Zimpapers Logo

Beyonce

Hildegarde The Arena
THIS week I write about an American music artiste and actress Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (Beyonce), not because I am a fan of her music and artistic works, but because she is an individual who has occupied acres and acres of space in our media. Inevitably, a personality like Beyonce is bound to impact our society positively and negatively, especially among Zimbabwe’s youths.

Beyonce is described as “a self-described ‘modern-day feminist’, whose songs are often characterised by themes of love, relationships, and monogamy, as well as female sexuality and empowerment. On stage, her dynamic, highly choreographed performances have led to critics hailing her as one of the best entertainers in contemporary popular music. Through a career spanning 16 years, she has won 17 Grammy Awards and sold over 118 million records as a solo artiste and 60 million with Destiny’s Child, making her one of the best-selling music artistes of all time”.

Those hoping to shatter the glass ceiling of the artistic world are made to look up to the likes of Beyonce to learn how they have done it. And, there is nothing wrong with that because in order to achieve success, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
But this instalment presents readers with a different Beyonce than the artiste they are accustomed to.

This is about a Beyonce, who is now being worshipped like a god and there is already a Beyonce church called the “National Church of Bey” in Atlanta, Georgia. The form of religion is Beyism.

A recent statement by the church’s founder, Pauline John Andrews, regarding the church and its beliefs claimed: “We are very disappointed in the failure of the public to recognise the existence of a divine deity walking among them. Deities often walk the earth in their flesh form.
“Beyonce will transcend back to the spirit once her work here on mother earth has been completed.

“As our congregation continues to swell, we ask that you consider what is more real – an invisible spirit on high, or a walking, talking, breathing goddess who shows you her true form daily? Beyonce’s spirit is entrancing. We know that she was sent to this place to spread love, peace, and joy.
“While we do not believe Beyonce to be the creator, we recognise that she still sits among the throne of gods. There is a lot of false information being spread about our beliefs, but we will correct all of the vicious lie-tellers.

“As Beyonce spreads her gospel through song and dance, her message provides uplifting, loving, and many times real-life happenings. We humbly ask you to respect our beliefs, just as you want those to respect yours. Open your mind to new possibilities and you will see, just as we did, that Bey is a true higher power.

“Since the day we decided to go public, we have had tonnes of requests to learn more about our religion. We have published the Beyble and it will soon be available for free to the public. Donations have poured in and we will soon have enough to build a temple in honour of Mother Bey. We will invite her to speak to her flock, once the doors are open.”

The Beyonce church is said to be spreading its tentacles beyond the United States of America as “parishes are popping up all over. The church says it intends to spread its message abroad using its Internet Tumblr account.

That’s Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter for you. The founders are very clear on the methods they will use to spread their message: information and communication technologies.

They already have a website providing connection through Facebook, Twitter and/or Flickr. Some of the messages on that website are “Don’t forget to read your Beyble. They will be available soon”. “Have you accepted BEYONCE as your Lord and saviour?”

I leave it to our readers to see how they feel about the issue and how best they can handle it in a home or school environment where young people need to be properly guided.

How can parents monitor whether their children are following the Beyonce church or not? If we ascribe to freedom of worship, would it be a right if your daughter or son says to you one day that he/she worships Beyonce and is a member of the (Inter-) National church of Bey?

It is, however, common knowledge that in order for evil to triumph, all you need is to have a few good people say nothing. This has been the case since time immemorial. Many a time, a few good men or women have kept mum and the end result has been a manifestation of unprecedented evil.
The media are full of countless examples of various types of evil which have forced a few good men to say nothing and in the event allow it to triumph.

Every single day you read, view and listen to these evil acts, you ask yourself when a few good men and women will stand up to be counted.
A few good men also choose to say nothing not because they do not want to speak out, but because the last time they spoke out they were either told to mind their own business or they were told that their thinking was not in sync with contemporary views.

And then we have a few good men and women saying nothing for fear of persecution. How many few good men and/or women have seen this Beyonce blasphemy but have chosen to keep quiet?

How many have also read various articles on the issue but have not taken action even with their own children who might be avid Beyonce fans?

And, when is it time to take stern action on such lunacy?