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Beyoncé’s “Rascist” And “Cop-Hating” Super Bowl Performance

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The biggest cultural event of the year took place last Sunday and The Afterword seems to have missed it. Sure, it was on in the wee small hours in the UK (Lord knows for Australia) but is that an excuse?

The Super Bowl half time show was watched by over 110 million people. It lasted just over thirteen minutes. Coldplay starred but they were effectively the warm up for Bruno Mars and Beyoncé. Her bit lasted less than three minutes but, as befitting the most wonderful woman alive, she stole the show. She looked supercool in black leather hotpants backed by an army of beautiful bereted women. It was a typical Beyoncé look. I’m always amazed how she can dance so frenetically, yet still manage to control her breathing to hit the notes, maintain the melody and keep to the rhythm. I think she has a super power. Either that, or she’s been to a lot of hula hoop classes. I couldn’t make out all the words but she seemed to be encouraging women to believe in themselves. A good thing, I’m sure we’d all agree.

It all looks good, clean fun. Here’s a clip of the show minus the Colplay songs, for which I’m very grateful. What do you think?

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Comments

        • To be honest, it had to be pointed out to me for me to notice. I thought it was Rhythm Nation Janet Jackson. The lyrics don’t mention Black Power nor cops nor shootings at all (I’ve looked them up).

          I remember the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were actually very brave to do as they did. At their moment of triumph, knowing that the world was watching, they risked their future. John forgot his gloves. Peter Norman, the Australian who came second in the race, suggested he wore Tommie’s left glove, hence the odd salute.

          Afterwards, both Smith and Carlos were ostracised and admonished but managed to continue in sport. In fact, in the end, they became ambassadors and were given awards. Norman had the hardest time of the three. He qualified for the next Olympics with thirteen times under the limit but wasn’t picked. Tommie’s and John were pallbearers at his funeral.

          Their visual imagery was direct and undoubted. Bey’s was implied and diffuse. The video for the single has more clear images, but still, you could watch it and just enjoy the light entertainment. I love her. She has given 7 million dollars for the homeless in her home town of Houston. She bails out Ferguson protesters. She is untouchable, in a position of such power. Why not make the lyrics direct, too, like Run The Jewels or Lamar?

          • You might as well ask why Run the Jewels don’t do more dancing in hot pants.

            Beyoncé doesn’t sing about racial injustice because it’s not her “thing”, it’s simply an aesthetic to be adopted and disregarded. In the same way, the fact that she’s borrowing the imagery of the Black Panthers and Malcolm X doesn’t mean she gives a fig about armed revaluationary struggle and socialism, or advocates black separatism. In fact, I’d say all those things are rather doubtful.

            The lyrics of Formation are asinine. “When he fuck me good I take him to Red Lobster, cause I slay”. You might be able to hang your hat on the line about liking her own hair, but coming from a woman who’s spent the last two years in hair extensions, it does rather grate.

            Beyoncé is a great song and dance artist, but this isn’t one of her more memorable tunes, and the symbolism she was playing with was crude and old hat. Janet Jackson did it better 30 years ago.

            Sinead O’Connor singing War, this was not. In fact, what’s most interesting about Beyoncé are the things that people like to project onto her.

            • I think we are in total agreement, Bingo.

              Mind you, she does enjoy a huge audience and significant parts of the U.S. press and media outlets give the impression that she executed some white cops live on TV. The stone she drops is smaller than Sinead’s but its ripples travel much further.

              • Yep, but Sinead’s came from a place of braveness and honesty, and it cost her. This comes from a place of artifice and represents the commodification of the African American struggle.

                There were black power salutes from the models at Kanye’s album launch party/fashion show this week as well. Utterly meaningless.

                The really interesting dichotomy isn’t black/white. It’s rich/poor. I think Beyonce’s made it very clear where she stands on that one.

  2. ‘The biggest cultural event’ of 2016 has to be crap, doesn’t it? Whatever it might be.

    Anyway, I’ve a feeling I was probably immersed in the 423rd biggest cultural event of 1957.
    A Gene Vincent b-side or something!

    • Please note the superlative adjective in the OP, ‘biggest’. The Super Bowl is huge. It is watched by a simply enormous worldwide audience. The exposure for the the live acts at half time is way beyond any they can achieve anywhere else. Even the biggest acts in the world are keen to get on that pitch. Just look at the list of past performers, including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney to The Rolling Stones.

      That doesn’t stop it being total shite.

  9. Doesn’t this crap belong on the ‘Preposterous’ thread. Revolutionary chic, indeed.
    As usual, wholly agree with the astute points bingo makes, particularly about ‘commodification’. It’s the American way.

  10. I agree regarding the idea of the commodification, but there are/were serious points to be made, and I don’t know how much is known in the UK.

    Since the much publicized shootings of African Americans by police and racists (those two categories not mutually exclusive) and the perceived lack of justice in the, err, justice system, large numbers of the African American population are speaking up in a large number of ways – #blacklivesmatter, asking for Confederate symbols and statues to be removed, and, well this.

    The most notable outrage came from that well known voice of balanced reason, Rudy Giuliani. Calling it cop killer, a statement that is more white privilege than anything I can remember recently. NFL and NBA players are being asked by members of the AA community to be more vocal in their support of the victims (see: Lebron James and Tamir Rice). Her outfit was simply part of that dialog.

    • This is right on the money. As an actual white American male with an African-American wife, we watched this together and chewed it over afterward. It was pretty clear-cut to both of us – that show was pretty much to racial equality what Madonna was to feminism, an appropriation of the outward trappings with this much (thumb and forefinger held a sixteenth of an inch apart) depth. But it sure did get attention, didn’t it? The trogdolytes were, all too predictably, crapping themselves. So it’s not a total loss…

    • If I’m right the Superbowl show is essentially corporate America’s self conratulation party. The talent at a corporate ‘do’ isn’t expected to comment in any way on what the management does, just to smile, take the cheque & piss off.
      Ms Knowles’ stock is sufficiently high that she can do a bit of both. Her song only dropped hours before online & yet tens of millions already knew all the lyrics.
      She’s going to sell a shed load of units regardless, so to calculatedly present her bit with a nod ( nothing more) to radicals of a previous generation is a very deliberate pressing of certain buttons.
      Predictably, the constituency you’d expect to call ‘ heavens to Betsy, these Negroes have gone too far this time’ – or words to that effect – have done exactly that, & a dialogue has ensued.
      Beyonce presented a tiny piece of theatre with a tiny bit of symbolism & has caused certains types to crap the bed.
      Good for her. There will now be thousands if not milions of people now googling Huey Newton & Eldridge Cleaver & doing a bit of historical research for themselves.
      Not a bad result from a pop plugging dance routine.

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