the other side, according to the magazine this photo shoot was "a return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. " According to most celeb news websites like this one, Beyonce was paying tribute to Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist, whose music she is using as inspiration for her next album.
Personally I feel like it is hard for me to argue either way. I question whether they are treating blackness as "fashion" or some sort of accessory. I am also wondering why, if she wanted to pay homage to her African roots, why she didn't actually wear clothes from Africa. As it turns out it was her mom that designed some of the dresses. The other thing that also keeps me from completely liking the photos is that Africans are of varying hues and I feel as if she is reducing a continent into one color. But am I really in the position to say so? I am not an African American and I have no idea how this may or may not be offensive to an African American. I also feel like I am not in the position to criticize Beyonce for paying a tribute to her African roots. So when can someone of one race comment on something related to another? Is this just another racial boundary that hasn't been crossed?
Alex-
ReplyDeleteI also find it hard to judge whether these photos should be seen as tribute or mockery. But I think its interesting to note that the picture on the top right shows Beyonce in, what seems to me to be, a surprised or confused pose. It doesn't look all that unlike some of the racist depictions of blacks that we saw in the Bamboozled clip. What I wonder is whether the director or photography for the photo-shoot was black. As my understanding of these things goes they're responsible for the poses and expression more than the model.
I don't think you need to be as careful as you are here, Alex. I mean, it's a fashion magazine, not Huck Finn after all, right?
ReplyDeleteBut you raise some excellent points and I most enjoyed reading how you struggled with your own thoughts on this issue. That's what we call "intellectual honesty".
I find this kind of hard to judge as well, so I just won't! I think that as long as she made an informed and well-thought out decision that she can defend, Beyonce made the right decision. If it was all out of coercion, or something, then it was wrong, no doubt. I usually don't say this, but if it seemed ok to her after conference with others and stuff, then I don't see a problem with it. If people of darker skins can lighten their skin for publicity, then why can't people of darker skin (so that it isn't seen as a minstrel show) make their skin even darker? Isn't it just a little more than a fake tan?
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