“APES**T — THE CARTERS” : Black Excellence Explained
The Carters have captured the essence of black excellence in the present day. Their intricate use of symbolism throughout this music video has highlighted the achievement of two powerful African- Americans succession to the heights of royalty. Painted by the setting of the Louvre as they stand hand-in-hand in a position of prominence surrounding themselves by colonial artworks. Then, recognise their level of success as we get captivated by the scene but also remark on French colonisation and times of slavery even by the background music depicting that time. But their positions show that they are making their ancestors proud and they appreciate the hardship as well as sacrifices they have had to go through. Beyonce raps about their appreciation but dives into a bigger subject of respect. Men are still respected more than women in society despite how far they have come especially in terms of acquiring knowledge the issue of the gender pay gap still exists. She uses herself as an example of how successful women can become if they are given the chance and she demands change and respect for her wealth.
However, some may argue that the gender pay gap does not exist because mathematically where is the logic in this. If women are being paid less than men surely women have a higher chance of getting employed. In reality, this is not the case due to various factors. As well as, most common workplaces making it seem as though women have two choices in their lives: to start a family and reduce their chances of getting higher positions or for them to just focus on their careers. Which is completely unfair. Nevertheless, Beyonce proves that women can do both. She has reached her level of success yet start a family at the top of her game.
This opens up the umbrella subject of change which is represented immediately by the movement of the dancers. But the defiance of the movement then reopens the topic of slavery and within the rap highlights the vocabulary associated with people who were enslaved with references to animals. But, they are not using these mentions of animals in a negative connotation but as a way of conveying their messages as well as reminding the listeners of what people were like at that time. The listeners get the sense of the sacrifices but then hear more of the rap which moves the attention to Beyonce and Jay Z lifestyle and their success.
Overall, the song empowers black people portraying the great qualities and abilities that members of the black community have.
This is the first article I have written, I hope you have enjoyed reading it and have got an interesting insight into my perspective of the song. Hopefully, there will be more articles to come.
