(2003) 
(2011)Pictured above are the 2003, and 2011 album covers for pop singer Beyonce. Since the reveal of her latest album cover, 4 , there has a been a significant amount of controversy about the artist's new "look". Many people, both black and white, are offended by the cover because they say that it looks like Beyonce is attempting to hide her ethnicity, or "trying to be white". While it is uncertain what this means, there is no question that the image she is portraying now, is very different from her appearance in the past. Whether is was done through make-up, Photoshop, bleaching, or all of the above, her skin is much lighter than it was at the start of her career. Her hair has been lightened, and straightened. She is also being shot from a low angle, which de-emphasizes facial features such as her nose, that are distinctly black.
The question here is not about whether or not she is trying to change her appearance, but instead, why she is, and why it upsets us. Some people have suggested that she is trying to appeal to white America, and the look is an attempt to boost album sales. Others in the black community see it as a form of betrayal. To them, the cover says that she is ashamed of her black heritage, and is trying to blend in with the white majority. Still, others see it as an artistic expression, a aesthetic experiment that was meant challenge racial definitions and boundaries. Since Beyonce has been very tight lipped about the response, it is hard to say. It is worth noting however, that our culture becomes so upset when these barriers are crossed and messed with. It is almost as though we struggle to define Beyonce and what she is trying to accomplish, when we cannot fit her into a well defined racial "category". As Richard Dyer discusses, the racial and class attributes of white people often become invisible. But here, we see that they become very important to us when they are "messed with". Another example of this historically, being Michale Jackson. This controversy as a whole stands to exemplify the ways in which the media and culture define bodies by employing race and gender.
Wow this is a very interesting reading. I've been a Beyonce fan forever and I never even realized there was this controversy about her "4" cover. I personally thought the angle of the camera facing up and her arms stretched upward so that she is bearing her whole torso openly just looked like power and like she could take anything. I also think she's trying to appeal to a different audience than when Dangerously in Love came out; she's more confident as an artist and isn't trying as hard to appeal to a male audience with the full-frontal view of 2003. I guess that it would make sense to link power with white as far as stereotypes go but I never thought of it that way. Good reading and interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great example of what we saw in the movie, "a matter out of place." The idea that a black person is becoming one of us is as disturbing as it is betrayal in the eyes of blacks.
ReplyDeleteI also find her attire very interesting. She is wearing in the older album, something of what we might think of either an African princess or possibly a harem dancer. However in her new album she is wearing more European faux furs, very high class style.
I like how you catch this transformation of color some how causes issues in our culture. Which goes to show you that indeed color does matter, because if you change it suddenly it is an outrage.