Beyoncé And Black Feminist Magic In 'Lemonade'

13:30

April 27, 2016

Beyoncé performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game February 2016. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

Beyoncé's new album, "Lemonade," may be one of the most important pieces of artistic and cultural expression in a generation.

People will disagree, of course. Critics are going to debate. Beyoncé's in-your-face roar is about black women, feminism, political activism, power, betrayal and redemption. The simple fact that it inspires so much passionate response is proof enough of the album's importance.

So, why does "Lemonade" feel like so much more than an album or a video? What is Beyoncé saying that we all needed to hear?

Guest

Omise'eke Tinsley, professor of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches a "Beyoncé Feminism, Rihanna Womanism" course.

TIME: Beyoncé’s Lemonade Is Black Woman Magic

"Lush, troubling visuals show that Beyoncé is the goddess, the goddess is furious, the goddess is victorious, and most important: the goddess is every black woman. Slay."

Hollywood Reporter: Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Is a Revolutionary Work of Black Feminism

"What’s most revolutionary and cathartic about Lemonade, though, is that it dares to make a new canon, finding references in the unphotographed past and future simultaneously, a land of no men. 'F**k you, I’ll build anew,' Beyonce seems to say with this daring and necessary work."

Huffington Post: Black Feminism Lite? More Like Beyoncé Has Taught Us Black Feminism Light

"This is clearly no place in the world we know. Rather, this is the jewel-laden, spectacularly abundant fantasy of a black feminist imagination: a world-changing vision that stages an alternative reality in which black women have value."

This segment aired on April 27, 2016.