Beyonce Formation analysis

Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’, released on February 6^th 2016, established major controversial discussions regarding ethnicity and gender. The video explores notions of gender and race with references to Beyoncé’s cultural identity and celebrity status. There is also reference to historical and contemporary oppression of the black community as well as criticism of a patriarchal society.

Formation belongs to Beyoncé’s album Lemonade and was released a day prior to the Super Bowl. It was directed by Melina Matasoukas contradicting the wide population of male directors. The video has won various awards including a Clio award for innovation and Creative Excellence in music at the 2016 Music Video awards.

Furthermore, the historical context of the video creates a compelling narrative. There is obvious reference to hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast, where many black individuals struggled due to the loss of their homes and other forms of property. The black community were reported to be more adversely affected than any other ethnic group. This plight can be seen in the several shots of Beyoncé standing on top of the car that is being subdued by water. The houses that surround the car are also being defeated by the water. At the end of the video, the car is ‘swallowed up’ by the water, dragging Beyoncé down with it, which may suggest the catastrophic aftermath the hurricane orchestrated leaving the black community in a state of despair. Thus, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign prevailed itself in the music video through a message that said ‘stop shooting us’ and through a young black boy dancing in front of an army of police officers. The little boy signifies the idea of innocence questioning the integrity and system of the police force. This is due to the association of police brutality. The noun “us” demonstrated the idea that the black community have formed an alliance to confront the issue of police brutality. The pro-black symbolism may be highly influential to black audience members as they feel empowered to stand up to black oppression and discrimination. Additionally, Paul Gilroy’s theories of post-colonialism and ethnicity are significantly relevant to the historical context of the video. During the 16^th and mid-20^th century, many European countries colonised parts of Asia, Africa and America seizing their goods and the freedom of individuals. Colonisation established the concept of ‘otherness’, ‘primitive’ and ‘inferior’ which are terms that still prevail in today’s society. Beyoncé is trying to challenge these derogatory terms in her narrative through empowering the black community.  Her resilience to confront racial oppression contributes to her star text as audience’s associate her to be a feminist and a contemporary civil rights activist. As her image is being cultivated on screen, she becomes the star who is known to oppose any form of injustice. The encoded racial meanings were very dominant with the target audience.

Black feminism is also reinforced in the video. Black women are seen to be in positions of power and dominion with military references of women ‘get[ting] in formation’.  The lyrics suggest that the women are preparing to combat the misogynistic views that society hold. Her status as a powerful black women is often addressed in the lyrics as she states that she "might get your song played on the radio station'.  Contrastingly, the oppositional reading for this text may suggest that Beyoncé pursues acts of voyeurism as she dances and dresses provocatively appearing to be sexually alluring. It is arguable that she is playing towards the male gaze (Mulvey) and voluntarily surrendering her female strength only to be objectified through her revealing clothing. As a result of this, audiences may also become voyeuristic.  The sexualised lyrics further illustrate the idea of objectification. However, a feminist perspective may suggest that Beyoncé is claiming her sexuality and using it in a way that she wishes to. Female and male audiences should encourage her for her attempt to place females in positions of power rather than condemn her for wearing clothing that we deem as inappropriate.

The important of close-ups within music videos is imperative, as suggested by Goodwin and Vernallis. As the video amplifies the lyrics, the demand of close-ups is used to sustain the required star-text and establish a bond between the viewer and star. The close-ups permit the viewer to relate to the emotions the star is feeling possibly creating a sense of empathy. In this video, Beyoncé’s frustration with the oppressive regimes the black community underwent is emitted, through the close-ups as well as the narrative, allowing black viewers to possibly feel as sense of togetherness and solidarity. Some viewers may look for familiarity in her videos (uses and gratification) due to songs like ‘Run the world’. As mentioned previously, Beyoncé’s has become associated with standing up to racial and female oppression through her video’s and star-text. Beyoncé’s phenomenal performance in confronting discrimination and horrific historical events drives the narrative forward reinforcing Barthes action code. The video breaks the rules of continuity which may suggest the many episodes of racial battles the black community has had to confront. This is a clear convention of music videos reiterated by Vernallis.

Contrastingly, some may see Beyonce's video as a strategy to earn profit and increased popularity rather than a stand for racial and female oppression. This is likely to be the main goal for her record label and people that work for her. 

To conclude, the different forms of intersectionality in the video, including racial and female oppression, creates a captivating narrative that creates both controversy and empowerment. Beyoncé is continuously represented to be successful, dominant and powerful through the narrative and the lyrics.