As Beyoncé opens the flood gates, steps out of her baptism, and emerges onto the streets, she leaves a less-than-perfect New Orleans and enters a new, constructed portrayal of a topic New Orleans in what is most obviously a Hollywood set. It is garnished with set props and extras to give the illusion of reality. […]
In the film Paris Is Burning, director Jennie Livingston immerses herself in black and latino queer culture in New York City in the mid-to-late ‘80s in order to document the developing drag scene of this time. The piece includes portraits of elegance, energy, and community, characteristics that define this style of performance. Paris Is Burning […]
In Nicki Minaj’s music video for the song “Only” ft. Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, the images, as well as the lyrics, objectify Nicki in a sexual way throughout the entire piece. The raps from Drake and Lil Wayne both include lyrics about how they would fk Nicki and that she needs a man. This […]
As I initially read McMillian’s piece, Performing Objects, I found myself questioning the relationship between theory and practice. Were black performance artists reading black feminist theory? Or were black feminist theorists writing about black performance artists? DId these two every really come into conversation with one another, or were they existing in separate spheres? One artist […]
In this particular song, Monae’s character is trapped in an asylum in which dancing is outlawed for its magical effects. As she dances she transcends the walls of her room/cell, gaining access to a multicolored world of self-expression. Ultimately, she is defeated by demons who have mirrors for faces, symbolizing how those who confine you […]
Google defines “goblin” as “a mischievous, ugly, dwarflike creature of folklore.” And this song, whose video includes Tyler swallowing a bug, subsequently vomiting, and then eventually hanging himself, comes on Tyler the Creator’s debut studio album, Goblin. At play here, then, are certain foundational elements of Uri McMillan’s notion of avatars,which “act as mediums — between […]
In the music video “Bitch Better Have My Money” Rihanna does what she does best and completely flips the script of black femininity. She portrays a gangster of sorts, abducting a white female whose husband owes Rihanna’s character a hefty sum of money. However, this piece of information is not made known to the […]
In Ciara’s “Like A Boy”, she sings about what she could do differently in her relationship if she was the man. “Wish we could switch up the roles and I could be that; Tell you I love you, but when you call, I never get back; Would you ask them questions like me, like where […]
In the music video for Janelle Monáe’s song “Q.U.E.E.N.” Monáe is described as a “rebel that time travels” and the notorious leader of a “musical weapons program.” In the beginning of the video, several groups of people who represent different musical eras are frozen in history, and when the music starts, all the people in […]
Pendulum by FKA twigs is a song about overcoming a challenging relationship, and the video is a piece of performance art. The video begins with the a shot of the artist’s mouth as she sings the opening lyric “I’m a sweet, little love maker.” Her position is revealed slowly; she’s suspended in the air bound tightly by […]
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