Black is King: my honest opinion

Like many people I was waiting impatiently for the new film by Beyoncé, Black is King which came out on Disney+.

The new film is an adaptation of the movie The Lion King.

My impatience about watching the film was also due to the fact that it was relating to Africa and that I wanted to see how Africa would be portrayed within her film.

I was very excited when the film came out on Disney+ because the teasers were very appealing as I could see the beautiful landscapes and costumes that were worn by the different actors, dancers and singers. In fact, when I finally watched it, I was really amazed by the visual aspect of the film as the esthetic is just mind blowing and I really felt as if I traveled in her universe.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the music throughout the film. I already listened to the album The Lion king: The Gift and I liked the songs my favorites being Ja ara e by Burna Boy and Key to the Kingdom from Tiwa Savage and Mr Eazy. Therefore, it was great to hear them and have a visual for each of those songs. That’s why I believe that it was a bit confusing for many people when they heard that it was a film as it is mostly a visual of her previous album.

The mix between the African and American sonorities in the songs were very well put together and this is what, I believe, makes the uniqueness of this project. This mix was also seen in the dance moves the visuals, and the culture.

However, I sometimes felt some lack of coherence in the film and her vision of Africa. For example, in the religious aspect was represented some features of the Bible such as the Virgin Mary or the story of Moses when he was left in the Nile. For me, the incoherence comes when she sings and represents the ancestors and their believes such, as the Voodoo cult which is about communicating with the ancestors and nature, but still brings Christianity at the same time, knowing that this is not a religion which was believed by the ancestors. But, as I also said, there is a mix of African and American culture in the film which could justify it.

I also saw the fact of taking some aspect of the Renaissance Period to cheer up the Black culture, as if the Black culture was not enough to itself and that we need to use the occidental culture to add value to ourselves.

I know that many people are tired of the “Wakendest” representation of Africa but, I personally disagree. Actually, I am happy of seeing Africa represented as powerful, proud and royal. I think that we have been way too much represented as poor and “side buddies”. We need more representation which shows the continent positively. However, I understand that some people may feel hurt because it could make them feel as if only rich black people can actually make it in life and that if you do not enter this idealism, you are not wort it. But, as a young black girl, I would have loved to see such representation on TV. So, I am happy to believe that many young black kids will feel proud of their identity when seeing this film. And, I totally agree with Musicfeelings tv on this point (if you understand French) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou3WZKHjzbk.

So, the main aspect that I remember is that as black people whenever we are, we need unity. This unity was represented by the Pan Africanist Flag which was shown during the song Already in featuring with Shatta Wale, but not only: the colors red, green and black were shown throughout the film in different scenes like in the song Power, which emphases this pride. Another aspect was to be and stay proud of our African and black culture in general and not to be ashamed of who we are. This is what I think is the main aspect to remember from it.