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Sour ‘Lemonade’: What Amy Schumer’s ‘Formation’ Video Remake Was Really About

By Jonathan Brown
Published on: 08:44 PST, Oct 28, 2016

As a black man in today’s world, I have learned that, along with protecting myself from hateful words and acts performed by so-called protectors, with great power comes great responsibility.

In my opinion, part of that responsibility is to, without fail, bolster the respect of a sect of humanity that very rarely receives its due: black women. For eons before most of us were even thought of, black women have, at best, been relegated to the background status of life as we know it, even when their contributions to society and history as a whole have proven that they are our truest leaders and pioneers.

At worst, their offerings to the world are copycatted by women whose skin tones have a lot less melanin in them, which are then presented to the public as the “hot new trend,” but this ain’t about the Kardashians, so let’s step on for now.

In this post, I’m actually going to talk about comedienne Amy Schumer, who, as noted by the Inquisitr, recently shot a remake of Beyoncé’s controversial music video, “Formation,” which most accepted as a crude parody.

Except, they never were meant to do so, so says Schumer herself, who explained her reasons for filming the video in a open letter that was shared by Love B. Scott. Here is an excerpt.

“It was never [meant to be] a parody. It was just us women celebrating each other. The video Beyoncé made was so moving and I wouldn’t ever make fun of that. There is absolutely no way to. I make fun of myself a few times in the video as I do in everything I am a part of.”

It’s unintentionally hilarious how she manages to literally contradict herself between sentences, but let’s break this down for a moment.

If Amy Schumer’s “Formation” video never meant for this to be a parody, then in reality, it’s a poor attempt at an homage that kind of borders on racism, even if that dark aspect was wholly unintended. At first glance, the only people of color involved in this Schumer’s “Formation” project are fellow comedienne Wanda Sykes, a random hairdresser, and a group of Polynesian women who suspiciously appear to be slave-like and dirty during their scenes.

Furthermore, the main focus of the Amy Schumer’s “Formation” video is Amy Schumer herself (who, admittedly, also rocks some literal filth on her clothing choices in the clip) and fellow co-star Goldie Hawn, who, forgive me if I’m wrong, is also most definitely not African-American.

Also missing from Amy Schumer’s “Formation” video? Displays of women actually celebrating each other and being powerful, something Schumer distinctly claims to be promoting in her version.

“I love how in the lyrics of ‘Formation,’ Beyoncé is telling us to get in formation. And also, I like to think she is telling us ladies to get information. I did not mean to detract any of the meaning from the video. I am of course horrified and sickened by the events that are addressed throughout that video and didn’t see this as minimizing that and still don’t. [My version] was a way to celebrate bringing us all together.”

Again, apologies if I’m being incorrect here, but both the lyrics and visual of the original “Formation” don’t necessarily fit the narrative that Schumer is attempting to hide behind, especially if it’s not meant to be taken as a parody.

For starters, the reason that Beyoncé’s extremely pro-Black “Formation” made such huge waves in the first place was because it was extremely pro-Black not just in sound, but in sight as well. It was never about “telling [all] ladies,” to “get in formation.” It was about specifically telling black ladies to own their power in a world that never seems to let them have any without some kind of hindrance or consequence.

https://youtu.be/wMea1UNtdI8

And for the record, no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone like the Caucasian Schumer finding a way to “get in formation” too, just as long as she realizes that in this particular case, she’s meant to stand in the background. But she’s not. This was her way of taking something that caused “all this conversation” — necessary conversation, at that! — and making it all about her, which is incredibly selfish.

Don’t believe me? Then peruse her entire response to the backlash. You’ll notice that there’s not one mention of “African-American” or “black” throughout her explanation. Not one. This wasn’t about honoring Beyoncé or Lemonade; this was about Amy Schumer’s need to garner controversy through something that will never personally effect her.

But, to be honest, I’m not that surprised by this, or Schumer’s explanation to the “Formation” backlash, for that matter. If anything, I’m more shocked that Beyoncé willingly signed off on her tackling of it, and that Jay Z allowed it to debut on his streaming service, Tidal (I also have a sneaking suspicion they had an ulterior motive for this allowance, but I digress).

With that being said, however, I pose last one question: if Amy Schumer truly wanted this to be nothing more than the show of inner strength that grew from hearing Lemonade, then why not go with creating an alternate version of any of the other 11 album tracks that are more universally relevant? The writers of Saturday Night Live did so, and to thunderous applause (and laughter!) at that.

At the end of the day, I guess she just molded her own misguided information about getting “in formation.” Enjoy the conversation, Amy — you wanted it, after all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL9WUcnDpJj/?taken-by=amyschumer&hl=en

[Featured Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]

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