Welcome back to Double Feature, the IDS film podcast where the powers that be let us in a podcast booth to give you hot takes and maybe some lukewarm ones too.
For some musicians, the confines of the traditional three-minute music video just aren’t enough. This week, hosts Annie Aguiar and Chris Forrester discuss “Guava Island” and “Lemonade,” two recent music films at the top of what the medium can be.
“Guava Island,” released April 13 on Amazon Prime Video, is a 55-minute-long showcase of the music of Donald Glover, better known by his stage name Childish Gambino. The film tells the story of a musician, played by Glover, on a strictly-controlled island who is trying to organize a music festival for everyone to enjoy.
When Beyoncé’s 65-minute-long film “Lemonade” premiered on HBO, it became a cultural moment. The film, which is approaching its third anniversary next week, isn’t quite a traditional narrative film; it’s divided into eleven chapters, one for each song on the album excluding “Formation.” Each chapter presents a different video with a different visual style for each song, ultimately telling a story about betrayal and forgiveness on both an individual and societal level.
