title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume exchanged skins with other collectors. A collection made principally by Hume that belonged to the Earl of Northbrook was gifted to Oxford University in 1877. One of his correspondents, Louis Mandelli from Darjeeling, stands out by claiming that he was swindled in these skin exchanges. He claimed that Hume took skins of rarer species in exchange for the skins of common birds but the credibility of the complaint has been doubted. Hume named "Arborophila mandelli" after Mandelli in 1874. The only other naturalist to question Hume's veracity was A.L. Butler who met a Nicobar islander whom Hume had described as diving nearly stark naked and capturing fish with his bare hands. Butler found the man in denial of such fishing techniques.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume corresponded and stayed up to date with the works of ornithologists outside India including R. Bowdler Sharpe, the Marquis of Tweeddale, Père David, Henry Eeles Dresser, Benedykt Dybowski, John Henry Gurney, J. H. Gurney, Jr., Johann Friedrich Naumann, Nikolai Severtzov and Dr. Aleksandr Middendorff. He helped George Ernest Shelley with specimens from India aiding the publication of a monograph on the sunbirds of the world (1876–1880).


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume's vast collection from across India was possible because he began to correspond with coadjutors across India. He ensured that these contributors made accurate notes, and obtained and processed specimens carefully. The "Vade Mecum" was published to save him the trouble of sending notes to potential collaborators who sought advice. Materials for preservation are carefully tailored for India with the provision of the local names for ingredients and methods to prepare glues and preservatives with easy to find equipment. Apart from skinning and preservation, the book also covers matters of observation, keeping records, the use of natives to capture birds, obtain eggs and the care needed in obtaining other information apart from care in labelling.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: This work was co-authored by C. H. T. Marshall. The three volume work on the game birds was made using contributions and notes from a network of 200 or more correspondents. Hume delegated the task of getting the plates made to Marshall. The chromolithographs of the birds were drawn by W. Foster, E. Neale, (Miss) M. Herbert, Stanley Wilson and others and the plates were produced by F. Waller in London. Hume had sent specific notes on colours of soft parts and instructions to the artists. He was dissatisfied with many of the plates and included additional notes on the plates in the book. This book was started at the point when the government demoted Hume and only the need to finance the publication of this book prevented him from retiring from service. He had estimated that it would cost £4000 to publish it and he retired from service on 1 January 1882 after the publication.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: This was another major work by Hume and in it he covered descriptions of the nests, eggs and the breeding seasons of most Indian bird species. It makes use of notes from contributors to his journals as well as other correspondents and works of the time. Hume also makes insightful notes such as observations on caged females separated from males that would continue to lay fertile eggs through the possibility of sperm storage and the reduction in parental care by birds that laid eggs in warm locations (mynas in the Andamans, river terns on sand banks).


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: A second edition of this book was made in 1889 which was edited by Eugene William Oates. This was published when he had himself given up all interest in ornithology, an event precipitated by the loss of his manuscripts through the actions of a servant.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: This nearly marked the end of Hume's interest in ornithology. Hume's last piece of ornithological writing was part of an "Introduction to the Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission" in 1891, an official publication on the contributions of Dr. Ferdinand Stoliczka, who died during the return journey on this mission. Stoliczka in a dying request had asked that Hume edit the volume on ornithology.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Specimens of other animal groups collected by Hume on his expeditions and named after him include the Manipur bush rat, "Hadromys humei" (Thomas, 1886) while some others like "Hylaeocarcinus humei", a land crab from the Narcondam Island collected by Hume was described by James Wood-Mason, and Hume's argali, "Ovis ammon humei" Lydekker 1913 (now treated as "Ovis ammon karelini", Severtzov, 1873) are no longer considered valid.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume's interest in theosophy took root around 1879. An 1880 newspaper reports the initiation of his daughter and wife into the movement. Hume did not have great regard for institutional Christianity, but believed in the immortality of the soul and in the idea of a supreme ultimate. Hume wanted to become a "chela" (student) of the Tibetan spiritual gurus. During the few years of his connection with the Theosophical Society Hume wrote three articles on "Fragments of Occult Truth" under the pseudonym "H. X." published in "The Theosophist". These were written in response to questions from Mr. W.H. Terry, an Australian Theosophist.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: He also privately printed several Theosophical pamphlets titled "Hints on Esoteric Theosophy". The later numbers of the Fragments, in answer to the same enquirer, were written by A.P. Sinnett and signed by him, as authorized by Mahatma K. H., "A Lay-Chela." Hume also wrote under the pseudonym "Aletheia".


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Madame Blavatsky was a regular visitor at Hume's Rothney castle at Simla and an account of her visit may be found in "Simla, Past and Present" by Edward John Buck (whose father Sir Edward Charles Buck succeeded Hume as secretary to the Revenue and Agricultural Department).


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: A long story about Hume and his wife appears in A.P. Sinnett's book "The Occult World", and the synopsis was published in a local paper of India. The story relates how at a dinner party, Madame Blavatsky asked Mrs Hume if there was anything she wanted. She replied that there was a brooch, her mother had given her, that had gone out of her possession some time ago. Blavatsky said she would try to recover it through occult means. After some interlude, later that evening, the brooch was found in a garden, where the party was directed by Blavatsky. According to John Murdoch (1894), the brooch had been given by Mrs. Hume to her daughter who had given it to a man she admired. Blavatsky had happened to meet the man in Bombay and obtained the brooch in return for money. Blavatsky allegedly planted it in the garden before directing people to the location through what she claimed as occult techniques.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: After the incident, Hume too had privately expressed grave doubts on the powers attributed to Madame Blavatsky. He subsequently held a meeting with some of the Indian members of the Theosophical Society and suggested that they join hands with him to force the resignation of Blavatsky and sixteen other members for their role as accomplices in fraud. Those present could however not agree to the idea of seeking the resignation of their founder. Hume also tried to write a book on the philosophical basis of Theosophy. His drafts were strongly disapproved by many of the key Theosophists. One ("K.H"=Koot Humi) wrote:


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume soon fell out of favour with the Theosophists and lost all interest in the theosophical movement in 1883.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume's interest in spirituality brought him into contact with many independent Indian thinkers who also had nationalist ideas and this led to the idea of creating the Indian National Congress.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume's immersion into the theosophical movement led him to become a vegetarian and also to give up killing birds for their specimens.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: After the loss of his manuscript containing his lifetime of ornithological notes, Hume gave up ornithology and took great interest in horticulture around his home in Shimla. ... He erected large conservatories in the grounds of Rothney Castle, filled them with the choicest flowers, and engaged English gardeners to help him in the work. From this, on returning to England, he went on to scientific botany. But this, as Kipling says, is another story, and must be left to another pen.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: Hume took an interest in wild plants and especially on invasive species although his botanical publishing was sparse with only three short notes between 1901 and 1902 including one on a variety of "Scirpus maritimus", and another on the flowering of "Impatiens roylei". Hume contacted W.H. Griffin in 1901 to help develop a herbarium of botanical specimens. Hume would arrange his plants on herbarium sheets in artistic positions before pressing them. The two made many botanical trips including one to Down in Kent to seek some of the rare orchids that had been collected by Darwin. In 1910, Hume bought the premises of 323 Norwood Road, and modified it to have a herbarium and library. He called this establishment the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI) with the aim of "promoting, encouraging, and facilitating, amongst the residents of South London, the study of the science of botany."


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: One of the aims of the institute was to help promote botany as a means for mental culture and relaxation, an idea that was not shared by Henry Groves, a trustee for the institute. Hume objected to advertisement and refused to have any public ceremony to open the institute. The first curator was W.H. Griffin and Hume endowed the institute with £10,000. Frederick Townsend, F.L.S., an eminent botanist, who died in 1905, had left instructions that his herbarium and collection was to be given to the institute, which was then only being contemplated. Hume left £15,000 in his will for the maintenance of the botanical institute.


title: Allan Octavian Hume

text: In the years leading up to the establishment of the institute, Hume built up links with many of the leading botanists of his day. He worked with F. H. Davey and in the "Flora of Cornwall" (1909), Davey thanks Hume as his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of the 'Flora', publication of which was financed by Hume. The SLBI has since grown to hold a herbarium of approximately 100,000 specimens mostly of flowering plants from Europe including many collected by Hume. The collection was later augmented by the addition of other herbaria over the years, and has significant collections of "Rubus" (bramble) species and of the Shetland flora.


title: Chuku Modu

text: Chukuma Modu (born 19 June 1990) is an English actor best known for his roles in "Game of Thrones", "The Good Doctor" and "The 100".


title: Chuku Modu

text: Modu was born to a Nigerian-German father and an Anglo-Irish mother in Chiswick, West London. He initially had an interest in sports, particularly boxing, and trained at the age of twelve. He would also visit the theatre and become cultured with the performances. In 2012, Modu attended the Richmond Drama School and has since begun his acting career.


title: Chuku Modu

text: Modu made his debut as a minor background character in "Me Before You" before making a recurring appearance on the HBO series "Game of Thrones" as Aggo. He joined the main cast of "The Good Doctor" as Dr. Jared Kalu, but did not return when the series was renewed for a second season. He also had a role in the 2019 Marvel Studios film "Captain Marvel".


title: Chuku Modu

text: Modu is also the narrator on 'The Moment of Proof', a 2021 made true-crime television documentary series telling the stories of police investigations.


title: David Jaffe

text: David Scott Jaffe (born April 13, 1971) is an American video game designer best known for creating the "Twisted Metal" and "God of War" series.


title: David Jaffe

text: Jaffe is originally from Birmingham, Alabama and currently resides in San Diego, California. He was born to a Jewish family. Jaffe graduated from Alabama's Mountain Brook High School, located in Mountain Brook, AL, a suburb of Birmingham. Jaffe then attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.


