Decolonial thinking at Coachella 2018

the discourse in Beyoncé's performance

Abstract

This article analyzes the discourse of singer Beyoncé in her performance at the at the 2018 Coachella Festival, turned into a Netflix documentary, in search of traces of decolonial thinking. From the Age of Discovery on, Modernity has developed, having coloniality as its constitutive element, consistent in the relations of exploitation and domination between Europe and colonized peoples. Coloniality led to the annihilation and silencing of diverse cultures, due to the imposition of Eurocentric standards. In opposition to the binomial Modernity-Coloniality, there is Decoloniality, a movement of resistance to the forms of exploitation perpetrated by the colonizers. Given this scenario, this paper presents the characteristics of coloniality, in the light of Enrique Dussel and Aníbal Quijano studies, and the rise of decolonial thinking, based on Luciana Ballestrin and Catherine Walsh. In this context, it associates decolonial thinking with interculturality, distinguishing it from multiculturalism. Then, this research analyzes the elements of the Beyoncé’s performance – outfits, setlist, choreography and interludes – in order to identify traces of decoloniality in her discourse. Thus, it concludes by the existence of decolonial thinking as the guiding thread of the show presented at the festival, as well as by the possibility of incorporating decolonial discourses in musical performances, as a form of resistance and call for change.