Comparing Lemonade And Space Is The Place

Politics and social movements are often difficult, if not impossible to separate from art. Often, art is created with both in mind. While both Lemonade and Space is the Place integrate black identity with certain forms of resistance, these two works tell very different stories. Sun Ra’s story tells about the the struggle for male liberation in a white capitalistic society, while Lemonade tells of infidelity and identity as a means of resistance. Lemonade meshes and resonates with the Black Lives Matter movement, while Space is the place differs from and critiques the Black Panther movement of that time.
A prominent example of Afrofuturist art. Space is the Place contains activist-coded themes, as well as Black and African imagery. There are
Sun Ra’s most pressing criticism of the Black Panther movement is that it is not revolutionary enough; their struggle for equal rights is still contingent on the white power structure that still racially exploits Black people for capitalistic gain, which is shown when Sun Ra agrees to take several losses and work with the Overseer and again when Ra is abducted by NASA workers seeking to exploit his music. In comparison, Lemonade seems to be a capitalistic qualification of activism, as she has monetary incentives to pursue capitalism. While Space is the Place contains explicit political resistance and futuristic imagery, Lemonade’s political resistance lies in its existence and instead of using futuristic imagery, relies on familiar imagery. Sun Ra depicts a future if possibilities, while Beyoncé’s art depicts the struggles of living in a white patriarchal society. Space is the Place contained a central plot with secondary plots, with free jazz used as the interludes. Lemonade, however, often switches from multiple musical and visual theme to another with interludes of poetry. This album also represents a shift from earlier Beyoncé music in that it is pro-black, and therefore less marketable to a White
The chapters, which allow the audience to interpret the scenes are: Intuition, Denial, Anger, Apathy, Emptiness, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection, Hope, and Redemption. To support the narrative, the visual album often and quickly switches from one fantastic frame with bold imagery to a different frame. Occasionally, the visual and audio contradict each other to form a unique moment, such as before and after Don’t Hurt Yourself, when violent imagery is spoken to the background sound of a music box or after Six Inch, when Beyoncé gently sings to the visual of being surrounding by flames. Beyoncé utilizes a quote by Malcom X that “The most disrespected woman in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”, that allows us to view her work opposing the white patriarchy, simply by championing for black women. In this case, existing and embracing identity represents resistance. Lemonade makes visual references to Egyptian/African heritage through outfits and scenery, but Beyoncé typically contains references to American Black Southern heritage, which includes, but is not limited to, naturalism, patriarchy, religion, femininity, poverty, slavery, New Orleans, and Hurricane Katrina. BLM, like the Black Panthers, among other things, seeks to end police brutality. This