Beyonce’s Cultural Misstep You Might’ve Missed While Watching Formation

I have been a fan of Beyoncé’s since Destiny’s Child. We’re basically the same age so we’ve grown up together. Her songs took me from high school to adulthood. I have danced and cried and loved to her songs. I have felt uplifted and empowered because Beyoncé has always been about female empowerment ever since “Say My Name” and “Survivor”.

So seeing Beyoncé dressed as a Bollywood starlet in Coldplay’s “Hymn for the Weekend” made me very uncomfortable. Cultural appropriation is such a confusing thing for most people. When is it appropriation and when is it appreciation? And the answer may just belong to the affected communities. I do not belong to the Indian community nor to the Black community. But as a Muslim woman, I know what it feels like to be a part of a marginalized community. And my heart went out to the Indian women that would feel underrepresented by this.

The fact is, there already was an actual Bollywood actress, Soonam Kapur, in the video. But rather than feature her in the starring role she was relegated to the background. Why wasn’t she the actress Chris Martin goes to see at the cinema in the film? That is her actual job after all.

Beyoncé was barely in this video but she shouldn’t get a pass for it. It isn’t enough to say, well this is what happens when you let the white guy plan the video. Because Beyoncé has shown that she is in charge of her image and her choice of song.

And here’s where it gets problematic. A week after this video came out, Beyoncé dropped “Formation.”

“Formation” is an AMAZING video. It is a political work of art. As a fan, I was so proud of Beyoncé . As a person who has been rooting for the Black Lives Matter movement, I was excited for all the Black girls and women that would see this video and feel “Yes! This is who I am and who I want to be!” I was blown away by the power. But then I thought for all the Black women that felt empowered by this song and video, what about the Indian women that woke up to the Coldplay video? How did they feel to see Beyoncé dressed like a stereotypical Bollywood star that represents an Orientalist fantasy? How many Indian women are equated with this image when they are more than just a costume? It’s hard to answer because ever since “Formation” came out, discussion about “Hymn for the Weekend”, where you can find it, has been overshadowed. And it deserves discussion.

“Formation” showcases black women in all their beautiful shades and sizes; young and old. We can’t say she doesn’t know how to show representation. While it isn’t her job to uplift the Indian community, as a feminist, she should be thinking about what her role in Coldplay’s video would mean to women. Representation matters.

She is not the only one at fault here. Coldplay’s faults are many for this whole video and it is not their first offense. But, again, I’m a Beyoncé fan and it is for that fact that i’m concentrating on her. “Formation” is a video that will go down in history. “Hymn for the Weekend” is pretty forgettable. Except for those that will remember when Beyoncé forgot them.