title: David Jaffe

text: Jaffe is well known for directing the "Twisted Metal" series and "God of War". Jaffe's "" and "God of War" have both ranked into IGN's "Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time", with "Twisted Metal: Black" in ninth place and "God of War" winning first place as IGN's best PS2 game of all time. In 2007, Jaffe left SCEA to found Eat Sleep Play. The studio signed a multi-year deal with Sony to create games exclusively for PlayStation platforms. He left Eat Sleep Play in February 2012 due to creative differences.


title: David Jaffe

text: In 2014, he announced his first project on his new studio "The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency" called "Drawn to Death" as a PlayStation 4 exclusive. The game received mixed reviews, and due to the cancellation of an unannounced title, his newfound company shut down a year later. Jaffe heavily expressed disdain for the mixed critical reception and insisted the reception from players who played the game was more positive.


title: David Jaffe

text: Since leaving his previous company, Jaffe now primarily live streams his show, "Gabbin' + Games", formerly "The Jaffe Stream", via Twitch and YouTube. Here, he openly converses with his audience via live chat and Discord about the past and current state of the video game industry, world events, pop culture, politics, metaphysics, the paranormal and existentialism, among other topics.


title: The Love Guru

text: The Love Guru is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Marco Schnabel in his directorial debut, written and produced by Mike Myers, and starring Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, John Oliver, Omid Djalili, and Ben Kingsley. The film was a financial failure, grossing $40 million on a budget of $62 million, and was panned by both critics and audiences. It also won 3 Razzie Awards including Worst Picture.


title: The Love Guru

text: The Guru Pitka (Mike Myers) is tasked with revitalizing the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The team has been plagued with losses and their star player suffers a marital tragedy that throws him off his game. In order for Pitka to become the next Deepak Chopra, he must help the team actualize their potential to win the Stanley Cup.


title: The Love Guru

text: Guru Pitka is the self proclaimed "number-two guru in the world", after Deepak Chopra. A flashback shows that Pitka was an orphan, taught by Guru Tugginmypudha. When the twelve year old Pitka announces he wants to become a guru so that girls will love him, Tugginmypudha puts a chastity belt on him until he can learn that loving himself is more important than being loved by others. Pitka asks if he can still masturbate but is warned if he attempts to he will become blind with strabismus like Tugginmypudha.


title: The Love Guru

text: Pitka's dream is to become the number-one guru and appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". He lives a charmed life with thousands of followers, including the celebrities Jessica Simpson, Val Kilmer and Mariska Hargitay (whose name is used as a faux-Hindi greeting, even to Hargitay herself). Pitka's teachings, which involve simplistic acronyms and plays on words, are displayed in PowerPoint slide shows.


title: The Love Guru

text: In Canada, Jane Bullard inherits the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, who are on a losing streak. The team's star player, Darren Roanoke, has been playing badly ever since his wife Prudence left him for Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jacques "Lè Coq" Grandé. Jane is a big fan of Pitka's, and offers to pay him $2 million to patch up Darren's marriage, so the team can win the Stanley Cup. Pitka's agent tells him that if he succeeds, Oprah will have him on her show. Pitka meets the team coach Cherkoff who is there with Jane for his seminar, Pitka mocks his dwarfism.


title: The Love Guru

text: Pitka and Jane bond on the plane ride. Jane became a fan of Pitka's work due to the death of her father. Jane admits she has a crush on him and Pitka asks if she has a husband or a boyfriend, to which she says no. Pitka asks if she is a lesbian, she chuckles but admits to experimenting once in college which causes Pitka to get an erection and his chastity belt loudly clanks.


title: The Love Guru

text: Pitka is surprised she is single. Jane asks why, first he compliments her intelligence and friendliness but quickly his comments get more libidinous as he mentions her bedroom eyes, pouty lips and great rack, he ends this emphasizing her buttocks as tight, bell shaped and thick while pantomiming groping her buttocks.


title: The Love Guru

text: Jane reveals the "Bullard Curse." Canadian hockey fans dislike her very much and throw food at her when they see her.


title: The Love Guru

text: Pitka encourages the rival team to beat Darren up during a game, to distract him from his distress over his wife's affair. Darren begins to play well but then gets suspended for the next two games after beating up Lè Coq, and hitting Coach Cherkov with a hockey puck.


title: The Love Guru

text: Later, Pitka has dinner with Jane. He has his assistant Rajneesh prepare a dish called “nuts in a sling“ which is two lychee nuts in a dough pouch resembling a scrotum, the first step is whacking it with a mallet, Pitka moans and groans in pain until he stops Rajneesh by shouting his safe word. Next it is dipped in hot oily water. Pitka groans in pain but then he moans and chuckles orgasmically. Pitka tries to kiss Jane, only for his Erection to bonk


title: The Love Guru

text: against the Chastity belt causing it chastity belt to ding again . He gasps and she becomes upset when he tells her their love cannot be, she runs out. Pitka advises Darren to write an apology to Prudence, and fights off a rooster to deliver the letter. After they lose three games due to Pitka’s odd methods and antics plus mistreatment of him Coach Cherkov berates Jane and punches Pitka in the groin. He is slightly injured from hitting the chastity belt shaking his fist but the belt does not protect Pitka as his testicles are stretched apart in the chastity belt and he is already suffering from thirty three years of blue balls. Pitka groans and grabs his crotch hunching over. He shouts Omar Sharif's name in vain and drops to the ground. He throws a tantrum about the pain in his balls, he tearfully grumbles and calls Cherkoff a prick. Cherkoff tells him "stay down bitch", fearing another groin attack Pitka responds "okay" submissively. Pitka chases after Jane as she says Cherkoff is right and Pitka tries to gaslight her into optimism bias but she yells at him to do his job with fixing Darren.


title: The Love Guru

text: Dick Pants warns Pitka to hurry up the process or he will lose his spot on "Oprah" again to Deepak Chopra. Pitka is adamant that Darren is not ready. Pitka and Darren attempt a confrontation, but her invective ends up scaring both of them away. Pitka helps Darren realise that since his mother only showed him love when he succeeded he had grown to believe Prudence would only love him as long as he won. Pitka then drives himself and Darren to Niagara Falls for a "Heart to Heart".


title: The Love Guru

text: With time running out, Pitka distracts Lè Coq with his idol, Celine Dion, then tells Prudence that Darren stood up to his mom, encouraging her to return to her husband. During the lead up to the final game, Lè Coq, having heard that Darren cannot play with his mother in the audience, gets her to sing the national anthem, causing Darren to flee. At the airport on his way to guest on "Oprah", Pitka sees the news on television and defies his agent by going back to help Darren. Pitka reveals to Jane his chastity belt to explain why he pulled away from her, and Jane reveals that she is understanding of his spiritual vow.


title: The Love Guru

text: After smoothing things over with his mother, Darren recovers until Lè Coq brags that Prudence prefers him in bed. Darren freezes and Pitka realizes he needs another distraction, which he provides by getting two elephants to have sex in the middle of the rink, in front of the live television audience (which Pitka claimed would distract anybody). Darren wakes up from his stupor and scores the winning goal. After the game, Coach Cherkov apologizes for the groin attack, Pitka offers a hug but as Cherkoff obliges he punches him in the face and threatens to beat him up if he ever attacks him again. They then make up and become friends.


title: The Love Guru

text: He then meets Deepak Chopra and decides that he is fine with being the first Guru Pitka instead of the next Deepak Chopra.


title: The Love Guru

text: Back in India, Tugginmypudha tells Pitka that he has finally learned to love himself and removes Pitka's chastity belt, revealing there was a hook in the back. The film ends with Jane and Pitka dancing together in a Bollywood-style number to a rendition of "The Joker".


title: The Love Guru

text: In the deleted/extended ending, Pitka and Jane consummate their relationship and Jane says "damn" after being impressed with Pitka’s love making skills. She lifts up the covers and asks about his pubic tattoo of Daffy Duck pushing a lawn mower through his pubes (a callback to the Niagara Falls bonding chat with Darren) and they have sex again.


title: The Love Guru

text: The original score for the film was composed by George S. Clinton, who also composed the score for the "Austin Powers" films, also starring, written and produced by Mike Myers. Clinton recorded it with an eighty piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at Warner Bros.


title: The Love Guru

text: The song "Dhadak Dhadak" from the Bollywood film of 2005, "Bunty Aur Babli", was used in the trailer.


title: The Love Guru

text: The songs "9 to 5", "More Than Words", and "The Joker" are all in the film (performed by Myers and with sitar accompaniment) and on the soundtrack. "Brimful of Asha" was also used in the film.


title: The Love Guru

text: Myers appeared in the seventh season finale of "American Idol" as Pitka, the "spiritual director" of that show. The finalists David Cook and David Archuleta got to visit the Paramount Pictures studio theatre to see "The Love Guru" a month prior to its release and then got to meet Myers dressed like Pitka and playing "Sitar Hero".


title: The Love Guru

text: A "Fan Resource Page" at Fox Entertainment's beliefnet.com website was "created as part of a collaboration between Beliefnet and Paramount Pictures."


title: The Love Guru

text: The film did poorly at the box office. In its opening weekend, "The Love Guru" grossed $13.9 million in 3,012 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #4 at the box office behind "Get Smart", "The Incredible Hulk", and "Kung Fu Panda", falling short of the $20 million range forecast by Hollywood pundits. The film grossed $32.2 million in the United States and Canada and an additional $8.7 million overseas, for a total of $40.8 million worldwide, against its $62 million budget. When the film was released in the United Kingdom, it ranked only #8 on the opening weekend.


title: The Love Guru

text: The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave "The Love Guru" an approval rating of 13%, based on 177 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Love Guru" features far too many gross-out gags, and too few earned laughs, ranking as one of Mike Myers' poorest outings." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 24 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B -" on scale of A to F.


