Essay 1
The establishing shot of
"Formation" clearly shows the
Situation pretty clearly: a flood. But this is not just a literal flood. There
is a symbolic meaning here as well. By placing herself on
top of a police car half-submerged in water, Beyoncé invokes the aftermath of
hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and the recent controversies surrounding police
shootings of minorities. The sinking police car becomes a symbol for the
public's lack of trust in what many perceive as an institution "flooded"
with racism and injustice. Throughout the video the car continues to sink lower
and lower. At one point just before it goes completely under, Beyoncé ‘s body language is used in a very clever way ,
as she is seen laying back in a "crucifix" pose just under the siren
lights, suggesting the death of Christ--symbolic for the death of
"innocent" people at the hands of the police. This image creates a
strong sense of Pathos in the video and hence strengthens the Message and its
purpose: confronting police brutality. This links to
bell hook’s theory which suggests that feminism is not a political commitment
but a lifestyle choice.
The Audience for "Formation" seems to be primarily
a "southern" one. It was shot in and around New Orleans, and we see Beyoncé
in various styles of "southern" dress throughout the video. This is done
through the cross cuts between the different locations which portray feminism
throughout the different years. This
is further reinforced the use of costume as she is dressed in all black
in an early modern (late 1800's to early 1900's) style. This shows the audience how women were seen at the time, and what they
were stereotypically expected to do. The scene then cuts to a mid shot of Beyonce wearing a long white,
"old south" style dress from the late 1800's...By putting herself and the other black women with her in a
nice mansion in rich, stylish clothes she seems to be saying "we belong
here". This links to Gilroy’s
binary opposition theory , which suggest that a pair of binary oppositions are
used to create meaning in a text. This highlights the differences between the
present and the past and suggests that slave people should have not been put in
the position they were put in. Beyonce is black, but she is wearing
stereotypical white clothes, stereotypical to the time period which further reinforce this point.
The "here" being the South. And in a sense she seems to be suggesting
a kind of reclaiming of the slave past, suggesting that her people never
belonged in the position they were put in--they were forced and had the tables
been turned, they, not the white slave owners, would have been the ones sitting
in the parlour sipping tea and fanning themselves in
the heat while the white slaves worked.
On the other
hand Beyonce's star
image and persona can be seen to undermine her political and social message as
she is trying to get more and more people to watch her and is not actually
interested in the more important issues.
Through the formation music video we can see that she is using her body
to get everything she wants. this is seen for example when she is dancing in
the hall. through the shot where it zooms out she is dancing in a red bodysuit,
displaying most of her body. this shows how she just uses her body as she wants
attention. She is objectifying her body, as she is wearing a really
revealing outfit. This seems to reinforce van Zoonen’s theory, who suggested
the the display of women’s body as objects is a key element of western society.
The use of costume is really important in this
video, as she is seen changing
outfit multiple times. towards
the end of the video she is seen in a more current style with braids and fur, through the bird eye view shot of her in the car wit her
head outside the window which broadens the audience to a more urban,
any-American-city appeal.
Despite all the changes in style and dress, the one thing remains constant: the
South. All of the dress and style is from the South, most notably New Orleans.
This shows that Beyoncé wanted to celebrate the South and its people and its
particular struggles: poverty, disasters (Katrina), crime, and racism. This is
done for example through the establishing shot which shows the effects of the
hurricane such as the the floodings and the destruction it caused. It showed
the houses which all fell down and were filled of water.
This focus on the South is further reinforced through the diagetic sound in
her opening lyrics
She is talking about her own mixed heritage that she got from her parents, one
that is specifically "southern"
"I like my baby heir with baby hair and Afros
I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils
Earned all this money but they never take the country out me
I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag"
She also celebrates and focuses on her African heritage, even singing about her
daughter, Blue Ivy.
towards the end of the music video we see a series of shot reverse shot of a young boy, wearing black clothing and dancing in front of a group of police officers, lined up wearing their complete uniform, including guns and shields. this gives the impression that they are dangerous and ready to fight and kill anyone that gets in their way. The young boy, who looks small and tiny and insignificant compared to the officers, seems to be trying to talk to them and confront them about the recent black shootings. he is fighting against colorize, being himself a young black boy .
This is further reinforced through the many jump cuts of three little girls playing around in the living room. at one point they are see a mid shot of three girls zooming out. they are sanding in a pyramid shape, with the girl having the lightest skin standing in front of the others. this suggests that Beyonce is not only fighting against discrimination against black people, but also for inequalities between different shades of black, and the ideal that the lighter your skin is the better you are and the happier you live your life. this is seen for example though the facial expression of the three girls. the lighter one, which is also the one in front is smiling, while the other two, positioned behind have a serious and sad face, suggesting they are unhappy ans suffering because of colourist.
This supports Judith butler’s theory that male
and female roles are not the result of nature but are constructed and
reinforced by society through media and culture. Through this video Beyonce can
be seen to promote black heritage and shows the roles of women through the
different years.
Despite all the
changes in style and dress, the one thing remains constant: the South. All of
the dress and style is from the South, most notably New Orleans. Along with the sinking police car, there are
also shots of the damage from Hurricane Katrina like the tracking shot of a building still
submerged in water 10 years after the event. The use of the
low-key lighting in this shot stirs emotion as it gives a gloomy feel and makes
the audience feel sympathetic towards the people who used to live in that
house. As well as this the location of this shot seems to be similar to the
location where Beyonce is seen standing on the police car. The wide shot of her
standing on the police car shows her disrespect towards the police force, but
this being her hometown in Texas where hurricane Katrina did severe damage, she
doesn’t use the broken buildings as a platform showing her respect for the
victims.
Another visual
image in the song is the mid shot of
Beyoncé flipping both fingers to the camera when she sings: "If he f*$k me
good I take his ass to Red Lobster" This image and the lyric is another
Ethos appeal in that Beyoncé seems to be saying, "I'm in control. I have
the money. Even though I'm a woman, I am powerful." As well as this the use of the
shallow focus emphasizes her dominance and control over the men in the
background as she is the centre of attention. She is also wearing all black
including lipstick accompanied by a lot of jewellery which relates to the black
is beautiful movement started in the 1960’s by African-Americans, her use of
only black clothes emphasizes this message, she can stand on her own as a black
woman and not need to seek a man’s approval as she already knows she is
beautiful and her gestures can suggest that this is her response to anyone that
tells her otherwise.
during the dancing they can bee seen as oftenly touching each other and this suggests that they are united and need to use phisicaal connection to show tha they are all part of the same "team" and "group".
nostalgia - we can see for example the extreme close up shot of the cassettes which were commonly used in the 17s. This is used a it reflects on the idea of first love and how it was a thing of the past, but he misses it and still remembers it
this idea of inter textual reference is also seen as it uses scenes from horror movies. for example this is seen through the woman tied up to a tree in the forest trying to escape. this use of imagery is really effective as it shows the audience how distressing the theme of this song is to the singer.
the link between the lyrics and the text on screen is extremely strong. this is seen straight from the beginning of the music video, as it open with " i was scared of dentists" and an extreme close up shot of a terrified woman at the dentist with a metallic tool in her mouth. This is done to make it easier for the audience to understand the context of the song and reinforces the messages put forward through the lyrics.
