It’s been established that 2016 is sort of the worst year ever: Ben Affleck was Batman, a human Cheeto is running for president, the ocean is literally throwing a tantrum, and Alyssa Edwards was unfairly eliminated from RuPaul’s All Stars Drag Race Season 2.
But 2016 has one thing going for it: Lemonade.
Beyonce’s Lemonade is the sort of art the world needs more of. It was ambitious yet earnest, and it very well resurrected the album into the digital age. It is also unapologetically Black, especially with regards to the album’s finale and hit single, “Formation.”
Which is why it made no goddamn sense for Amy Schumer to create a parody of it and tarnish the one shining beacon of hope for 2016 with her messiness.
Originally released on Tidal — which is honestly one of the most confusing parts of this entire ordeal — Schumer has also uploaded the full video onto her YouTube channel. I’ve embedded it below for clarity’s sake, but would suggest forgoing it for the original, which is an Actual Masterpiece.
The whole thing is just… I don’t even know. A lot of people have written much more eloquently about the blatant racism of this video, and I don’t feel like I have much to add that hasn’t already been addressed by women of color who can speak to this issue much better than I would. You can also find more hot takes and priceless GIF reactions with the #AmySchumerGottaGoParty hashtag currently trending on Twitter.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have questions. I have a lot of them. So many. Because not only is this “Formation” parody a textbook example of white feminism, it also makes literally no sense whatsoever.
Amy Schumer has made some really great stuff in the past, but this is not one of those things. This is a different kind of trainwreck entirely. Here are a few of my burning questions about what the actual fuck is happening in this video:
Why is everyone lost in the woods? Why are they all so dirty?
Wanda Sykes????
Who let JJ Abrams handle the lighting effects?
WHAT IS JOAN CUSACK EVEN DOING HERE?
Why are they flipping off tropical fruits and livestock?
How did they get to the mall?
Why are they even at the mall? What is Ivy from Good Luck Charlie doing at the mall? Did everybody get lost in the woods before or after going to the mall? What did the people who worked in the Hello Kitty store think when they saw Amy Schumer dry humping a coin-operated rocking horse? I’m really hung up on the mall.
Why does the goat do a better job at lip synching than literally any of the humans in this video?
The only thing I don’t have questions about are the scenes where everyone dances around a Porta Potty. My only note in that regard would be to perhaps pathetically twerk inside a garbage can as well.
