#BlackIsKing plot explained! (Thread)

For starters, this is my interpretation of the plot line. There are so many levels to this film like the culture, traditions, fashion, inspiring poetry, music and more... but this will just touch on the plot. Feel free to add anything that adds context!

Let’s begin! The film opens with a shot of a basket flowing down a river. We will return to this!

The camera pans to Beyoncé’s character and her child on the beach. They are performing a baptism of sorts for her newborn child. There isn’t much context for the scene yet, but it seems like a moment from the past

While the film opens with Beyoncé singing Bigger on the beach, the plot line actually begins with our young protagonist (who we will call Simba) with his family and community at a rite of passage ceremony

We then catch a glimpse of an elder putting paint on Simbas face as part of the ceremony. In the background we see a painting of the family’s ancestor, played by Beyoncé. The scene cuts back to the beach, but now Beyoncé is performing the rite of passage on Simba.

This gives us the insight that Simba’s rite of passage ceremony is meant to connect him with his ancestors and learn valuable lessons from them. The beach is used as a spiritual plane where Simba connects with his ancestors. And so his journey to become a king begins....

While Beyoncé is the ancestor that will accompany Simba on his journey, we also get our first glimpse of the ‘Painted Man’. I think his role is meant to be vague, but to me he represents a fragmented part of Simbas spirit that he needs to connect with in order to become a king.

Beyoncé then dives into her first lesson. In Find Your Way Back, Bey teaches Simba about his ancestors who were masters of celestial lure and now live in the stars. The lesson here is to always return to your routes no matter how far you travel. Bey even portrays different stars.

Towards the beginning of this segment we also see a shot of Simbas father handing him a King chess piece♟ . This chess piece will continue to serve as a symbol of his fathers wisdom throughout the film.

The film then jumps ahead. Our young protaganist has somehow strayed away from his home, lost in a city, and lured into a warehouse. How did he get here? We will find out in a bit.

Simba enters the warehouse and a mysterious man surrounded by lost children asks Simba “Who are you?” Simba is unable to answer showing us that he is lost both physically and emotionally

We then dive into ‘Dont Jealous Me’ where Simba is tempted by different vices like gambling and material possessions. Even though he is straying further away from home, his ancestors are still with him. Pop

The plot then takes a step back to show us why Simba strayed away from home. To the music of Scar, we see a group of bikers trick Simba and take over his home. Simbas father is killed and the Scar character takes his throne. In the process we can infer that Simba runs away.

After his fathers death, the film travels to what we will call the Otherside, or the spiritual plane. Nile depicts the ansestors helping Simbas father cross over to the otherside after he was killed.

We return to the physical plane, where Simba is still lost. He finds a nice spot to take a nap and we enter the dream sequence of Mood 4 Eva. This video portrays a young boys ideal world free of responsibility with riches galore, a huge family, and endless possibilities

Beyoncé and Jay Z are portrayed as Simbas parents, but also grown up versions of Simba. The fluidity of the roles and all of the luxury in this video really make it seem like a dream. And while it is an escape... Simbas still hasn’t dealt with his real problems

Part 2 coming later today!

And please remember this is just my interpretation! There’s so much to dissect in each video so don’t look at this thread as an explanation of everything

Here’s some reading for you while you wait for part 2! https://twitter.com/greenistnwblack/status/1290027734630985728?s=21 https://twitter.com/greenistnwblack/status/1290027734630985728

Let’s continue! Before we move on, there’s two more things in the Mood 4 Eva video i think are worth mentioning. In Simbas dream, we are introduced to the Girl in Pink. Simba also dreams of a chess match, which triggers the memory of his fathers lessons of being a king

We then fast forward and Simba is a grown man living in the city and still chasing the dream portrayed in Mood 4 Eva. ‘Ja Ara E’ plays as he rides around town in a nice car, partying, chasing girls, and living care free. He also crosses paths again with the Girl in Pink.

