“Renaissance.” The word we keep seeing, thanks to Beyoncé. The tour that single handedly brought silver and chrome back to life. The album that gave birth to a completely different understanding of what love and unity could look like. This was an album created to get the people moving after such a stagnant point in all of our lives during COVID-19. The impact of this tour left concert goers feeling more than liberated, unique, one of one, number one. For those who could not make it (or if you’re like me and went to a show and wanted to relive that moment), “Renaissance: The Film” gives you the show, flaws and all, so you can also experience the art that is a Beyoncé concert. Queen Bey is one of those artists people love to hate. She knows this as well. In “Heated,” a hit song off of her newest album, she addresses this saying, “Monday I’m overrated, Tuesday on my d***.” Beyoncé is someone who is very private about her life which makes her seem like a machine of sorts to the world. Inhuman. This film made Beyoncé relatable. It spoke to her motherly side, her childhood, her just being human. She opens the film with a monologue showing extensive gratitude to not only her fans but to her journey. This set the tone for the entire film, might I say. A real tear jerker. We see the thousands of fans outside her show, queer bodies being proud of who they are and flaunting their different styles and just everyone being so excited to be a part of something so special. “Renaissance: The Film” gives audiences a first look into Beyoncé’s brain and the process she had to go through while creating an entirely different world for her fans: four years of work that we didn’t even know she was putting in, literally. “‘Renaissance’ gave me a new respect for Beyoncé,” wrote a reviewer from Rotten Tomatoes. This is a very real thing for many people who have seen the film. Let’s get into the why. The film is beyond fascinating, for starters. Beyoncé herself stated that her goal was to create a safe space for everyone to just be who they are and that is exactly what she did. She ranges from cool, calm and collected to screaming in the microphone to laughing and just feeling every emotion and encourages the crowd to do the same. Just have fun, whatever that means to them at that moment. Beyoncé has entered the era of simply not caring what people think after being a “serial people pleaser.” She has nothing to prove, and this is very apparent throughout the film in how she carries herself and how she performs. She channels the energy that she receives from the sold-out crowd and uses it to her advantage every time. Seeing it on film is completely inspiring because she gives the same energy (and then some) right back to her audience. It is a constant flow of energy. Photo provided by Aahkilah Cornelius’s Manager
30 Folio Weekly
