Politics and Religious Representation in Beyoncé’s Work
The influence Beyoncé has in uplifting the Black Feminine Divine pushes the boundaries of the mainstream perception of the Black aesthetic. Religion has a long history in the discography of the most decorated Grammy winner of all time, from the soft yearning of an angelic lover in “Halo” to her graceful and luminous embodiment of Yoruba deity Oshun in her 2017 Grammy performance (Tolani and Russell’s presentation). These elements are also at the front in her Disney+ movie “Black Is King.” The film embraces and supports Black art and culture, but was also met with criticism for the artist’s portrayal of African deities and cultures.
Beyoncé’s work can be put in conversation with Paul C. Taylor’s theory of the Black aesthetic. Taylor writes that the Black aesthetic was formed through assembly rather than birth, and is “an emergence of new cultural forms from the collision of preexisting traditions” (Taylor 2,13). The visual albums “Beyoncé” and “Lemonade” are examples of using different forms of existing media to create something new. Furthermore, she does so by referencing the past and how it contextualizes modern day issues, such as the lasting effects of Hurricane Katrina for Black people in Louisiana in the music video of “Formation.” She’s also used other musical genres as her career progressed, such as her most recent release of “RENAISSANCE.” The album references Black artists that built the dance music genre. Beyoncé is refusing to be tied down to one genre and also to one point in time.
Her performances employ religious figures and references from Christianity, Yoruba, and Hindu religions to the African art of “possession,” in which “The possessed person ‘merges’ their own identity with that of the god” to physically represent the Black feminine divine in the current era (Tolani and Russell’s presentation) (Millner Session 7). The Black Feminine Divine is a divine woman figure that spans across African Diaspora religious traditions (Jones 98). A consequence of these embodiments are people taking Beyoncé’s performances as sacreligious or demonic, which stems from a history of Black religious practices being considered demonic by Christian institutions. In actuality, Beyoncé is showing a transcendental beauty of the Black Feminine Divine and the multifaceted diaspora of Black women to show that there is more than one way to express divine beauty.
Photo from Getty images
Beyoncé challenges white patriarchy by portraying Black women “as capable of embodying divinity, beauty, and glory.” She challenges assumptions of the myth of the Negro past by dismantling the systemic erasure and oppression of Black women (Tolani and Russell’s presentation) (Herskovits 2). Beyoncé’s political activism and messages within her work align with the view that “The artist and the political activist are one,” and “both understand and manipulate the collective myths of the race” (Sorett 178). This extends to Beyoncé’s more up-front activism pieces. An example of which being when the artist boldly showcased the word “feminist” behind her during the 2013 -2014 “Mrs. Carter” tour. By using religious and political references alongside various aspects of Black culture in her work, Beyoncé is communicating that “the Black aesthetic is not fixed/singular” (Genson and Jonathan’s presentation).
Photo from Getty Images
Reference:
https://www.grammy.com/news/who-are-the-top-grammy-awards-winners-of-all-time
Group presentation Tolani and Russell
Group presentation Genson and Jonathan
https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/7/31/21349403/beyonce-black-is-king-oshun-osun-yoruba-goddess
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1114499960/revolutionary-fun-beyonce-renaissance-review-roundtable
https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-goes-viral-after-calling-beyonc-a-witch.html
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpcu.13050
Melville J. Herskovits, The Myth of the Negro Past (New York, NY: Harper & Brothers, 1941)
Paul C. Taylor, Black Is Beautiful: A Philosophy of Black Aesthetics, vol. 6, Foundations of the Philosophy of the Arts (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016). 1-31 (introduction)
Josef Sorett, Spirit in the Dark: A Religious History of Racial Aesthetics, 1st ed (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016). 1-18
Marlon Millner Session 7
Melanie C. Jones, “The Slay Factor: Beyoncé Unleashing the Black Feminine Divine in a Blaze of Glory,” in The Lemonade Reader (Routledge, 2019). 98-110