
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, notorious American singer-songwriter, defines her opinions of the female presence in the above quote; she claims that a woman should be confident, and that confidence should be a woman’s best quality. Beyoncé is known for her feminist views as they are seen through her fifth album, Beyoncé, through tracks like “Pretty Hurts” and “Flawless”, but she didn’t let the feminism didn’t stop there. On April 26th of 2016 Beyoncé released her unique album Lemonade. The tracks display a heavy influence of southern blues, reggae, rock, and soul music; and the visual album embodies various themes, intertwined together with remarkable cinematography and poetry. This album is unlike any of her others; not just in its style of music but also in the inspiration behind the tracks and the visual album that is included. The album epitomizes her pride in being a woman, and ties this concept into her ability to move past the pain of being cheated on by her husband, Jay-Z, as well as the struggles of being a black female in today’s culture. Lemonade is outstanding in its usage of symbolism, seen throughout the entire film through various objects, camera angles, and songs. Throughout all of her work Beyoncé has been known to utilize her biological sex and race to display to the audience the pride she has in herself, her career, and her heritage; and Lemonade may be the perfect representation of this pride that she respectfully embodies. 

Within Lemonade’s visual album, the most prevalent symbolism is the presence of water, most specifically in two of the first major scenes. The first scene where water is introduced is when Beyoncé is seen falling off the side of a building; she is falling gracefully with her arms spread out, in almost a sacrificial stance, making this scene beautiful although the motivation behind jumping is fairly clear. The camera shows the entire side of the building and the ground where she is assumed to land; this is significant because the viewer is able to tell how far the fall is, which can be correlated directly to how much pain she feels after being cheated on. Beyoncé does not fall to the ground though, rather, she lands in water, and when this happens she is heard saying in the background “I tried to change. Closed my mouth more. Tried to be softer, prettier, less awake.” (Lemonade) At this point in the scene she is under water in a bedroom, one that is embellished with decorations that seem aged, and antique-like; it is quite strange that she is now under water but when examined in detail, the viewer may begin to understand why the setting was chosen. The second scene where water plays a vital role in the meaning occurs directly after Beyoncé is seen under water. In this scene, she barges out of church doors with water rushing out along side of her, where she then struts through the streets of New Orleans, smashing storefront windows, car windows, and cars, all with a smirk on her face, which hints to the audience that she is enjoying herself. This scene not only shows Beyoncé in a content state, but also the people around her and the people hanging out on the street seem to be joining in on her lashing out- they are enjoying themselves just as she is. 

In the scenes described, water is seen as a sign of baptism; and in this film it is exactly that. Beyoncé’s words in the first scene described testify to this claim; she is saying that because of the hardship she was forced to endure as a result of Jay-Z’s terrible actions, she has begun to attempt change. Water in both scenes symbolizes Beyoncé’s re-birth as a sort of baptism that is allowing her to become a new self- who was better than the last one, which makes sense as to why certain scenes were chosen to display this notion. Both times the shot shows everything around her; it doesn’t just show Beyoncé, but it shows where she is, who is around her, and what she is surrounded by. This motif basically characterizes the film as a whole – the film is the story of Beyoncé’s redemption after finding out of Jay-Z’s cheating on her. It is how she deals with it and how she inspires other women to do so too. Through this film Beyoncé shows the audience that her means of coping with the mental destruction caused by Jay-Z’s actions is to embrace her gender and her race. So, rather than choosing to internally destroying herself, she choses to tell the world why, mentally, she is bigger than the downfalls associated with Jay-Z’s cheating – and that, in a sense, is the essence of feminism within the film. Feminism within the film is epitomized by the re-birth symbolized by water – Beyoncé is telling the world that the negativity associated with a man’s unfortunate decisions should not determine a woman’s destiny. She is saying that woman is capable of controlling her own emotions in a way that will allow her to be an individual; that women don’t need men to assign them value. 

Not only does the visual album Lemonade include symbolism that ties into the theme of the piece, but it also includes literal scenes that are used to evoke specific emotions that add to the overall theme as well. The film embodies feminist notions as well as notions rooted in black pride, as Beyoncé is displaying her personal pride and love for her race through various scenes within Lemonade. The scene that resonates the most within this realm is during the song “Don’t Hurt Yourself”; the song pauses halfway through and goes to a sample of Malcolm-X saying, "The most disrespected person 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."(Lemonade). While he is saying this, shots of black women in their natural habitat appear on the screen; the manner by which this scene is directed will evoke emotions of respect for these women. Another scene where black pride is an extremely prevalent concept is when the camera shows the mothers of black males who were shot by police in the US; the mothers are seen holding a picture frame with a photo of their son in it. This is a very blunt and direct stab at the culture of today’s society and the racism that exists. Beyoncé is using her power as an artist and her position as many females’ role model to tell the world of things she is the most passionate about: her gender and her race. 

Lemonade is a modern work that testifies to the issues of today’s society; it serves as a protest against any form of judgment placed on females and African Americans. The film does this in quiet and inconspicuous manners, through scenes like the one where she jumps off the side of abuilding, as well as and loud and obvious manners, through scenes like the one where she is seen strolling around the street bashing out car and storefront windows. The veiled symbolism found within certain aspects of the film hints towards feminist views, while noticeable cinematic qualities point fingers at the demises in today’s world. Beyoncé didn’t construct this film with the singular hope of making money and getting attention, but rather, she did it to raise awareness and bring light to issues that still exist for women and for African Americans. Beyoncé is known for her work being rooted in feminism and black pride, but Lemonade takes it to a whole new level; it shows the audience why, on a personal level, she is so passionate about these things. She shows the world intimate footage of her life’s obstacles in hopes that this visual text will illuminate societal issues. The film is aesthetically pleasing, relatable, and respectable as a result of the inspiration and confidence displayed through this piece of visual text.
