Theft or inspiration: the epic surf film that Beyoncé ripped off for Lemonade
- Text by Gabriela Helfet
- Photography by View From A Blue Moon // Laurene Boglio
If Beyoncé Knowles is Planet Earth’s reigning Queen of Soundwaves, John John Florence is the Prince of Tides.
Last year, Florence and Director Blake Vincent Kueny released an epic, grandiose as fuck, surf flick. Some of the world marvelled at its majesty. This is the July 2015 teaser for View From A Blue Moon:
In 2016, Beyoncé released an epic, grandiose as fuck, audio visual opus. Most of the world marvelled at its majesty. This is the April 2016 teaser for Lemonade.
Now, here they are combined into one. This is JohnceKnowles.
Yeah the shots are different, but the pacing, the way the music is synced with the shots, hell the entire editing sequence really, is pretty much exactly the same.
Beyoncé has already been accused of “borrowing” other artists’ ideas for Lemonade’s first music video: Formation.
But here’s the rub. Where her audio is concerned, Knowles is, seemingly, straight diligent. On Don’t Hurt Yourself she’s gone so far as to credit Robert Plant, presumably because she sampled a teensy snippet of a Led Zeppelin track.
So what’s the deal? Are the films Bey ‘samples from’ somehow less deserving of a nod than the music? Is this just a case of innocent inspiration, that the Internet is kicking up unnecessary fuss about? After all, according to Picasso, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Or maybe, just maybe (!!!) the real message behind Lemonade is that Beyoncé is a secret surfer girl ready to shoot the curl at Mavericks… Sure hope it’s that last one. (Surfbort).
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Green Man is more than a music festival
Planting roots — For nearly a quarter century, the fiercely independent weekender has been flying the flag for Welsh arts and music. As an ecosystem now bubbles around it, Anna Stafford meets the people who keep the fire burning.
Written by: Anna Stafford
Julian Cashwan Pratt: “We fought security until the cops showed up”
Hard Feelings — The lead singer of Show Me the Body joins Rob Kazandjian’s column on fatherhood and masculinity to talk about mentors, scrapping Zionists at shows, and finally making his father proud.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
Lost photos from the heyday of punk and new wave
Crash Bang — DB Burkeman’s latest photobook unearths photographs from his younger years as an aspiring music photographer, which sat undeveloped in his family home for decades.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Analogue Appreciation: Xmunashe
Make Yourself At Home — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s elusive freeform explorer Xmunashe.
Written by: xmunashe
Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday
Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Hanoi’s nightlife faces raids & repression, its underground scene modulates
Spaces Between the Beats — Tensions between nightlife and authorities have grown in recent times, as police target venues and their patrons with increasingly frequent drug testing and searches. With clubs becoming hostile spaces as a result, Hanoi’s electronic music community is finding new spaces and forms of expression, reports Martin Guttridge-Hewitt.
Written by: Martin Guttridge-Hewitt