title: The Love Guru

text: Jay Stone of the "National Post" gave the film one star and said the film "is shockingly crass, sloppy, repetitive and thin." Stone said "Chopra is used almost as a product placement, taking a proud spot alongside a circus, a brand of cinnamon buns, the Leafs and, of course, Mike Myers." Stone also wrote, "the sitar based versions of pop songs like '9 to 5' are oddly watchable – but mostly the film is 88 minutes of ridiculous sight gags and obscene puns."


title: The Love Guru

text: A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" wrote "The word 'unfunny' surely applies to Mr. Myers's obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, "The Love Guru" is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again." Scott also commented that the appearance of actress Mariska Hargitay was anticlimactic. An ongoing gag in the film is the use of "Mariska Hargitay" as a phony Hindi greeting.


title: The Love Guru

text: Roger Ebert gave the film 1 out of 4 stars, writing, "Myers has made some funny movies, but this film could have been written on toilet walls by callow adolescents. Every reference to a human sex organ or process of defecation is not automatically funny simply because it is naughty, but Myers seems to labor under that delusion."


title: The Love Guru

text: Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News wrote a highly negative review, saying "The Love Guru" "isn't merely a bad film, but a painful experience." He considered it one of the worst films of at least the past several years and also declared it might ruin Myers's career.


title: The Love Guru

text: Mick LaSalle of "San Francisco Chronicle" was one of the few major critics who did not write the film off completely, stating "Mike Myers' new comedy, "The Love Guru," is a disappointment, but it's not a disaster, and that's at least something."


title: The Love Guru

text: Myers later poked fun at the film's failure in an appearance on the December 20, 2014 episode of "Saturday Night Live", where he appeared as Dr. Evil (a character from his far more successful "Austin Powers" series), giving advice to Sony Pictures on its cancellation of the release of "The Interview": "if you really want to put a bomb in a theater, do what I did: put in "The Love Guru"."


title: The Love Guru

text: Before the film's release, some Hindus expressed unhappiness about how Hindus are portrayed, the disrespect of their culture and the bad impression that it would give those not well exposed to Hinduism, while some gave a cautious welcome, asking other Hindus to look at it as satire and not the truth. Rajan Zed, a Hindu leader from Nevada, demanded that Paramount Pictures screen the film for members of the Hindu community before its release.


title: The Love Guru

text: Based on the movie's trailer and MySpace page, Zed said "The Love Guru" "appears to be lampooning Hinduism and Hindus" and uses sacred terms frivolously. He told The Associated Press, "People are not very well versed in Hinduism, so this might be their only exposure...They will have an image in their minds of stereotypes. They will think most of us are like that."


title: The Love Guru

text: Paramount Pictures agreed to provide the Hindu American Foundation an opportunity to pre screen the film as soon as it had a complete work print of the film, but did not do this. Instead, it requested the Foundation attend a Minneapolis pre-screening the night before the film's release. HAF agreed to view the film to be able to inform the American Hindu community in light of concerned inquiries that were reported to its national headquarters. The reviewers concluded that the film was vulgar and crude but not necessarily anti-Hindu.


title: Black Is King

text: Black Is King is a 2020 American musical film and visual album directed, written, and executive produced by American singer Beyoncé. It is a visual companion to the 2019 album "", curated by Beyoncé for "The Lion King" (2019). It tells the story of a young African prince (Folajomi Akinmurele) who is exiled from his kingdom after his father's death. As he grows into a man (Nyaniso Dzedze), he undergoes a journey of self-identity, using the guidance of his ancestor (Beyoncé), childhood love (Nandi Madida) and his own subconscious (Stephen Ojo) to reclaim his throne. The prince's journey acts as an allegory for the African diaspora's journey of discovering, reclaiming and celebrating their culture and heritage, which is echoed by the inclusion of spoken-word poetry that focuses on the question of black identity.


title: Black Is King

text: The film was in production for over a year, across six countries on three continents. Beyoncé wanted to recruit a diverse cast and crew and to provide opportunities for new talent. The music, dances, costumes, hairstyles and sets were designed to showcase the beauty and richness of the cultures in the African continent and diaspora. The film was released globally on Disney+ on July 31, 2020, and was aired the following day across Sub-Saharan Africa on M-Net and Canal+ Afrique and across the Middle East and North Africa on OSN. An extended version of "Black Parade" was used for the film's credits, and was included in a deluxe edition of "The Gift" released alongside the film.


title: Black Is King

text: The film received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for Beyoncé's direction, the cinematography, score, costume design, subject matter, and cultural themes. It received six nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Music Film. "Brown Skin Girl" won the award for Best Music Video, while "Black Parade" won the award for Best R&B Performance. It was Beyoncé's 28th Grammy win, making her the most awarded singer and female artist in Grammy history. The film also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Black Is King

text: On a beach in the spiritual plane, a newborn prince is held by his maternal ancestor while she tells him of his significance and purpose ("Bigger"). She performs rituals for the prince and joins other women who are also holding newborns. On the beach, the prince is anointed with white paint by the ancestor, while in a royal palace, he is similarly anointed by an elder. The king gives the young prince a small golden scepter and tells the prince that his ancestors look down on them from the stars and will always be there to guide him ("Find Your Way Back").


title: Black Is King

text: The young boy is enticed by a monkey to enter a warehouse. A man with a snake asks the boy who he is, but the boy does not answer. The boy stays in the warehouse, adorns himself with gold, and spends his time gambling while being watched by his ancestor and the blue man ("Don't Jealous Me"). Outside, a biker gang arrives and encircles the prince. The king comes to save him and is killed by a bike. The prince's uncle tells the prince to flee the village, and he takes over the throne ("Scar"). In the spiritual plane, the ancestor leads the king's funeral, while the blue man sits alone ("Nile").


title: Black Is King

text: The prince dreams of living a carefree life, driving past his ancestor and the blue man. He lives in an extravagant mansion full of expensive clothes, servants, and feasts ("Mood 4 Eva"). The prince remembers his uncle banging on a drum, causing him to drop the scepter into the water. A human chess game takes place in the mansion's ground, reminding the prince of how his father taught him the game, which represented the duality of good and evil. In real life, the prince grows up and moves to the city. He now dreams of spending his time partying with girls inside a tricked-out hearse ("Ja Ara E"). His driver appears as his uncle, who taunts him with the golden scepter. He stumbles out of the car and wakes up. The prince realizes that pursuing material wealth is unsustainable, and he is encouraged to reclaim his purpose and identity ("Already"). His ancestor tells the prince that he will meet himself at the shore, as the blue man walks into the sea ("Water"). The prince is reunited with his childhood love ("Brown Skin Girl"). The couple gets married ("Keys to the Kingdom"), but he is plagued by self-doubt over his purpose.


title: Black Is King

text: In another time, a sandstorm arrives ("Otherside"). As others are fleeing, the ancestor decides to place her baby in a basket and put it in the river to save the baby. As the basket flows down the river, it reaches a waterfall. In the spiritual plane, the ancestor is reunited with her baby.


title: Black Is King

text: The ancestor tells the prince to return to the river, in which he finds the scepter. He is reunited with the elder, who anoints him again with white paint, and he floats upwards into the spiritual plane. The prince reunites with his father and breaks down in front of him. The ancestor reminds the prince of his power, and he assembles an army of women to fight his uncle ("My Power"). They chase him out of the kingdom, and the prince reclaims his throne. The ancestor brings the new king and queen their baby ("Spirit"), and the baby is anointed.


title: Black Is King

text: The storyline of the prince's journey of self-discovery in "Black Is King" acts as an allegory for the African diaspora's journey of self-discovery, with the film acting as a clarion call to the diaspora to reclaim their identity through black pride. The story of how the prince is exiled from his homeland to an alien world acts a parallel to the story of how Africans were forcibly removed from the continent and taken to the United States as slaves. As the prince grows up, he is plagued by the question of his identity, reflecting African Americans' continued struggle with their identity. Colonialism, slavery and the oppression of black people has severed their connection to their heritage and has caused even black people themselves to think of their culture as corrupt or worthless, in the same way the prince was led to believe that he is undeserving of the role that was his birthright.


title: Black Is King

text: With "Black Is King", Beyoncé is providing a solution for this. In the story of the film, the prince receives guidance and empowerment from his ancestors to recognize his brilliance and ultimately reclaim his throne. Similarly, with the film, Beyoncé is empowering the African diaspora to connect with their heritage, celebrate their culture and recognize their self-worth. Beyoncé said that "Black Is King" aims to shift "the global perception of the word 'Black'" and show that "Black is regal and rich in history, in purpose and in lineage", which is achieved in the film by showcasing a wide variety of African music styles, dances, costumes, hairstyles, settings and traditions with the help of African creatives.


title: Black Is King

text: Taylor Crumpton for "The Ringer" posited that "Black Is King" therefore sends a message to the African diaspora that in order for them to "disinvest from established power dynamics" and "exist outside the constraints of white supremacy", they must undertake an internal journey to discover and celebrate the rich identity and heritage that was lost to them. Candice Frederick for "The Guardian" added that Beyoncé showing that "Black power comes from within and is our cultural birthright [and] not something that is granted to us by someone else" is a "hard realization", as the current narrative is centered on "how a system built by other people has failed us and what we need from them to be successful".


title: Black Is King

text: The need for diasporic Africans struggling with their identity to gain self-awareness before confronting their oppression is echoed in an excerpt from "Uncle Sam", a 2013 poem by student Joshua Abah, that was featured in "Black Is King", which reads:When it's all said and done, I don't even know my own native tongue. And if I can't speak myself, I can't think myself. And if I can't think myself, I can't be myself. And if I can't be myself, I will never know me. So Uncle Sam, tell me this: If I will never know me, how can you?


