On Sunday, February 7th, the 50th SuperBowl aired, pitting the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos won, but it seems that no one really cared. The Internet was much more concerned with things such as Lady Gaga's slaying of the National Anthem, Eli Manning's WTF face when the Broncos won, Cam Newton abruptly leaving his post-game interview, and – you guessed it – the halftime show.
The SuperBowl halftime show is no stranger to media buzz or public conversation. Last year, Katy Perry's halftime performance permeated the Internet in the form of the “left shark” meme. In the past, the halftime shows have been made infamous by people such as Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Beyoncé, joined by the other two members of Destiny's Child.
Not surprisingly, it is again Beyoncé who made headlines with her halftime performance. This year, the halftime headliner was Coldplay, but they were also joined by Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. First, Coldplay opened with “Viva la Vida” on a flower-shaped stage, with bright colors surrounding them on stage and in the audience. Lead singer Chris Martin used the big stage to his advantage by jumping around and interacting with fans at the runways that extended on four sides of the flower. Then, they transitioned into “Paradise” and their current single “Adventure of a Lifetime.” Dancers spread out over the field holding giant flowers over their heads.
As Martin lead the crowd in a call-and-response of woohoo's, the song transitioned to Mark Ronson as DJ and Bruno Mars performing “Uptown Funk” with his dancers. Then, mid-song, pyrotechnics erupted from off-stage where dancers dressed all in black were standing. They parted to reveal Beyoncé, who then began to perform her newly released song “Formation.”
After singing the line, “Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation,” the camera swung back to Bruno Mars, who called his dancers to action. They engaged in a dance battle with Beyoncé and her dancers to “Uptown Funk.” Beyoncé and Bruno faced off, then they and their dancers joined and danced together. Chris Martin suddenly appeared again and walked with Beyoncé and Bruno to the end of the runway, singing “Uptown Funk” together.
Then, the stage became a screen, which played clips from past SuperBowl halftime shows and National Anthem performances, while Coldplay, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars sung Coldplay's “Fix You.” The song doubled as a mashup of other songs by including lines from U2's “Beautiful Day,” Destiny's Child's “Independent Women,” and Coldplays “Up&Up.” At the very end, with the performers and dancers all crowded on and off stage, the camera panned out so we could see a wide shot of the stadium. People in the audience were holding colored posters over their heads. The image spelled out the words “believe in love.”
Now that I've detailed everything that the performers did during the halftime show, there should be no confusion as to what happened. It seems clear, right? Coldplay sang a little bit, Bruno Mars sang a little bit, Beyoncé sang a little bit, Beyoncé and Bruno danced a little bit, and then they all sang a little bit more. But, yet, there still seems to be some confusion.
Some have called Beyoncé's performance “racially charged” and “race-baiting.” She has received backlash because her dancers – who were dressed all in black, wore berets, and wore their hair in Afros – reminded people of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panthers were activists in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. The people who criticize her for that also criticize her song, “Formation,” because its music video contains images that offend them. In particular, they don't like the image of Beyoncé on top of a drowning New Orleans police car or the one of a child in a hoodie, standing in front of a line of police officers with his hands up. Because of this, Beyoncé has been accused of promoting an anti-white and anti-police agenda.
Coldplay, and the halftime show in general, has also received backlash for pushing a “gay agenda” for whatever reason. I don't know if I watched a different halftime show than everyone else, but I don't remember seeing what these people say they saw.
Beyoncé's performance was not racist. She sang a song that she had just released the day before – a song about black pride. In the song, Beyoncé sings that she's proud of her roots, her features, and, obviously, her swag. The music video includes images of important events in the black community. The drowning car symbolizes Hurricane Katrina and the hoodied boy symbolizes the “hands up, don't shoot” protests that took place in response to police brutality. To me, it seems that this is Beyoncé paying respect to the hardships that the black community has gone through. There is nothing wrong or racist about being proud of your heritage. As for the Black Panther-esque dancers – they are another way of showing black pride. The naysayers have been focusing on the “violent” activist tactics that the Black Panthers are incorrectly associated with and not the positive effect that they had on the black community.
I also didn't see the usage of flowers, bright colors, and the words “believe in love” as an attempt to convey LGBT pride. I saw it as more of an homage to the 1960s and 70s Flower Power movement. However, if I am wrong, and they totally were trying to convey LGBT pride, then so be it. It actually fit the theme of the halftime show: harmony.
If we're going to analyze the SuperBowl halftime show – something I never thought I would say – then what happened was actually a clever use of the opportunity. Beyoncé sang about black pride. Coldplay's performance was, supposedly, about LGBT pride. Bruno Mars was there. And, at the end, they all came together and literally sang about being together. The lyrics to Up&Up that they all sang are as follows:
“We're gonna get it, get it together right now
Gonna get it, get it together somehow
Gonna get it, get it together and flower
We're gonna get it, get it together, I know.”
It's a simple concept. We're gonna get it together, whatever it is. We're not going to do it alone, so we will work together and help each other out. Harmony. How could that be anti-anything, let alone anti-police? If anything happened at the halftime show that should be complained about, it's that Lady Gaga and Beyoncé were on the same field and didn't perform "Telephone."
