Black Is King (2020)
July 31, 2020 7:17 AM - Subscribe
Visual album from Beyoncé inspired by 'The Lion King', a young African king is cast out from his family into an unforgiving world. He subsequently undergoes a journey "through betrayal, love and self-identity" to reclaim his throne, utilizing the guidance of his ancestors and childhood love. The story is told through the voices of present-day Black people.
‘Black Is King’ review: Beyoncé’s ‘The Lion King’-inspired visual album is a feast of aesthetic excellence [NME]
Black Is King review – Beyoncé’s love song to the black diaspora [Guardian]
‘Black Is King’ Film Review: Beyoncé Gets Extravagant With Opulent Riff on ‘The Lion King’ [The Wrap]
Beyonce's Black Is King is a sumptuous visual feast [Sydney Morning Herald]
Beyoncé drops breathtaking 'Black Is King' visual album with cameos from all the family [Mashable]
‘Black Is King’ review: Beyoncé’s ‘The Lion King’-inspired visual album is a feast of aesthetic excellence [NME]
Black Is King review – Beyoncé’s love song to the black diaspora [Guardian]
‘Black Is King’ Film Review: Beyoncé Gets Extravagant With Opulent Riff on ‘The Lion King’ [The Wrap]
Beyonce's Black Is King is a sumptuous visual feast [Sydney Morning Herald]
Beyoncé drops breathtaking 'Black Is King' visual album with cameos from all the family [Mashable]
Every time I watch a Beyoncé film like this (and how blessed are we to have multiple!) I learn so much, and I am delighted that the people she features in her art get to lift up their own, and in doing so bring so much new culture to my life. Moonchild Sanelly! David Hammons! Oumou Sangaré! Gqom as a whole genre!
I was so ready for this story. I've been living away from home for well over a decade and the sense of distance has become profound and invasive - I've missed so much and things have...changed...where I live now. The films' messages of departure, loss, resilience, conflict, return and even victory were so necessary and nourishing for me today.
Two final small highlights for me of so, so many:
- I noticed quite a few credits to the Smithsonian Folkways collections of music. For example, she credits this 1955 track from Bantu Choral Folk Songs by the Song Swappers and Pete Seeger (!). It is a paradox of our interconnected and yet profoundly divided world these days that I think I simply would never have heard this song without Beyoncé.
- I don't often see positive portrayals of African urban life in media, especially travel media designed for wealthy global-North "travelers" who seem to only go to Africa to visit big game parks in khaki vests, but Accra, Lagos and Johannesburg seemed just electrically vibrant and I want to visit them all right now.
posted by mdonley at 10:40 AM on August 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I was so ready for this story. I've been living away from home for well over a decade and the sense of distance has become profound and invasive - I've missed so much and things have...changed...where I live now. The films' messages of departure, loss, resilience, conflict, return and even victory were so necessary and nourishing for me today.
Two final small highlights for me of so, so many:
- I noticed quite a few credits to the Smithsonian Folkways collections of music. For example, she credits this 1955 track from Bantu Choral Folk Songs by the Song Swappers and Pete Seeger (!). It is a paradox of our interconnected and yet profoundly divided world these days that I think I simply would never have heard this song without Beyoncé.
- I don't often see positive portrayals of African urban life in media, especially travel media designed for wealthy global-North "travelers" who seem to only go to Africa to visit big game parks in khaki vests, but Accra, Lagos and Johannesburg seemed just electrically vibrant and I want to visit them all right now.
posted by mdonley at 10:40 AM on August 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
This was remarkable. I'm still processing all of it, but there were so many images that struck me so hard and indelibly. Just breathtaking.
posted by Mchelly at 2:59 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mchelly at 2:59 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also I want literally every outfit in Water, but especially this hat.
posted by Mchelly at 9:27 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mchelly at 9:27 PM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:16 PM on July 31, 2020 [2 favorites]