title: Black Is King

text: Kinitra Brooks, Endowed Chair in Literary Studies at Michigan State University, described "Black Is King" as "an aural and visual rendering of Afrofuturistic Blackness in the 21st century", referring to the philosophy and cultural aesthetic that combines science fiction, history and fantasy to encourage black people to recover their heritage in order to create their own futures. Elisabeth Woronzoff for "PopMatters" noted that "Black Is King" engages with the Afrofuturist themes of "reliance on the cosmos for explanation and influence" and "the uneasy connection between lineage and self", with the film being influenced by Octavia Butler's writings as a work that "reclaims identity regardless of whether it is earthbound or cosmic". Woronzoff also noted that the film's storyline of an outcast African king draws multiple parallels to events from throughout black people's history until today, including "African history, the Middle Passage, and the Black Lives Matter movement".


title: Black Is King

text: Maxine Montgomery, Professor of English at Florida State University, described the influence of Afrofuturism on the film, writing: "Afro-futurist tropes involving time travel across the cosmos, cultural clashes with the other, and encounters with newness lift ["Black Is King"] out of the temporal and locate the production in a timeless realm that encourages a rethinking of established time, space, and identity." Montgomery explained that "Black Is King", through its references to "vernacular structures implying futurity", disrupts the orthodox "narrow critical framework" employed by cultural critics such as Mark Dery, concluding: "The unconventional temporalities that figure into ["Black Is King"] beckon us to abandon received ways of seeing and being seen, to cross over into an original social and psychic space."


title: Black Is King

text: According to Rading Biko of "The Standard", "Black Is King" "has awaken the spirit of Pan-Africanism", a movement that aims to unite black people in Africa and the diaspora. Biko wrote that Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey inspired the film, bringing his quote: "Be as proud of your race today as our fathers were in days of yore. We have beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world." Garvey's Pan-African flag, a symbol of black liberation, was the inspiration for David Hammons' African-American flag, which is seen in "Black Is King" being held up by a group of black men. According to Brooke Obie of "Esquire", this scene signifies "the political and communal unity of all Indigenous people of Africa, throughout the Diaspora". Obie concluded: "Just like the art, fashion, locations, musicians and actors who make up "Black Is King" and "The Gift", we are stronger when we see ourselves connected in global struggle and glory."


title: Black Is King

text: Claire Shaffer of "Rolling Stone" described "Black Is King" as "a Pan-African collage", with the film showcasing fashion, music, dances, locations and languages from throughout the African continent and diaspora. Director Blitz Bazawule described the film as "a phenomenal opportunity to see Blackness represented with universality". Bazawule continued: "It was so many voices, all singing in a chorus in a way that I've never witnessed in my life. As a creator, it's completely changed how I look at my art, how I look at Blackness in general, and how we communicate with each other globally."


title: Black Is King

text: The film addresses and subverts stereotypical depictions of Africans and African Americans. Powerhouse Museum senior curator Roger Leong described how "tropes of African identity – the wild animal prints, the ultra, almost Josephine Baker images of the showgirl ... she draws on all these archetypes of black glamour and uses them as statements about black pride". Costume designer Zerina Akers put the actors in designer animal print costumes, explaining how she "wanted to turn that [stereotype of Africans' primitive nature] on its head and raise it up to make it feel really high fashion". Janell Hobson of "Ms." stated that the "Mood 4 Eva" video is a satirical depiction of black regality and an inversion of classic film tropes, with the presence of white male servants acting as a reversal of the roles in films such as "Gone with the Wind" and "The Help", while Melanie McFarland for "Salon" wrote that a Busby Berkeley-inspired sequence in the video with black synchronized swimmers highlights how black people were excluded from Hollywood's Golden Age. Natty Bakhita Kasambala of "gal-dem" wrote that Beyoncé filming scenes in settings such as a country house and renaissance supper table aims to "fill historically White Spaces with an unfiltered, unapologetic Blackness", an act which she calls "an extreme disturbance of the norm in order to shake the rigid structures loose altogether".


title: Black Is King

text: Co-director Kwasi Fordjour explained how throughout their lives, black men often face obstacles where they need to "decide how we want to navigate this world, the type of man we want to be". "Black Is King" addresses this issue by presenting a black masculinity centered on leadership, community and the honoring of ancestors. Fordjour commented how a quote from James Earl Jones in the film, which reads "As king, I was most proud of one thing, having you as my son", was intended to represent the voice of God telling black men in their plight: "You're going to be OK. You are my son. You are going to make this. We are going to be alright." Fordjour added: "As men, I feel like sometimes we walk through this world aimlessly and sometimes we just need to be embraced."


title: Black Is King

text: Brooke Obie, writing for "Esquire", opined that "Black Is King" is a blueprint for black men to decolonize masculinity. Obie quoted a passage read by an African-American man in the film:We've been conditioned to be inside of a box. We've been created with this image that Black men are supposed to be this way. And I feel like we're kings. We have to take responsibility of stepping outside of those barriers that they've put us in, for the next generation.Obie explained how slavery and colonialism forced toxic religious and social traditions onto black men which "leads to violence against women and girls, queerphobia, and destruction of self". "Black Is King" therefore shows "how the world could thrive when Black men step into kingship", not one which is based on the "white supremacist ideas of hierarchy, dominance, and oppression", but instead one which embraces an "African egalitarian way" and is "rooted in stewardship to community".


title: Black Is King

text: Sophia Ordaz of "Slate" noted that as well as the message of the film being "that Black kingship amounts to responsible manhood, Black femininity is just as integral". Ordaz highlights a spoken word passage read by a man in the film, which states: "Many times, it's the women that reassemble us. Men taught me some things, but women taught me a whole lot more." Janell Hobson of "Ms." wrote that the "Brown Skin Girl" video is "a reminder of how Black women's collective gaze on each other is powerful enough to challenge the male gaze", as well as "a reminder of the community and solidarity of women to build each other up and raise our daughters toward the confidence they need to navigate a white imperialist and hetero-patriarchal world". Fordjour explained that a scene where women are standing on a beach holding hollowed-out calabashes (which symbolize health, fertility and rebirth in some African cultures) acts as "a monument of mothers", highlighting "those day-to-day things that a mother has to do to constantly take care of her family and the sacrifices that she has to make to keep this world turning".


title: Black Is King

text: On July 19, 2019, "The Lion King" (a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name) was theatrically released in the United States. The same day, an accompanying tie-in album titled "" was released by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. "The Gift" was curated and produced by Beyoncé, who described the album as "a love letter to Africa" and recounted her determination to find "the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sounds and [do] my interpretation of it".


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé explained that she believes "The Gift" "is the first soundtrack where it becomes visual in your mind". Beyoncé added: "I wanted to put everyone on their own journey to link the storyline. Each song was written to reflect the film's storytelling that gives the listener a chance to imagine their own imagery, while listening to a new contemporary interpretation."


title: Black Is King

text: On June 19, 2020, Beyoncé released the single "Black Parade", in celebration of the Juneteenth holiday which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Raisa Bruner of "Time" called the song "a tour-de-force of references: to black history, to African traditions, to her own family and past" and described Beyoncé as "the queen of a generation providing guidance and assembling her listeners with black solidarity".


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé called "Black Is King" "my passion project that I have been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year". Beyoncé invested 100% of her earnings from Disney into making sure that they had the best crew and production for the film. The film's production was top secret, with the public not being aware of the film and some contributors not knowing the scope of the project until the release of the trailer.


title: Black Is King

text: In July 2019, after the release of the music video for "Spirit", Beyoncé wanted to release more visuals for "The Lion King: The Gift". At first, she intended to produce a clip for "Already", with them shooting in her backyard in The Hamptons. She then intended to shoot one-minute clips for some of the songs and make a 15-minute short film. The scope of the project then widened into creating full-length videos for each song, and her idea later snowballed into a very large production.When voicing the character of Nala in "The Lion King" (2019), Beyoncé delved into the history of the film and its story. She learnt about Solomon Linda, the South African composer of the song "Mbube" who received no credit or royalties from the song being used as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the original "The Lion King". This angered Beyoncé and she left the studio pledging to create a full-length film that would tell the real story with the help of actual Africans instead of using lions and animation, and show the regalness and beauty of Africans before colonialism and slavery erased their past. "Mbube", credited to Linda, is the only original "The Lion King" song included in "Black Is King".


title: Black Is King

text: In her cover story for the December 2020 edition of "British Vogue", Beyoncé explained what inspired her when developing the film, saying:I was also deeply inspired by my trip to South Africa with my family. And, after having my son, Sir Carter, I felt it was important to uplift and praise our boys and to assure that they grow up with enough films, children's books and music that promote emotional intelligence, self-value and our rich history.To research for the film, Beyoncé described how she "spent a lot of time exploring and absorbing the lessons of past generations and the rich history of different African customs". The trailer shows Beyoncé reading from the 1971 book "Black Gods and Kings", written by American art-historian Robert Farris Thompson to record the art history of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. Beyoncé collected picture references of African cultural practices for different aspects of the production such as hair and make-up. Director Ibra Ake described Beyoncé as "a scholar" who wanted to learn about and discuss the meaning and history behind every detail that would be included in the film.


