beyonce essay

Essay 1

The establishing shot of "Formation"clearly shows the Situation pretty clearly: a flood. 
this can be a water flood but it can also be used as a symbol.  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 and this is seen through a series of jump cuts. 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. this is because beyonce is seen fighting for women as women are the main characters in the music video and also for racism as she is raising awareness on the issues regarding hrracane katrina

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 crosscuts between the different locations souch as the living room of a stereotypical wealthy white house, the oustide steps of an other wealthy family, and then the destroyed poor area, which is flooded by hurracane katrina. which portrey 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. They used to stay at home, clean the house and look after the chidren, and they ha no rights or power. 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 is important as originally slaves would not be allowed in the house but would be forced to work outside. Domestinc slaves would be working in the ouse, but they would be serving the lady of the house, not being allowe d to sit down with them and talk as friends.   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 hilights 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. she is dancing in the corridor and twerking, which at the time this video is ambiented would have been really inappropriate and scandalous. 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. This portrays her in a more rebellious way, meaning that she does not want to conform to society but is ready to fight and take control of the situation. 
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.