It's
only been a few days since its release but I am already late to the Formation
party. Beyoncé aka Queen B released a new song before her Super Bowl
performance and people everywhere can't stop talking about it. I am not
incredibly musically inclined, I'm not a snob, I have eclectic taste and I let
people listen to whatever they want to listen to because what people do in
their own free time doesn't affect me one bit. So basically, I don't get the
hype other than it being a new Beyoncé song. Really what has people talking is
her message in the song and depictions in the music video for it.
While
I agree that the words were written with meaning, I think its ironic that Beyoncé
is being praised by many for a politically charged song while not even a month
ago, Macklemore was criticized for the exact same thing. He was
"capitalizing on race inequality and banking in on those who suffer"
while Beyoncé is "bringing awareness to issues"...and still making a
boat load of money off it...
I
don't think anyone should make money off the suffering of other people but lets
face it, that’s the world we live in. So why, if both singers had good
intentions, is Beyoncé given a pass and Macklemore chastised? Just because
she's black? As a Jew I obviously have the right to write and sing about the
strife that Jews have faced and still faced but should I get angry at a non-Jew
for also bringing attention to discrimination against Jews just because he
isn't Jewish? If it is all for the same cause, why is one sinful and the other
a powerful act?
Where
is our even playing field? It seems as though minorities just want equal
rights. Women, gays, blacks, immigrants, etc. just want to all make the same wages
as white men, right? So if one side is asking for equality, shouldn’t that same
side offer equality?
This
article basically says, if you are a white person you might not like this song
and you shouldn’t and it’s not for you. While I realize the song and video have
caused political conversation, why is it such a big deal if some people don’t
like it and some people do? And why is it specifically white people who shouldn’t
like it? The obvious answer to that is “DUH you are the white man and this song
goes against you” but maybe I just like the tune. Who gets to dictate what music
I like or don’t like based off my skin color? Does that mean Italians aren’t
allowed to like country music and Asians can’t like jazz music too?
My
skin color dictates only one thing: how I am treated on an individual level. My
birth certificate does not say white aka hates trap music. If people keep
talking about songs like this, the idea of stereotyping will only be further
enforced. Saying “white people can’t like this song” pushes the playing fields
of the world even farther apart. We should be coming together, not widening the
gap.
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