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé had a vision for the story she wanted to tell, and she brought on Blitz Bazawule to assist in writing it, who subsequently produced a storyboard with over 250 frames. Co-director Kwasi Fordjour described the excitement of the early development, saying: "Your adrenaline starts to rush and it becomes like, 'OK, what are we going to do, how are we going to do it, where do we start?' When you get into the space where you're so interested and enthralled with creating worlds and spaces, it becomes fun, and she makes it fun." Beyoncé and Fordjour recruited additional directors to direct some of the music videos in the film; Fordjour explained how they chose a diverse group of directors "who spoke to what we were trying to do" and "whose authenticity is the core of their work". Beyoncé held meetings with the additional directors to decide on the general look and feel for each section. Beyoncé then held meetings with other members of the crew, focusing on worldbuilding and logistics, as well as to discuss more detailed aspects of the production such as lighting.


title: Black Is King

text: The film was written by Beyoncé, poet Yrsa Daley-Ward, writer Clover Hope and Andrew Morrow. The script also incorporates poetry written by Somali-British poet Warsan Shire.


title: Black Is King

text: Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, handled talks with Beyoncé to release the film on Disney+. On June 10, 2020, it was reported that Beyoncé was securing a $100 million deal to work on three films for Disney, with a source telling "The Sun": "Beyoncé has become a major player for Disney and is the perfect fit for their brand." All of Beyoncé's earnings were used to ensure that they used the best crew and production for the film.


title: Black Is King

text: The cast and crew for "Black Is King" were recruited to "represent diversity and connectivity", with Beyoncé wanting to feature "raw, new talent". Folajomi Akinmurele's acting debut was in the "Spirit" music video. Beyoncé was impressed by his performance and she sought him out, ultimately casting him in the lead role of young Simba. Nigerian dancer and actor Stephen Ojo was also first recruited as a dancer for the "Spirit" video. He was then brought back as a choreographer for "Black Is King", teaching African dance styles and giving the meaning behind them. His role then evolved into an on-screen acting role as the "blue man". "Black Is King" was his debut film performance. The rest of the main cast were recruited from South Africa. Nyaniso Dzedze explained how the casting team went on a lengthy process in order to find the right person for the role of adult Simba, and "somehow my face, my image found itself on the table, and I guess the stars aligned and God said yes". Beyoncé handpicked Warren Masemola for the role of Scar, and was also adamant about casting Nandi Madida for the role of Nala.


title: Black Is King

text: Special guests were recruited for the film, such as Lupita Nyong'o, Naomi Campbell, Kelly Rowland, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé's children Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir Carter, as well as some of the artists featured on "The Gift", including Yemi Alade, Shatta Wale, Salatiel, Wizkid, and Busiswa. Busiswa told "Teen Vogue": "I can't stop crying because I'm so proud to stand in that place for my people. To be singing in my language of Xhosa — to stand in that place for my African people, I feel so honored... We were treated with the utmost care and respect and being on that set was the most incredible experience of my whole life."


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé wanted to find black synchronized swimmers for the "Mood 4 Eva" video and only managed to find a few in the US, including Philicia and Tamar Saunders. Beyoncé and her team eventually found the Island Aquatics Synchro team in Port Antonio, Jamaica, and contacted the team's coach Olga Novokshchenova to fly the team to Los Angeles to film the scene. Women were recruited for the "My Power" video to represent multi-generational strength, including Aisha Francis (Beyoncé's former dancer who was eight months pregnant at the time) and Ernestine Shepherd (the world's oldest competitive female bodybuilder at 84 years old). Shepherd described it as "a wonderful, wonderful experience" that she felt "so honored" to be part of. She explained how Beyoncé made her "feel like a queen" and thanked her with a warm hug at the end of the shoot, after which Shepherd "went to the ladies room and shed a few tears". Members of the Accra-based dance school Dance With Purpose (DWP) Academy were recruited for the "Already" video. In 2019, the DWP Academy posted their own choreography for the song after it was first released. This caught the attention of Beyoncé and her team reached out to them to invite them to feature in the film.


title: Black Is King

text: For the "Brown Skin Girl" video specifically, Beyoncé explained that it was important for her to represent "all different shades of brown". Director Jenn Nkiru picked South Asian model Sheerah Ravindren to be featured in the video, who said that it was "such a blessing to be in this beautiful art piece that shows the beauty and power of Blackness" and adding that Beyoncé has "already done so much MORE for representation and empowerment for South Africans than the South African film industries". Nkiru also asked Selma Nicholls, founder of casting agency Looks Like Me, to cast children for the video. Nicholls called it "a dream come true, not just for me, not just for those children that were selected, but for all black children". Nicholls' own daughter was chosen for the film; Nicholls explained that "it's made my daughter be part of something where five years from when she wanted to look like Elsa and Anna, is singing along to the song "Brown Skin Girl"".


title: Black Is King

text: Hundreds of costumes were designed for "Black Is King", including 69 for Beyoncé herself. Costume designer Zerina Akers described how the aim of the wardrobe was to have a "global conversation"; the costumes would enable people of all races to "recognise and respect the power and beauty of brown skin", while black people would be inspired "to research their spiritual heritage and what truly belongs to them" and be left with the sense "that the world does belong to them and that they belong in the world". Akers curated outfits from both global brands and young black designers for the film, saying: "To be able to give [an emerging talent] the same visibility as a large corporation is invaluable... It's not just about creating a look, it's about how many families can benefit from that look. To see the waves this has created has been a dream." Beyoncé commented that "it was important that we worked with African designers" and that the fashion "amplified key themes in the film, such as black opulence and excellence" and "displayed a range of culture and heritage". Beyoncé added that the costume design utilized color and symbolism in order to "transition from one emotion to another".


title: Black Is King

text: Akers worked on the wardrobe for approximately three months. She started by going into fabric stores, swatching pieces that spoke to her as she listened to the music of "The Gift". She started to create custom looks with local designers, while her counterpart in Paris, Rogelio F. Burgos, started to collect runway looks. As the project grew, she hired a team of seven people to work on the film. The process became a "travelling circus", according to Akers; a constant stream of packages were arriving to set, including some straight off the runway, and they were constantly making new costumes and calling designers at midnight with ideas.


title: Black Is King

text: Akers spoke about how she "wanted to reference different cultures, traditions and tribes, but to have the freedom to create fantasy, for people to be able to escape into a new world". This included dancers wearing Kanaga masks in the "Find Your Way Back" video, with the sparkly looks being inspired by constellations; this is a reference to the Dogon people's astrological belief system and advanced astronomical expertise. The fashion in the "My Power" video was designed according to the colors of the Seven African Powers, with each singer representing a different orisha. Actors in the film were dressed with headpieces and belts made from cowrie shells, an allusion to when the shells were treated as currency in Africa. One look in the "Already" video was a 5:31 Jérôme blue Nigerian lace trench dress with an accompanying Nigerian gele, inspired by the fashion of matriarchal women at Nigerian weddings. A Burberry cowprint top and skirt from the "Already" video were inspired by the Xhosa and Zulu people of South Africa, who use the hide of Nguni cattle in their shields. Akers collaborated with American fashion designer Natalia Fedner on a gold chain headpiece covered in gold earrings of various styles and sizes for "Already", representing how gold jewelry connects generations of black women and the African diaspora. In one scene, Beyoncé wears chokers fused together as a reference to Ndebele neck rings. The outfits of Beyoncé and an entourage of women in the "Mood 4 Eva" sequence was an allusion to the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female military regiment from the Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin.


title: Black Is King

text: Hairstylist Neal Farinah recalled Beyoncé saying to him one Tuesday night: "Hey, I want to talk to you. I've been saving this baby for a moment now, and I want to do it." After asking her what the project is, Beyoncé replied: "I want to do a movie and I want you to do this masterpiece with me." She showed him pages of picture references of traditional African hairstyles that she had spent time collecting, and they remained there until almost 4 am discussing the hairstyles. Beyoncé wanted the hair completed by Friday, so Farinah asked his manager to look on social media for the best black hairstylists and send them to his salon in the morning. Farinah continued to research about different hairstyles and cultures, and the team spent over 16 hours a day for 6 days to create more than 40 wigs.


title: Black Is King

text: Farinah stated that the aim of the hairstyling was to "educate people about Blackness and Black hair, Black trends, how amazing it is and the story behind it, the history behind these cultures", as "Black women's hair and Black trends have been put down for so many years" and these styles were "not just hair" but had deep meanings behind them. Farinah added that "Black Is King" was a great moment to "share the piece of the pie with other Black hairstylists who don't have this platform to show their creativity and their work".


title: Black Is King

text: The hairstyles in "Black Is King" were inspired by various traditional African hairstyles, with Farinah and Beyoncé striving to offer insight into African culture with every style. One of Beyoncé's hairstyles in "Already" was inspired by the horned heads and lip plates of the Dinka and Mursi peoples, who wear them as symbols of prestige and honour. Another of the hairstyles in the same video used Bantu knots to pay respect to the Zulu people, with an ankh symbol in the center to symbolize life as in ancient Egyptian culture. Beyoncé's braid crown in "Brown Skin Girl" was inspired by the Mangbetu people of the Eastern Congo, whose Lipombo skull elongation technique represented royalty and status. In the same video, another hairstyle known as Orisha Bunmi can be seen, which is a Nigerian style worn for special events. One scene shows women covering their hair in red clay, which is a reference to the Himba people of Namibia and Angola. A 30-foot braided wig that can be seen in "Water" was inspired by the women of Chad. Beyoncé conceived the idea for the wig, and hairstylist Kim Kimble worked with six braiders for three days to make it.


title: Black Is King

text: There were 11 choreographers who worked on "Black Is King". Stephen Ojo and Caleb Bonney of dance group AVO (Africa's Very Own) Boyz were unexpectedly contacted by choreographer JaQuel Knight and asked to fly out to Los Angeles the following day. They showed Knight choreography to "Already" that they had made a few days prior for a class they were teaching. They then taught Beyoncé the choreography, as well as several other dances from throughout Africa, such as the Gbese, Poco and Kpakujemu from Nigeria, the C'est Moi from Ivory Coast, and the network from Ghana. Ojo said that his aim for the choreography "was to make sure the moves we were bringing out were properly represented and danced in the right way. I wanted to make sure Africa was being represented properly and not diluted." Ojo commented on his experience working with Beyoncé, saying: "She was a very good student. Paying homage to the originators, paying respect to our culture—some people might not care. But she was very receptive. She was being respectful the whole time, listening. And every move was clean, sharp, crisp." Lauren Michele Jackson of "The New Yorker" noted the wide array of African dance styles in "Black Is King", writing that the film is a tribute to "the manifold ways in which a body can move: legwork, footwork, shaku shaku, zanku, twerk, wine, gbese, thrust, grind, shake".


