Yanan Wang in The Washington Post:
Sunday's game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers was the third most-watched television broadcast in U.S. history, according to numbers released by Nielsen on Monday. The viewership peaked at an average of 115.5 million not during the game itself, but rather during the 30-minute halftime show. This confirms what many (including The Washington Post's Chris Richards) have been saying: Beyoncé dominated the Super Bowl. With a performance of her new single, “Formation,” which touched upon police brutality, the Black Panthers and Malcolm X, the singer handily upstaged fellow performers Coldplay and Bruno Mars. Even after the last of her leather-clad dancers left the field, there was no shortage of material to keep viewers talking. Now, the debate rages on about whether it was appropriate for Beyoncé to inject politics into her performance. The same elements that have been widely praised for showcasing black empowerment also have attracted ire from the likes of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who on Monday called Beyoncé's “attack” on police officers “outrageous.”
At issue are, among other things, the “X” formation that dancers created on the field and the Afros and black berets they sported, channeling black activist Malcolm X and the aesthetic of the Black Panther Party of the 1960s and '70s. What wasn't shown on-screen but is now catching fire online is a quieter political display that occurred after the halftime show, when a group of Beyoncé's dancers was approached by two organizers for the Bay Area chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
More here. (Note: At least one post will be dedicated to honor Black History Month throughout February)