Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé: Inside the House of Renaissance
From the first show of the Renaissance Tour, the BeyHive has had one question: ‘How the hell did she pull this off?’ As an artist and performer, Beyonce outdoes herself with every era, every album, and every tour. The Renaissance era has been no exception, and the film has affirmed the world’s reverence for the Queen.
In the film, Beyonce first addresses the questions of how the tour itself is put together. We see a sped-up sequence of the stage being set up and Beyonce narrating. She tells us how every panel in the massive screen is set up by hand and by her crew, the most women she’s had while touring. The stage is set up by hand, meaning the crew risked their lives to set up for every show. The crew was suspended in the air and built the screen panel by panel. Also, as one show was happening, the stages for other tour dates were being set up. Saying the production was massive would be an understatement.
Planning started for the Renaissance Tour in 2019, meaning this extravagant production was four years in the making. In the film, we see the process and witness Beyonce’s work ethic and perfectionism. Viewers see how relentless she is: with her knee injury and how she advocates for herself and her vision against those who– despite the fact that she is Beyonce– tell her no. Through the film, viewers see how everything is a fight for Black women, and Beyonce is no exception. The world knows Beyonce’s grit more than well, but she shows us a more vulnerable side. She tells the audience about how she’s decided she doesn’t owe anyone anything at this point in her career. The world has, rightfully so, put Beyonce on a pedestal of perfection, but through this film, we see her struggles with the tour, her aging, and being an active mother with her busy schedule, we see more of Beyonce’s humanity.
Although I saw Beyonce on tour, the film still had me frozen in my seat and overwhelmed with emotion. Beyonce gives the audience a peek into what the Renaissance Era has meant for her and the people around her. First and foremost, the Renaissance album is an ode to the queer community and ballroom culture. Beyonce highlighted underappreciated icons of ballroom, drag, and house music like MikeQ, Kevin Aviance, and Moi Renee. Kevin JZ Prodigy, a ballroom legend. Beyonce even had a segment of the movie dedicated to him, and deservingly so, considering his voice is heard throughout the shows of the Renaissance tour. Beyonce fittingly called him “the heartbeat of the tour.”
An unexpected person who found strength through the Renaissance era: Beyonce’s eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Blue Ivy became a fan favorite on the tour even though she was only meant to perform once. Beyonce initially told her no when Blue asked, but the 11-year-old inherited her mother’s work ethic. Blue Ivy practiced her dancing non-stop until her mother let her on stage, and for the remainder of the tour, Blue Ivy worked hard to be on that stage in front of thousands. Throughout the tour, audiences watched her come into her own as a dancer, and by the end, she was a true performer. After her first appearance, Blue Ivy faced extremely harsh comments from internet trolls about her first-ever performance; the internet showed no mercy for the preteen. Beyonce was upset that Blue had seen these comments, but Blue took them as constructive criticism and trained harder than ever to perform. Performing to the song “My Power” every night, Blue Ivy took her power back from the haters and tore up the stage in front of more than 70,000 fans on a majority of dates on the tour.
Beyonce created the Renaissance album as a tribute to her late Uncle Johnny, who was a gay Black man. He was the first to introduce her and her younger sister, Solange, to house music when they were younger. The Knowles sisters were very close to their Uncle Johnny, with Tina Knowles saying he helped her raise the girls. He was a talented seamster and helped Tina make the outfits for Destiny’s Child and made Beyonce’s Prom dress (hence the “Uncle Johnny made my dress” line from “HEATED”). It is evident the Queer community and culture has been a part of Beyonce’s life from the beginning. With the Renaissance era, she is paying homage to her roots while uplifting other queer people. In the words of Kevin JZ Prodigy, “The Renaissance Way is a movement. It is coming into your own. It’s about acceptance. You be yourself. You go out there, and you be unapologetic to whatever it is that you want to do.”