title: Black Is King

text: For the "Mood 4 Eva" video, Beyoncé and Knight had a vision of a Busby Berkeley-inspired synchronized swimming routine, with swimmers creating formations such as a dolphin chain circle through which Beyoncé would swim. Knight worked with Mary Jeanette Ramsey, executive director of Aqualillies, to choreograph the routine. French-Sudanese choreographer Kany Diabaté and American choreographer Ebony Williams choreographed the "My Power" video; Diabaté commented on her work on the film: "When you realize your wildest dream and tell the world you just CHOREOGRAPHED the biggest artist in this planet earth and the woman you been inspired for SO MANY YEARS!!!" A scene where black men in suits jumping up and down in unison is a reference to the adumu Maasai jumping dance of Kenya and Tanzania, a ceremony in which men in a circle compete for who can jump the highest with a straight posture.


title: Black Is King

text: Various pieces of art were added to the sets in "Black Is King." For the "Mood 4 Eva" sequence, Beyoncé borrowed some of her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson's art pieces. In the mansion used for the video, a painting by Derrick Adams was placed on the walls, as well as sculptures by Woodrow Nash, whose work fuses Benin art with Art Nouveau. Ugo Rondinone's sun sculptures, which symbolize rebirth and renewal, were featured in the "Already" video in order to reflect the film's motif of the 'circle of life'. The circle motif is also reflected by the inclusion of Lee Broom's Hanging Hoop Chair. "African-American Flag" was featured in the film; the piece was created by David Hammons in 1990 to represent the marginalization of African-American artists and is seen as a symbol of black liberation. A wall of recycled containers was used in the "Water" video as a reference to Ghanaian installation artist Serge Attukwei Clottey as well as to environmentalism.


title: Black Is King

text: Statues that were on the "Keys to the Kingdom" set, including one of a black woman with a child wrapped on her back, were intended to inspire young black children, with director Ibra Ake saying: "Just seeing that as a black man, coming from America, I'm like, yeah this is opposite of what I have to inspire me growing up. You just don't get to see representation like that or black people honored in that way." Director Jenn Nkiru explained how on the set of the "Brown Skin Girl" video, there was "a huge presence of life", specifically a lot of flowers and plants, representing the themes of growth and nurturing. The "Ja Are E" set consisted of a hearse converted into a party vehicle with neon lights, symbolizing the prince's "reckless effervescence", according to director Blitz Bazawule.


title: Black Is King

text: The church featured in the "Nile" and "My Power" videos was painted fully in white by a team of over 100 people working for 38 hours straight, to reflect the use of white as a symbol of mourning in certain cultures. According to production designer Hannah Beachler, the solemn nature of the funeral in "Nile" and the celebratory nature of "My Power" not only reflects the protagonist's journey, but also symbolizes "Black Is King"'s message of "mourning what we were in order to celebrate what we are". The Bese Saka adinkra symbol was placed on the floor of the church to signify power, abundance and unity. 8-foot tall, 10-foot wide and 3-foot deep arches covered in a black-and-white print were added to the set. The arches were inspired by Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film "The Holy Mountain", bringing "the piece into an abstract and modern space". According to director of photography Santiago Gonzalez, the set represented "a temple dedicated to the power of femininity, sisterhood and motherhood".


title: Black Is King

text: Principal photography for "Black Is King" took place in the latter half of 2019 for four to six months. The filming was carried out across six countries on three continents, with Beyoncé wanting to include both the African continent and diaspora. Beyoncé described the filming as "absolutely an adventure", stating: "I performed in the belly of sand dunes and I floated in the middle of the ocean. I landed on mountains to swim in waterfalls."


title: Black Is King

text: The Nigerian chapter was led by director Ibra Ake, with Dafe Obro and Meji Alabi as co-directors. Filming for the "Keys to the Kingdom" video took place at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, as Ake wanted to show a vision of Africa that isn't fantastical, but is grounded in a real location yet still amazing and impressive. In South Africa, the Shakaland Zulu Village in KwaZulu-Natal and the Ndebele church in Mapoch were the sets for the royal family's village and the wedding scene, respectively. Ponte City Apartments in Johannesburg was chosen as the location for the king's ascension to heaven, as the building used to be a bastion of apartheid in South Africa, and so the film upends that symbol and shows the prince floating out of it.


title: Black Is King

text: The Ghanaian chapter was led by director Joshua Kissi. Filming took place in the Eastern Region and Greater Accra Region, with the team wanting to include locations that were underrepresented in depictions of Ghana, such as Shatta Wale's hometown of Nima. Producer Sharifah Issaka noted that Beyoncé used local Ghanaian talent for the production and paid them well, unlike most foreign crews when filming in Ghana, making "Black Is King" "a model for other brands that might be interested in creating content or engaging with the continent" to encourage them to provide opportunities to local talent. Issaka also noted that "Black Is King" is "a testament to the talent and capability of Black artists— who when given the chance, can create phenomenal work. I think Beyoncé understands that these people are here. People take inspiration from Africa all the time, but hiring people and providing local people on the ground with opportunities is a whole other thing. Inspiration is not going to fill my bank account, show me the money."


title: Black Is King

text: In New York, filming took place in the former plantation Sylvester Manor, the art gallery Guild Hall of East Hampton and Pier59 Studios. Filming also took place in Apple Valley in California and Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon; "Black Is King" was the first production to be filmed at Havasu Falls, with the Havasupai people granting special permission to Beyoncé. Emmanuel Adjei and Beyoncé were the directors of the "Don't Jealous Me" and "Otherside" sections.


title: Black Is King

text: "Bigger" and "Find Your Way Back" were directed by Beyoncé alone, and were filmed in Arroyo Burro Beach and Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, California. Director of photography Santiago Gonzalez at first planned to film "Find Your Way Back" entirely on drones, however Beyoncé's team arrived to set with an Arri Alexa Mini package, which Gonzalez then used to shoot with in between drone setups. The crew scouted locations of sand dunes for a full day to look for interesting shapes in the landscape, such as deep valleys or high ridges that would play well with the drone. Some scenes in the video were filmed in a light setting, such as the sand dunes, and others were filmed in a dark setting, such as a comet landing and Beyoncé laying down on a bed of stars; these two types of scenes were intended to represent a journey and a duality. The sequins and crystals in the fashion were lit so that they could sparkle and glimmer to resemble stars. One scene was framed with a profile of Beyoncé and her dancers behind her to pay homage to the cover art of Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew".


title: Black Is King

text: The "Mood 4 Eva" segment was filmed in the Beverly House over two days in September 2019, with Beyoncé and Dikayl Rimmasch as directors. There were 20 large setups around the mansion and the film crew totaled around 40 people in grip, electric and camera. The concept for the segment was to show the characters living a carefree lifestyle with a dreamscape reminiscent of old Hollywood. In order to give the video a vintage look, director of photography Santiago Gonzalez employed Kowa Cine Prominar lenses – spherical lenses built in the 1960s – providing a warmer flare, good contrast and a saturation that imparts brightness and opulence. Gonzalez also used a diffusion filter to bloom the highlights and make the images slightly softer, and made the window light bloom so that they conveyed a dream-like quality to the video. Other scenes in the segment were inspired by Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America" and Hype Williams' "Belly". The old Hollywood dreamscape culminated in a Busby Berkeley-style aqua-musical fantasy with a synchronized swimming routine inspired by the 1944 Esther Williams film "Bathing Beauty". The swimmers recalled seeing different aspects of Beyoncé on set, one being "Beyoncé the businesswoman, fearless in bringing her vision to life" who "never hesitated getting wet, literally, as many times as needed to get the perfect shot", and the other being "Beyoncé the mother, taking time to include her family in the entire process" and "frequently checking in with the younger girls to make sure they remained comfortable in the cool water". Nicole Chin Sue, one of the synchronised swimmers in the video, recalled:[Beyoncé] actually came and personally greeted the Jamaican girls. She told them she wants them to continue, that they are going to inspire the world, and that all the young girls like Blue are going to see this and want to do it. She was such a boss, directing, overlooking everything, and so sweet and warm. It was an amazing shoot. That was probably the biggest moment of my career as a performer, as a synchronized swimmer, and as a Jamaican.The "Nile" and "My Power" videos were filmed in November 2019 at the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana in Los Angeles, with Beyoncé as director. Co-director Julian Klincewicz operated a 1980s Ikegani Tsushinki broadcast camera. Director of photography Santiago Gonzalez employed Arri Ultra-Wide 8mm Prime lenses and used low sweeping angles for the "My Power" video to make the columns on set feel "huge" and "alive" and to add speed to the camera movement, amplifying the dynamism of the choreography. Beyoncé specified that she did not want to be the point of focus for any shots that included the other artists featured in the video, and instead asked to be on the edge of the frame or integrated into a group. Gonzalez consequently kept the lighting bright with less of a key light, highlighting the women's natural beauty.


title: Black Is King

text: The "Brown Skin Girl" segment was mainly filmed in London, as well as in Nigeria and Los Angeles. Director Jenn Nkiru chose to primarily feature South London, including her hometown of Peckham, due to its large black and South Asian communities. The video for "Scar" was directed by Pierre Debusschere and filmed on December 15, 2019 in the Sahara nature reserve in Lommel, Belgium. Debusschere recalled sometimes working 23 hours a day on the film, with the "Scar" scene being filmed at 5 am and -2 °C weather. Debusschere described how he had to try keep up with Beyoncé and praised her as "a powerful, inspiring woman" who excels in her various roles, saying: "It's in the way she understands sets... but also in the way she picks up the choreography and switches between the business side and the artistic side. It's her company, her thing, her money, and her vision that make this project."


title: Black Is King

text: Post-production took place from December 2019 with Emmanuel Adjei supervising the visual-effects. Multiple versions of scenes were shot, and Beyoncé held discussions with the other directors on the strengths of each shot and to decide which edit worked best. At the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic, a full re-edit of the film was carried out in order to make the story as poignant as possible. The editing process was challenging, as multiple post-production companies were working on the film all remotely. Fordjour noted how the George Floyd protests began as the film was in post-production, describing it as "divine intervention" and adding: "Being able to do something that was a love letter to fellow women and men, and our culture, in a time when we need a pick-me-up, that is something that I will never forget."


