Beyonce's Renaissance

 

Beyonce's invigorating cinematic testament to personal empowerment, Renaissance, builds on the narrative model she used in 2019's Homecoming, which was released on Netflix, to create not only a record of her latest tour but a thundering challenge to MAGA nation's stagnating worldview. As with Homecoming, Renaissance combines concert footage with that of production preparation during which Beyonce, 41, displays the control over all aspects of the tour that has made her legendary. Her drive is phenomenal, and the quality of her products -- the visually and aurally dazzling shows AND her personal brand -- are indeed remarkable. She's been described as a "force of nature" and everything in the nearly 3-hour film supports that description. Early in the film, Beyonce announces from the stage that her shows, booked in sold-out stadia, are "safe spaces" for those who have been marginalized or rejected. And they flock to her shows, costumed in silver and popping fans marked "Heated," after one of the numbers from the Renaissance album. Her highly diverse crew includes non-gender conforming dancers, several from New York's ball culture. And in voice-over, Beyonce says she was excited by the number of women working on the tech side of the enormous enterprise, building the gigantic sets. Those familiar with Beyonce's catalog know that her songs celebrate, sometimes in the coarsest of terms, women's ownership of their lives and bodies, of their destinies. She talks in the picture about balancing her public and private obligations, her devotion to her craft and to her family, the long hours, the injuries, the need for calm between the storms of her exhausting routines. And the enormous gratification she gets from being able to play at the top of her game and succeed. In so many ways, Beyonce Knowles-Carter represents what America should be -- a place that encourages and supports all of us, where we can realize our dreams no matter how grand or modest, unimpeded, giving us space to grow, free of others' limiting perspectives and prejudices. And, of course, plenty of room to dance.