Preliminary analysis of feminism in Beyoncé's album Lemonade_英语论文

摘要

碧昂斯是当代著名黑人女性艺术家，其作品长久以来具有强烈的女性主义特征，她的音乐专辑对女性议题有着独特且深刻的自主思考。其在2016年发行的音乐专辑Lemonade内共包括12首音乐作品和1部长影片，结合起来完整讲述了一个黑人女性的关于爱情、婚姻和生活的所感所悟，自发布以来受到各界媒体的广泛关注和盛赞。

艺术家以自己和丈夫婚姻的不和作为开端，通过精神层面的内省和职场上的奋斗，从而健全了自身的女性人格。她通过描述自己妻子、母亲和女儿等不同身份形象，赞美了女性群体的伟大，强调当代女性进行个人解放，打破社会弱势群体枷锁的同时，需要肩负起对家庭的责任与厚爱。即使在最为艰难的时刻，也要活出精彩，去把生活从酸楚的柠檬变成可口的柠檬汁。

在女权主义音乐研究中，不乏从后现代女性主义的角度解构的相似音乐作品。本论文从女权主义的角度出发，在前人的理论思路上，结合当代社会背景，站在女性的视角去解读这部音乐作品背后衍生出的社会议题。

关键词:  黑人女性  后现代女性主义  两性关系  女性形象

Abstract

Beyoncé is a famous black female artist, whose music has been full of strong feminist features. Her songs have unique images of women. In 2016, she released her sixth personal music album - Lemonade, which included 12 songs and 1 music film. The album described a black woman’s love, marriage and life. The release of this album received widespread attention and praise.

The artist’s story begins with disharmonious marriage with her husband. Then the story extends to broader female images in the society like wife, mother and daughter. Through self-introspection and hard work, she finally gains new understanding of female’s role in the society. The album highly praises women. It also emphasizes that contemporary women are supposed to chase freedom and liberation in the male-dominated society. Meanwhile, women should bear the responsibility of family. Even in the toughest time, woman deserves living a wonderful life. Just like the theme of the alum says that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

In the first part of paper, The definition of the theme are introduced. Even if life is horrible now, a female still should praise and appreciate her own life. Finally, she’ll receive wonderful lemon juice. Then this paper analyzes the structure. Furthermore, the lyrics of every song and some images of the music video are explicated in details. In the conclusion, it refers that although this album tends to be political in the music research, it is the landmark of feminist music works that has produced great impact on society.

Keywords:  black female  postmodern feminism  gender relations  female image

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Beyoncé 1

1.2 Lemonade 1

1.3    Feminism 2

1.3.1    Definition of Feminism 2

1.3.2    Feminism Theory 2

2   Literature Review 4

3   Analysis 6

3.1 The Album's Theme 6

3.2 The Album's Structure 6

3.3    Analysis of the Album 7

3.3.1     Prelude 7

3.3.2     Awakening 9

3.3.3     Enlightenment 13

3.3.4     Sublimation 15

3.3.5      Epilogue 17

Conclusion 18

Acknowledgements 19

References 20