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé and Derek Dixie acted as music directors, while MeLo-X, Derek Dixie, and James William Blades contributed to the score; MeLo-X described working on the film on Twitter, writing: "Truly an amazing and eye opening journey. @Beyonce always pushes for greatness. This is nothing less".


title: Black Is King

text: "Black Is King" is based on the music of "The Lion King: The Gift", with each song on the album receiving corresponding visuals in the film. An extended version of "Black Parade" was used for the film's credits.


title: Black Is King

text: The film's score was composed by James William Blades, MeLo-X, and Derek Dixie, while Beyoncé and Derek Dixie acted as music directors. The score contains traditional African music from the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music and released by Smithsonian Folkways. Ethnomusicologist and retired Smithsonian Folkways associated director Atesh Sonneborn commented that the choice of songs used were notably lullabies and children's songs, with the selection showing that Beyoncé was trying "to reach back to her own sense of African heritage". Sam Adams of "Slate" wrote that the inclusion of this selection of recordings in "Black Is King" "underline the way in which tradition is passed down through music" as well as "how that transmission can be exploited by outside parties for profit". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" wrote that the use of the traditional African recordings as transitions in the film reinforces the theme of "the continuity of old and new".


title: Black Is King

text: In "Black Is King", Beyoncé included Solomon Linda's 1939 song "Mbube", which was adapted as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the original "The Lion King". Linda received no credit for his song's inclusion in the film, and neither he nor his descendants were financially compensated. Brooke Obie of "Esquire" noted that the inclusion of the original recording where the adaptation would have been in "The Lion King" "amends the record" and "underscores and connects the global, centuries-long European extraction, exploitation and appropriation of our many cultures and people throughout the African Diaspora". Zinhle Ngema of "OkayAfrica" added that the original song's inclusion in the film ensures that Linda's "family received the monetary gain they have fought for so long".


title: Black Is King

text: On the night of June 27, 2020, a teaser trailer for "Black Is King" was posted on Beyoncé's website, the first official announcement of the film to the public. The teaser was then premiered on television a day later on June 28, to conclude the BET Awards after Beyoncé's acceptance speech for the BET Humanitarian Award. It was then subsequently released across various platforms by Beyoncé's entertainment and management company Parkwood Entertainment in association with Disney. Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, said he was "honored to be working with Beyoncé [on] this" upon sharing the teaser on Twitter. The surprise release of the teaser caused "Twitter [to go] bonkers", according to "USA Today", and it subsequently received praise from fans and critics alike for its imagery and symbolism.


title: Black Is King

text: An official trailer for "Black Is King" was released by Beyoncé on July 19, 2020. Some of the members of the cast and crew were subsequently announced. The trailer was similarly praised by critics, with Jasmine Ting for "Paper" declaring the film "[a] colorful cinematic masterpiece" with "out-of-this-world visuals" that mix "traditional cultural elements from the African continent" with "modern-day African-American culture".


title: Black Is King

text: For the film's release, Twitter implemented a new feature that showed an animated symbol of two golden lions featured in "The Gift"'s album cover and in "Black Is King" (instead of the usual heart symbol) whenever a user liked a tweet containing the hashtag #BlackIsKing. A Twitter spokesperson said: "Because we know that some of the best moments deserve a little spark and delight, we are testing a product that lets partners customize Twitter's Like button animation with iconic imagery that complements their campaign." The feature was well received by Twitter users and has led to several other brands implementing similar features, including Apple, NASA and the NBA. Olivia Harrison of "Refinery29" commented: "Leave it to Beyoncé and Disney to be on the cutting edge of digital campaign trends".


title: Black Is King

text: Ben Sisario of "The New York Times" wrote that the minimal marketing for "Black Is King" "reflects one of Beyoncé's great talents — stoking public conversation with her art, while explaining very little about it". Ohio State University associate professor Treva Lindsey added that Beyoncé "is allowing her art to speak for itself" and "opening up space for robust conversations".


title: Black Is King

text: "Black Is King" was released globally on July 31, 2020, on Disney+. On the film's release date, the official music video for "Already" was released, as well as a deluxe edition of "The Gift" which includes both the original and extended versions of "Black Parade" and a remix of "Find Your Way Back" by MeLo-X.


title: Black Is King

text: As Disney+ is not yet available in Africa, a distribution deal was made with Central and West African television channel Canal+ Afrique and South African media conglomerate MultiChoice Group's channel M-Net to screen "Black Is King" across Sub-Saharan Africa on August 1, 2020. For the film's premiere, the MultiChoice Group opened M-Net for all DStv customers. As part of the deal, "Black Is King" was aired in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Senegal, Togo, Somalia, Benin, Congo, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Gabon, and Cape Verde. Additionally, Emirati television network OSN screened "Black Is King" throughout the Middle East and North Africa region.


title: Black Is King

text: Upon release, "Black Is King" went straight to number one on the Disney+ Trending chart for the week ending August 2, 2020. "Black Is King" was one of the 15 most streamed films of 2020. According to Twitter's "Twitter From Home" report, "Black Is King" was the second most tweeted about movie from March to September in the United States, with "Black Panther" in first place. "Black Is King"'s release was also one of the eight most talked-about moments on Instagram of 2020.


title: Black Is King

text: "Black Is King" received universal acclaim from critics, with praise for its visuals, direction, music, themes, and cultural relevance. Several publications declared "Black Is King" as Beyoncé's magnum opus, including "GQ", "Vogue", "de Volkskrant", "Harper's Bazaar", "Glamour", and "The Root". On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus states: "Beyoncé is King." At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Black Is King

text: English film critic Mark Kermode, in an episode of "Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema", characterized "Black Is King" as a "perfect union of film and popular music", describing it as a "lavish... immersive and eclectic experience" that perfectly captured the zeitgeist of 2020. Writing for "Decider", Anna Menta called "Black Is King" "an undeniably breathtaking, personal, and political work of art". Describing it as "a visual masterpiece" that is "almost overwhelming", Menta praised the many settings and outfits in the film and noted that every detail on screen had meaning. Niellah Arboine of "The Independent" said "Black Is King" shows Beyoncé at her most experimental, with a cinematographic style where "every shot is a piece of art" and music genres that the film "seamlessly jumps through". Arboine also praised how the film showcases a diverse range of elements that constitute blackness, such as black debutante balls, London council estates and durags. Odie Henderson of "RogerEbert.com" described the film as a "jaw-dropping visual achievement", applauding the cinematographers who provided a wide variety of "stunning visuals" that cohere as a whole. Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen of "The Sydney Morning Herald" agreed, writing that the film "takes the viewer on a dazzling, hyper-real ride through natural landscapes and space-age futures, while incorporating elements of black history and tradition". Vanessa Friedman, fashion director and chief fashion critic of "The New York Times", commented that the "overwhelming" array of outfits are "dazzling, but also calculated", with all of them existing to serve the vision of Beyoncé and reinforce her messages, while also "reinforcing her position as the ultimate cultural tastemaker".


title: Black Is King

text: Okla Jones of "Consequence of Sound" praised Beyoncé's direction and attention to detail, noting how the colors, settings, outfits and music in each scene match the emotional state of the protagonist in his journey. Nathan Weinbender of "Inlander" praised Beyoncé's unique filmmaking style as one which fuses together mystic, surrealist and African cinematic influences. Weinbender concluded: "She's in complete control of every element here, confidently so, and the texture and warmth she brings to this project suggests it should stay that way." Janell Hobson of "Ms." described Beyoncé as an auteur who orchestrated the music, visuals, fashion, dances and artists "in a grand unifying vision". Steve Rose of "The Guardian" stated that "Beyoncé is emerging as a major figure in cinema", adding that "it's safe to say that Beyoncé is... one of the most significant film-makers" on the planet.


title: Black Is King

text: Chanté Joseph of "The Guardian" praised the film's messages of black unity and empowerment, describing how the film is storytelling led by African creatives showcasing African cultures that also speaks to black people in the diaspora searching for their identity. Jeremy Helligar of "Variety" wrote that "Black Is King" "reminds us that Black lives didn't begin in chains" and inspires young black people "to learn about the history of their race and the ways in which it has shaped the world". Writing for "Glamour", Candace McDuffie explained how the message of the film is much deeper than a simple retelling of "The Lion King", with the film showcasing "the dynamic nature of Blackness" to the world. In a review for "NPR", Eric Deggans said that "there's a lot of profundity" in the dialogue of the film, adding that it is clear Beyoncé put a lot of thought into the project and how it could make a significant impact. Sukriti Wahi of "Elle" "Australia" praised the inclusion of non-black people of color who have experienced colorism in the film, such as South Asian model Sheerah Ravindren, as well as the showcasing of black fashion designers. Cydney Henderson of "USA Today" praised how the film highlights African music genres and dance styles and "raw, untapped talent from performers around the world". Characterizing the film as laughable, Armond White of the "National Review" described Beyoncé as a "curvy fetish object" who is "promoting racial division" in an attempt to ease the "fragile egos" of black people. In a review for "Hyperallergic", Jourdain Searles wrote that the film aims to provide representation and "cultural balm" to black people, adding that it feels like the film is tailored more towards black Americans than the wider diaspora.


title: Black Is King

text: Dominic Patten of "Deadline" wrote that with "Black Is King", "you have a cultural dominance almost unknown nowadays", with the film being "the conformation of its creator and star as the cultural Queen of our time." Writing for "Vogue", Hayley Maitland opined that Beyoncé is "shifting the zeitgeist" with "Black Is King", noting that the film's release feels especially timely after the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. Matt Donnelly of "Variety" wrote that "Beyoncé is pushing the boundaries of what many have come to expect from the Disney machine" with "Black Is King" being "the boldest brand statement ever from Disney" as Disney's most direct engagement with current discussions on racism.


