beyonce's essay correction

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".