This is not the case when Beyoncé and Jay Z make a concert documentary.
Saturday night’s HBO broadcast of the power couple’s sold out “On The Run” stadium tour was three hours of Bey and Jay taking turns knocking hits out of the park in front of an adoring crowd, and then retreating back into their mysterious lives. After a summer swirling with rumors about their marriage, this seems like a deliberate choice.
The “On The Run” broadcast was not without emotional moments between the couple. Mr. and Mrs. Carter publicly displayed affection during shared time on stage and grew misty while watching videos of their daughter Blue. But in the end, the audience never felt as though they’d seen anything the couple hadn’t carefully planned.
Celebrities in the age of social media have turned over-sharing into an art form. Stars like Rihanna and Taylor Swift use Twitter and Instagram to invite the public inside their personal lives. Fans are now entitled to much more intimate, albeit one-sided, relationships with their idols.
The trend towards more open celebrities is what makes Beyoncé and Jay Z’s intensely private lives so alluring. The couple’s inner workings are like Wonka’s factory, held together with nondisclosure agreements instead of Oompa Loompas. The On The Run Tour broadcast is far from a golden ticket, but it does feature two great entertainers in their prime, exactly as they want to be remembered, and that’s pretty good too.
