A year ago Saturday, Beyoncé surprised everybody when she suddenly released Beyoncé. She doesn't have a similar surprise like that this year (at least we don't think she does), but she has released a short film called Yours and Mine to mark the one year anniversary of her album.
The 11-and-a-half-minute black-and-white video, which plays on the front page of her website, comes across as something of a manifesto for the singer. In it, she calls herself a feminist and a humanist, and she reflects on life, fame, marriage, love and the role men and women play in the cultures in which they find themselves.
"When you're famous, no one looks at you as a human anymore," she says. "you become the property of the public. There's nothing real about it."
Yours and Mine shows clips from throughout Beyoncé's career and features cameos from her husband, Jay Z, and daughter, Blue Ivy.
As the film ends, she says, "The love I have — for music, for my husband, for my child — is something that will last far beyond my life."