By Rosie Alger
Elm Staff Writer
When Superbowl Sunday rolls around America tunes in. Whether it be for the game, the commercials, or the half time performance, millions of people sit down for an afternoon of entertainment, and this year was no exception. This year’s half time show featured Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyoncé, and their charged performance left American extremely divided. While Coldplay’s set featured a rainbow stage and images of uniting in love, evoking strong LGBTQ+ representation imagery, Beyoncé marched onto the field performing her new song “Formation” and representing the Black Lives Matter movement and the power of black culture. With such hot button topics crammed into roughly 12 minutes of entertainment, some viewers were left with a sour taste in their mouth. Others, however, celebrated these artists for taking advantage of this opportunity to shine light on important topics. Does activism have a place in the Superbowl? In my opinion, there is no better platform for such important conversations.
Coldplay started the juices flowing with a beautiful combination of nostalgic feel-good songs, a rainbow pride themed stage, and a message of comradery. They even ended the show with the giant message, Believe in Love in rainbow letters across the stadium.
While Coldplay’s part may have been a more subtle but still very effective homage to the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, there was no denying Beyoncé’s contribution to the political atmosphere. Before the big day she released her new single “Formation” in yet another surprise move. Timed perfectly for Black History Month, the song is being hailed as a black power anthem and features imagery from Hurricane Katrina, Creole culture, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Black Lives Matter movement, including a scene with a little boy in a hoodie raising up his hands in front of a line of police officers. This music video is a huge step for Beyoncé’s participation in the movement, but she took it even further. At the Superbowl, she sang the new song while dressed in a bandolier of bullets as a nod to Michael Jackson, as a powerful squad of female dancers, whose costumes resembled the famous Black Panther uniform, backed her up. Some of her dancers even held up a sign that read “Justice 4 Mario Woods” during a break in the show. Beyoncé’s performance was strong, beautiful, moving, and also fun as she made a statement and had a blast dancing and singing with two other great musicians.
Unfortunately, some people have interpreted this call for justice and tribute to the power and pride of black culture as a somehow racist display of hatred of police or appeal for violence. According to CNN, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke about the event on Fox News and was reported saying, “This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive.”
This extreme misunderstanding gets at the very crus of the problem. Too many people in this country think that the Black Lives Matter movement is anti-white or is in favor of violence against police. At its core, the movement is simply demanding the respect, safety, and dignity that white and privileged people in this country already have. It is pro-black, not anti-white. This distinction is crucial, but many do not understand. Beyoncé demonstrated this while honoring the rich and wonderful history of black culture that our country too often leaves out of the conversation.
The response was definitely not fully negative either. Many people had emotional reactions just as far in the opposite direction, seeing this as one of the best Superbowl half-time shows in memory. In a conversation with CNN, “Black Lives Matter activist Erika Totten said Beyoncé’s message accomplished exactly what the movement is supposed to. ‘I think [the message] absolutely belongs in the Super Bowl,’ Totten said. ‘Our goal is to disrupt the status quo and bring the message wherever the message may not be heard.’ Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson, who is running for mayor in Baltimore, hailed the star’s performance, tweeting ‘At its core, she is reminding us that economic justice is a key component to liberation work.’”
The performance and music video were supposed to evoke strong emotions, and well they should. The state of racial injustice in this country is nothing short of horrifying, and this year Beyoncé has shown us that she knows how to use her position in the media to make some contribution for change. That, to me, is the real power of fame. We hold celebrities up as gods, which in many cases can prove problematic. The silver lining is that these stars have a unique opportunity to really shine a spotlight on important causes, and that is exactly what our Superbowl entertainment has done for us this year. Furthermore making a political statement with music and entertainment is nothing new. Look back at the counterculture music of the ‘60s that so many of us love today. Music is supposed to make you feel something, and if it makes you want to get up and fight against injustices, in my book, there’s nothing better.
Even with some negative feedback, in the end, Beyoncé accomplished people talking about black rights again. To quote Queen B herself, “you know you that b*tch when you cause all this conversation.” Let’s keep the conversation coming.