title: Black Is King

text: The "Chicago Tribune" named "Black Is King" one of the 50 best movies directed by a person of color. "Esquire" named the film one of the 12 best movie musicals of all time. "Screen Rant" ranked the film at number one on its list of the visual albums that have redefined cinema.


title: Black Is King

text: NET-A-PORTER ranked "Black Is King" at number one on its list of the best on-screen fashion moments of 2020, with Katie Berrington describing the film as "a sartorial spectacle of fashion's emerging and established talent". Christine Emba of "The Washington Post" selected the "Black Is King" soundtrack as the piece of culture that had the biggest impact on her in 2020, explaining that it "functioned as the most buoyant retort to the summer's narrative of pain". Emba wrote: "Each Afrobeats-inflected track was a reminder that to be Black is not all sadness and struggle: Blackness is also joyful, audacious, unique, creative and proud. The album reminded me that America's tortured relationship with race was only one part of an international experience, not the whole of it. Blackness is bigger than that; in fact, it's transcendent." "Entertainment Tonight" named "Black Is King" one of the biggest stories of 2020, describing it as a film that "beautifully celebrates African cultures and roots" and which showcases Beyoncé's attention to detail, citing the "jaw-dropping looks that perfectly encapsulated the visual album's theme of afrofuturism".


title: Black Is King

text: The "Already" and "Brown Skin Girl" videos contained within the film were named the best and second-best music videos of 2020, respectively, by "Insider". "Pitchfork", named "Already" one of the 20 best music videos of 2020, writing: "With the release of her sprawling Disney+ film "Black Is King" this summer, Beyoncé proved that she remains on the cutting edge of music visuals. Her choreography is emotional and athletic. Her storytelling is personal and vivid. Her references are spiritual and learned." Videos from the film were also listed as some of the best music videos of 2020 by publications such as "Vulture," "IndieWire", "Idolator", "USA Today", "Vogue", "Crack Magazine", "Complex," and "Slant".


title: Black Is King

text: "Collider" named "Black Is King" the third best Disney+ film of 2020, describing it as "one of the true pop culture events of 2020" consisting of "moments that celebrate, with incredible choreography and jaw-dropping visuals, the singular power of Blackness". Several other publications included "Black Is King" in their lists of the best Disney+ films, including "Rolling Stone", "The Daily Telegraph," "Radio Times," "Time Out," "Entertainment Tonight," "CNET," "Stylist," "and Digital Trends".


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé led the nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, with six nominations for "Black Is King", including Best Music Film, Best Music Video for "Brown Skin Girl", and four additional awards for "Black Parade". The film's nomination in Best Music Film made Beyoncé the most nominated artist in this category in Grammy history, with five nominations. Recording Academy Chief Harvey Mason Jr. commented that "in this particular year, [Beyoncé] released a body of work that impressed a lot of voters and a lot of people on the committee". After winning for the "Brown Skin Girl" video in the "Best Music Video" category, Blue Ivy received the Guinness World Record for the youngest individually credited winner at the Grammy Awards. "Black Parade" won Best R&B Performance, which was Beyoncé's 28th Grammy win, making her the most awarded singer, most awarded female artist, and second-most awarded artist in Grammy history.


title: Black Is King

text: At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, "Black Is King" won Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program. Television Academy governor Laura Guzik said that the film is a "superb example of the art of costume design and supervision, showing great creativity in the conception and execution" of its unique vision. Costume designer Zerina Akers is the second black woman to win this award in history.


title: Black Is King

text: Beyoncé led the nominations at the 52nd NAACP Image Awards alongside Netflix and HBO, with her nominations including six for "Black Is King". Beyoncé was the second-most nominated artist at the 2020 MVPA Awards, with her nominations including Best Special Video Project for "Black Is King" and five additional awards for "Already". At the 2020 UK Music Video Awards, Beyoncé was one of the four artists leading the nominations, with her nominations including Best Music Film for "Black Is King" and three additional awards for "Already", of which it won Best Styling in a Video. At the 2020 Soul Train Music Awards, "Brown Skin Girl" won Video of the Year, marking her second win in this category out of nine nominations, the most of any artist.


title: Black Is King

text: At The Walt Disney Company Q3 2020 earnings call, CEO Bob Chapek announced that Disney+ reached its five-year subscriber goal in eight months, crediting "Black Is King" for an increase of approximately 3 million subscribers. Chapek described how "Black Is King" is "being widely celebrated for its diverse cast, stunning artistry and inspiring interpretation of the Black experience", adding that it clearly shows "the power of the Disney+ platform for premiering world-class content".


title: Black Is King

text: Universities have offered programming that involves studying "Black Is King". Harvard University offered a program inspired by the film titled "Black Is Queen: The Divine Feminine in Kush". The course will use songs from the film to explore the high status of women in the Nubian Kingdom of Kush and "how ancient Africans of the Nile Valley understood female power and presence". New York University hosted an event titled "The Making and Unpacking of Beyoncé's "Black Is King"", sponsored by the Center for Black Visual Culture/Institute of African American Affairs-NYU and the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and Department of Photography & Imaging at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. The event discussed "the creative process and cultural impact of this diasporic project" and featured guests including Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art Rujeko Hockley, musician and scholar Jason King, ethnomusicologist Fredara Mareva Hadley, Center for Black Visual Culture program director Joan Morgan, and the film's contributors Kwasi Fordjour, MeLo-X and Clover Hope.


title: Black Is King

text: Many of the designers Beyoncé and her dancers wore in "Black Is King" saw triple-digit spikes in search traffic after the film's release. The Marine Serre moon print bodysuit that is featured in the film became "the most popular design of 2020", with the brand seeing a 426% increase in searches in the 48 hours after the film's release. After Mia Vesper's designs were featured in the film, she rapidly developed a large customer base, including celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Billie Eilish, Lena Waithe, and Machine Gun Kelly. Steff Yotka of "Vogue" wrote that ""Black Is King" was the digital fashion event of the summer, upstaging official fashion weeks by aligning garments with history, celebrity, purpose, and unparalleled beauty". Beyoncé's fashion in the film made her become the most influential woman in fashion in 2020. The film also helped raise awareness of African fashion worldwide. The film kicked off hair and makeup trends, with stylists and artists around the world creating looks inspired by those in "Black Is King".


title: Black Is King

text: The Victoria & Albert Museum will be featuring a dress worn by Beyoncé in "Black Is King" in its permanent exhibition. The dress is one of the first of the V&A Museum's acquisitions for its new site in East London. For an exhibition in the African American Museum titled "Hair Story", artist Youveline Joseph produced artworks inspired by "Black Is King" that recreated some of the braided hairstyles from the film.


title: Black Is King

text: "Dissect", a podcast that takes an academic approach to analyzing culturally impactful albums, dedicated a seven-episode season to "Black Is King." The hosts conduct an in-depth exploration of the historical references, African symbolism and lyrical metaphors within the film.


title: Black Is King

text: Inspired by "Black Is King", the New York Public Library published a guide of various materials (such as literature, documentaries and photographic collections) that "you can use to expand your knowledge of the arts and cultures from across the African Diaspora", building on the film's aim of celebrating the various cultures of the diaspora through art, fashion and music.


title: Black Is King

text: A TikTok and social media trend titled "#MyPowerChallenge" was created after the film's release, whereby participants recreate the dance from the "My Power" video in "Black Is King".


title: Black Is King

text: American rapper Yung Baby Tate cited "Black Is King" as a "very big inspiration" for the concept and editing of the music video for her 2021 single "I Am". In December 2020, British singer-songwriter James Blake released a cover of "Otherside" from "Black Is King", adapted as "When We're Older" with some new lyrics.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare medical conditions that result in easy blistering of the skin and mucous membranes. Blisters occur with minor trauma or friction and are painful. Its severity can range from mild to fatal. Inherited EB is a rare disease with a prevalence in the United States of 8.2 per million live births. Those with mild cases may not develop symptoms until they start to crawl or walk. Complications may include esophageal narrowing, squamous cell skin cancer, and the need for amputations.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: EB is due to a mutation in at least one of 16 different genes. Some types are autosomal dominant while others are autosomal recessive. The underlying mechanism is a defect in attachment between or within the layers of the skin. Loss or diminished function of C7 leads to weakness in the structural architecture of the dermal–epidermal junction (DEJ) and mucosal membranes. There are four main types: epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB), and Kindler syndrome. The diagnosis is suspected based on symptoms and confirmed by skin biopsy or genetic testing.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: There is no cure for the condition. Management involves wound care, pain control, controlling infections, nutritional support, and prevention and treatment of complications. About half a million people are affected globally. It occurs equally commonly in males and females.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: Epidermolysis bullosa refers to a group of disorders that involve the formation of blisters following trivial trauma. Over 300 mutations have been identified in this condition. They have been classified into the following types:


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is a form of EB that causes blisters at the site of rubbing. It typically affects the hands and feet, and is typically inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, affecting the keratin genes KRT5 and KRT14. Therefore, there is a failure in keratinization, which affects the integrity and the ability of the skin to resist mechanical stresses.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: Junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is an inherited disease affecting laminin and collagen. This disease is characterized by blister formation within the lamina lucida of the basement membrane zone and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. It also presents with blisters at the site of friction, especially on the hands and feet, and has variants that can occur in children and adults. Less than one person per million people is estimated to have this form of EB.


title: Epidermolysis bullosa

text: Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is an inherited variant affecting the skin and other organs. DEB is caused by genetic defects (or mutations) within the human COL7A1 gene encoding the protein type VII collagen (collagen VII). DEB-causing mutations can be either autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive. Epidermis bullosa pruriginosa and albopapuloid epidermolysis bullosa (Pasini's disease) are rare subtypes of this disease.