How Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” Changed My Thoughts on Writing
I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, so when my husband took our son out to a movie, I decided to curl up on the sofa with some magazines and turn on Netflix for background noise. I streamed Homecoming, Beyoncé’s concert documentary about her headlining performances at last year’s Coachella.
I never opened the magazines.
Though I’ve never been an enormous Bey fan — save for Lemonade, which is a phenomenal album, I don’t own and haven’t listened to much of her work — I was riveted by the film. Her love for her family, dedication to her craft, and unrivaled talent were obvious, but the thing that kept me engaged was something rarely seen in concert documentaries: Beyoncé has a mission and it shows through in all that she does.
The ode to historically Black colleges and universities. The diversity of the dancers, not only in skin color but body shape and size. The all-Black marching band. The voice-over narrations and quotes from black leaders and intellectuals: Maya Angelou, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Audre Lord, Nina Simone, Malcolm X, and Alice Walker, to name a few. Each aspect of her Coachella performance and the accompanying film was carefully selected to highlight the Black experience and bring culture to a stage that had never before showcased an African American woman headliner.
