By now, you’ve probably read and heard everybody’s opinions on Kendrick Lamar’s epic Super Bowl halftime show. Well, make room in your social commentary diet for one more opinion–mine.
I debated many ways about going with this, but part of a post by Upasna Gautam spoke to me.
She wrote about how Lamar’s performance challenged its audience to think beyond the narratives we’ve been told about America, society, and ourselves.
“If something is presented as truth, Lamar asks: Whose truth?” she wrote. “His work challenges dominant narratives, urging us to look beyond mainstream discourse.”
She ended her statement by writing, “Be skeptical of the first explanation you’re given. Seek multiple perspectives.”
If you don’t take anything else from all the opinions you’ve read, I urge you to take Gautam’s message to heart. You must always question the narratives you hear because sometimes those narratives are told to us to shackle us.
Let’s take a look at the halftime show overall. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Uncle Sam, plays the part of both the “mainstream” America–traditionally thought of as white America–and the embodiment of what some white people expect Black people to act like. This Uncle Sam isn’t a proud white man who represents the strength and (supposed) wisdom of the United States. This Uncle Sam, instead, is essentially an “Uncle Tom,” a Black man who gains his worth from appeasing the fragile-but-menacing white popular thought.
Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam, both an "Uncle Tom" character and an embodiment of a stereotypical white audience member. (Screenshot: NFL/FOX)
Uncle Sam is welcoming and disarming, introducing the halftime show as part of “the great American game.” Of course, at a halftime show, you expect entertainment. But Lamar acts like a fly in the ointment. He does entertain but on his own terms. He imbues stark commentary, righteous seething anger, inspiring defiance, and even plain joy into his show, a show that Uncle Sam routinely tries to rein in.
What Uncle Sam wants is for Kendrick to believe the narrative that he’s there just to perform a couple of hits and be grateful for the applause, particularly white applause. But Kendrick’s performance is basically critiquing what Uncle Sam represents, which is repression, denial, and racism smoothed over with a veneer of nostalgia.
At one point in the show, Lamar pretends to capitulate to Uncle Sam’s admonitions and decides to “slow it down” with “Luther” and the Black Panther hit “All the Stars.” These songs remind us of love and nostalgia (and honestly, who doesn’t want to return to a time when Chadwick Boseman was alive?). It seems like Lamar has bought into what Uncle Sam–or America–wants from him as a Black man, which is to make some cool songs, entertain the masses, and not investigate his own worth as an artist and a human.
BUT. Lamar cancels all of that and raps “Not Like Us,” the song he had been threatening to rap the entire night. It’s the song that Uncle Sam feels is Lamar at his most unruliness.
Kendrick Lamar used the Super Bowl as a subversive moment of questioning the status quo. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
While “Not Like Us” is Lamar’s most out-of-pocket moment of the night, he’d been getting on Uncle Sam’s nerves throughout the entire performance by investigating how Black labor built America, how America routinely victimizes Black people, and how important it is for Black people (and any allies who receive the message) to retain their humanity and fight back. Throughout the night, Lamar is critiquing America to the audience and right to Donald Trump’s face. Lamar knows that one of the biggest weapons in the fight against our current social crisis is to poke holes by saying, “Yeah, but you’re wrong, and here’s why.”
How do we implement this strength in our own lives? First, we can start with accepted “truths” that we know are false. For instance, I know that since I’ve been on a weight loss and health journey, I’ve been coming up against my old programming about weight and worth. Thanks to my mainlining shows like Saved by the Bell and popular teen movies, I inhaled the belief that desirability is inherent in my weight. My penchant for negative self-talk was fueled by my fears about being too big or being too this or too that.
However, if I investigate this thought process, I can start seeing how fake it is. Is it really true that your weight is what makes you attractive? Aren’t people of all sizes in relationships? Does weight really equal my worth? And if someone is with me just because of my size, what does that say about them?
If we take it even further, why are television shows and films that promote ideas about beauty and weight doing this? What does society gain from people- especially women- who feel low about their appearance? Control is a big reason for these types of messages. Those deviations can be seen as a threat in a society threatened by differences, especially differences that can uncover bigger truths about humanity. If women are happier about themselves and have a great relationship with their bodies, how can makeup companies sell beauty products? How can clothing companies get you to buy clothes you probably don’t need? So much of our country’s marketing revolves around lowering women’s self-esteem when selling products.
I could go into a deeper discussion about this topic, but that’s not the point of this article. It’s that showing you an example of how dissecting popular narratives can reveal the underbelly of entities wanting to control and disempower you so they can do what they want. Critiquing their game takes your power back.
Kendrick Lamar among dancers wearing red, white and blue. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
At this time, critiquing the powers that be is one of the only ways to go forward. The country is facing a lot, and the goal of making our country better than its past is to critique it. As I’ve said previously in this article, just because you love someone or something doesn’t mean you can’t critique it. In fact, pointing out where someone or something has messed up is a form of love because it shows that you care. It shows you want that person or thing to be better and achieve more.
Critique can also be a form of self-protection. Think about it–if we don’t offer up our opinions and stances on things we want changed in society, we are, at best, giving folks who want to keep us under control the opportunity to do just that. At worst, our silence can be taken as tacit agreement.
In other words, utilizing your right to question the narratives you’ve been given about yourself or others puts you back in the driver’s seat. You get to control how you feel about yourself, and you also get to offer protection to others who might not feel empowered yet to speak up. Asking why something is the way it is is way more powerful than you might think.
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