Black Is King! - but we all don't have to be royalty.

Black Is King is excellent!.... Full stop....  

Beyonce's movie on Disney+ is a brilliant spectrum of beauty and wonder.  The visuals are so stunning it is almost as if they were created with a yet to be discovered technology.  Being she is one of only two celebrities my wife allows me to stare at for prolonged periods, she is absolutely mesmerizing.  Many times, I am left speechless at her sustained brilliance.  She couldn’t have even been made in a lab, because only God can create that type of excellence…. 

My next comments are not about the Beyonce film specifically, but some of the themes, in it.  Themes I see where a conversation could be had.  Ones that flickered in my mind as a basked in the brilliance of the film.

And that is the depiction of the mythical Africa. 

While the allure of visuals depicting Africa, and Africans, as kings, queens and royalty, all walking around with beautifully adorned clothing, performing mystical rituals, with pristine elegance, is awesome to see, it can seem dated and disconnected from Africa and Africans today.|

When I was a kids, growing in NYC, in the late 70s, saying I was Nigerian, would often lead to the question if my father or grandfather was a king, or a chief, or some sort of royalty. At first I would be honest and say no. However the disappointment in the eyes of the questioner, led me to start just lying.  Saying “yes” because there seemed to be a want, almost a need, for our ancestors to be great and glorious.  And how can we depict that, other that assigning royal status to us.  

Emir Of Kano coronation

So little was known about Africa at the time, that this mythical depiction was almost necessary.  Especially with the bombardment of Africa shown as an underdeveloped jungle in the media.  We pushed against that narrative, by making sure it was known we are descendants of kings and queens…

Today I am not sure we need that mythical depiction anymore.  Especially with the whole world reachable with technology, we all see and know what true Africa is.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the incredible, the beauty, the culture, the music, the films, the arts, all real and fully assessable. The pageantry of modern day Africa, in real cultural events are stunning!

We no longer need to depict these mythical Africans as all kings and queens, in some green mountain side.  A beautiful woman, dressed in colorful traditional wear, going to work in an office, a bank, at a wedding, or going to school, is just as regal, if not more so, because it is real and happening today all across Africa.

Watch Nigerian movies like Isoken, Wedding Party and many others, and see the absolutely stunning beauty in the colors, pageantry and culture in those films.  All showing real Nigeria, in all its beauty, wealth and poverty, all of it.

Dakore Akande in Isoken

Again, this is not about BIK specifically, because it is a stand alone piece of stunning art.  However there is a discussion to be had as to other ways to show Africa.  Not just as this monolithic, mixed cultured entity, but the diverse, full faceted collection of countries and cultures that are rich, nuanced and constantly expanding and growing. 

The Wedding Party