TOW #17: Nonfiction Text- Beyoncé’s Radical Halftime Statement by Spencer Kornhaber

This past Super Bowl was one of reflection. To reflect on the past fifty Super Bowls as well as the halftime shows that accompanied them. This year’s halftime show featured Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and of course Queen B herself. As Coldplay blandly strained for the universal, Yoncé and Bruno Mars pulled off something more specific and more daring. The author of Beyoncé’s Radical Halftime Statement sought to explore their specific and daring act, by stating it was an act rooted in their history, contrasting Coldplay’s act which sought to be universal. “But as an artist, she has a specific message, born of a specific experience, meaningful to specific people. Rather than pretend otherwise, she’s going to make art about the tension implied by this dynamic. She’s going to show up to Super Bowl with a phalanx of women dressed as Black Panthers.” Beyoncé’s  decision to dress in a Black Panther-esque uniform was not one with a racial subtext  but rather “channeling black radical movements and Michael Jackson in 1993. These were displays of cultural power coming from specific places, with specific meanings. They were rooted in history, but obviously spoke to the present.” Kornhaber’s point about speaking to the present is meant to connect those issues from the Civil Rights era shown through the Black Panther uniforms, and connect them to today’s continuing issues with race and discrimination. Beyoncé, through her performance at the halftime show sought to get people to look back at the past, not just past Super Bowls, but also past history as well in order to raise awareness for the issues that are still prevalent today.