This segment takes a dark turn as Simba has a vision of Scar holding the king chess piece. A spirit resembling Babalú-Ayé also crawls on top of the car, symbolizing Simbas undealt-with trauma (among other things)

Simba realizes that material wealth, chasing girls, nice clothes & cars will not heal him.

“Living without reflection for so long might make you wonder if you even exist” ... it’s time for Simba to look inward in order to move forward

I think ‘Already’ is the segment that is the most open for interpretation. My theory is that it is Simba looking inward (with the help of Beyoncé, Painted man & Shatta) to pull himself out of his material lifestyle & to untangle his trauma and move forward as the king he is.

Beyoncé dances with the Painted Man while they affirm Simba is the “King Already” The striking visual of a male and female joining together is a lesson for Simba that male and female energy balance eachother out.

After ‘Already’ Beyoncé narrates “You’re swimming back to yourself, you’ll meet yourself at the shore” we see the Painted Man approach the ocean and it is the last time we see him. Whatever he represents, Simba has healed that part of him and moved on.

Now that Simba has completed this part of his journey, the narrative shifts to women; specifically the Girl in Pink, who we will call Nala.

‘Water’ highlights the strength of women and their value in communities. Another important lesson for Simba

After ‘Water’ we see Simba and Nala reconnect as Beyoncé speaks about the beauty of Blackness. The imagery suggests that Nala saves Simba by coming into his life.

‘Brown Skin Girl’ diverts a way from the plot a bit as Beyoncé, WizKid & Blue Ivy sing about the beauty of black girls. This segment can be viewed as Simba’s ode to Nala, or even Beyoncé’s lesson to Simba on the beauty of black women

We fast forward again, this time to the wedding day of Nala and Simba! ‘Key to the Kingdom’ plays as the two wed and enjoy their day. As they ride off on their horse, Simbas expression shows that even on his wedding day he still deals with the trauma of his fathers death.

It’s finally time for Simba to learn the story of the ancestor that has been with him throughout his entire journey. This story will finally help him heal from the trauma and guilt of his fathers death. Beyoncé tells him “return to the river”

In ‘Otherside’ Beyoncé’s character shows Simba the story of her and her child many years before Simba was born. It parallels the story of Moses & Jochebed, as she sends her child down the river in a basket to save them from the storm.

As the child travels down the river, the basket approaches a waterfall. Unlike the story of Moses, the child does not survive the trip down the river. We see Simba crash into the water as if he was in the basket, along with that King chess piece.

Still in his wedding attire, Simba visits an elder, who plays the role of Rafiki. In this ceremony, Simba rises to the Otherside to learn his lesson about death, and the great circle of life.

In the Otherside, we see the basket finally reach the shore. Beyoncé’s character is finally reunited with her child. We also see that Simba finally reunites with his father.

Simba learns that death is just a temporary obstacle and that we all meet on the otherside after death. ‘Otherside’ also teaches us that Beyoncé’ character may have been looking over Simba all this time because she lost her child in such a tragic way.

Simba returns to the physical world and gathers a troop of Himba women to take back his throne.

While there’s a battle happening on the physical plane there is one happening on the spiritual plane

Simba and the warriors drive scar away from the kingdom

After ‘My Power’ and the battle ends, Simba retunz to his throne with Nala, his mother and his ancestor by his side. Nala and Simba have a child of their own.

Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of the plot! There are 10 other layers of the film that can be unpacked through the music, the poetry, the symbolism, the traditions referenced, the fashion, the commection to Lion King, & the greater message to the black community #BlackIsKing

Join me in streaming #TheGift featured in #BlackIsKing  !!!

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Also I just learned that the ‘Painted Man’ is now being called the ‘Man or Teal’ which I like way better.

Long Live the Man of Teal! #BlackIsKing

You know what I have one more thing to say. This was the live-action Lion King that we all deserved! I hope you all learned how meticulous and creative Beyoncé is. If you enjoyed this thread, you’d also enjoy this podcast that dissects her Lemonade film! https://open.spotify.com/episode/40hut8DPmX25CTG6s46bMS?si=PiBnQEMQREOnDEUsvnjshA