Deja Davis
2019 – 2020 Managing Editor
Everyone can now get in formation whenever they want to tune into the two hour iconic Coachella performance better known as “Beychella” to see what all it took to actually come together.
The new Netflix documentary “Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé” premiered early Wed. April 17, capturing Beyoncé’s unforgettable performance at the 2018 Coachella music festival as well as behind the scenes of her crew’s hard work and dedication during the choreography process.
Throughout the film the singer included quotes from remarkable black creatives such as WEB DuBois, Nina Simone, Toni Morrison and Reginald Lewis that appeared various times serving as title cards between displaying the footage of the concert. Beyoncé spoke mostly in voiceover, maintaining a mysterious presence even in those rare moments of her at her lowest, with intimate footage from the months of rehearsals it took to re-train her body post-pregnancy and also to see her complicated vision come to life all while focusing on her lifelong dream of attending an HBCU like her father.
“My college was Destiny’s Child,” she says. “My college was traveling around the world, and life was my teacher.”
No African-American woman had ever headlined the arts and music festival’s main stage, making history which made her specifically want to showcase her culture while taking fans through an onstage parade of her many hits that were all re-orchestrated and reimagined to suit the musical backdrop of a marching band.
When it comes to Beyoncé releases, there is usually an element of surprises.
A day after “Queen B” dropped her celebrated documentary, along with a surprise album, Homecoming: The Live Album, that features all of the music from her Coachella performance, the former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter to congratulate the Grammy winner on the film.
“Hey, Queen! Girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly. I’d say I’m surprised but I know who you are. I’ve seen it up close and personal. Girl, you make me so proud, and I love you,” Obama said.
She continued, “I also love that your new Netflix film, Homecoming, is informed by the Black leaders, thinkers, and poets who paved the way for folks like us. I love that it’s both a celebration and a call to action. And I love that you’re using this film to inspire the next generation of history makers and record breakers who’ll run the world in the years ahead. So to you my friend, I just wanna say, keep telling the truth because you can do it in a way that no one else can.”
The singer wanted numerous types of people to be represented in her Coachella performance. She said, “There was no rules – we were able to create a safe free space where none of us were marginalized.”
“It was important to me that everyone who had never seen themselves represented felt that they were on that stage with us… I wanted everyone to feel grateful for their curves, sass, honesty and freedom – there were no rules”.
Famous dancer, choreographer and baton twirler Diddi Emah, who performed at Beyoncé’s Coachella show, echoed those thoughts: “I thought I’d be too short, too thick – to have things that black families’ value up on stage for the world to see and for them to understand us that little bit more is just all a blessing”.
This documentary exemplified the beauty and greatness of black culture, and also gave people the chance to celebrate the necessity and importance of attending a historically black college and university.
Be First to Comment