Formation

Question 1

Opening shot of the music video

Answer 1

• an establishing shot of a semi submerged police car in New Orleans
• immediately establishes the setting of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

-> positions Beyonce as powerful as she stands atop the floating car, above the destruction in a masculine pose
this juxtaposes against the following shot showing a man dancing femininely (playing with ideas gender )

Question 2

dress codes and costumes (Antebellum)

Answer 2

Beyonce dresses herself and others in clothes of the Antebellum period (a time of plantations and slavery) and inverses the roles of the Southern Belles

• by doing this she is reclaiming and subverts ideas about ethnicity and gender

Question 3

dress codes and costumes (Black hat)

Answer 3

The medium shot of Beyonce wearing a large black hat, dramatic large and layered jewellery and dark red lipstick portrays her as powerful
- jewellery -> alludes to the tribal traditions
- black funeral attire -> connotations of police brutality and unnecessary death of black people
- reference to black panthers

Question 4

release date

Answer 4

released on February 6th 2016, during black history month and the anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s 21st birthday (a teenager who was shot and killed coming back from the shops)

Question 5

Antebellum area setting

Answer 5

• the plantation home has been reclaimed by including and having close ups on French French renaissance-style paintings of regal black women
• the ideology of black empowerment is encoded by reappropriating iconography associated with slavery

Question 6

“Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess”

Answer 6

recognises how people want to associate her success with the illuminati to invalidate her hard work and talent instead of crediting her fame to a conspiracy.

Question 7

“Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh”

Answer 7

Fly down-> male genitalia-> male domination and power-> role reversal

Question 8

Swimming pool setting

Answer 8

Reference to the 1964 Monson Motor Lodge protects

Question 9

Antebellum style dresses vs pop attire

Answer 9

heavy contrasts with the stereotypical attire of “pop” (tight and small clothes)

Question 10

dance routines

Answer 10

• the several choreographed scenes of “ladies in formation”, signify the need for all women to “stick together” as a collective

Question 11

Beyonce’s gesture code - fist in air

Answer 11

the black power salute - aligns herself with the civil rights activists of the past

Question 12

“i might take him on a flight on my chopper”
“i might get your song played on the radio station”

Answer 12

lyrics signifying Beyonce’s control and power - gender role reversal

Question 13

kid vs police scene

Answer 13

In this dance routine, named a “peace dance”, a young black boy is dancing in front of a line of cold police officers dressed in swat gear. The dance routine ends with the boy raising both of his hands in the air; a gesture that is then mirrored by the line of police officers. The sequence suggests a call for peace:

Question 14

political zeitgeist

Answer 14

the video references the political zeitgeist of the time (2-16) by using cultural codes (Barthes), “stop shooting us”, police cars (New Orleans), and the black power salute to challenge racial hierarchies, encoding the ideology of black empowerment

Question 15

symbolic and referential codes (Barthes)

Answer 15

• the New Orleans police car that drowns Beyonce at the end, referencing hurricane Katrina and the responsibilities of the state to protect its citizens
• The symbolism of the crucifixion
• And the references to Malcolm X and the Black Panther movement

Question 16

industry context

Answer 16

• this music video was created in relation to finance and profit
• the political agenda within the music video may not be the main purpose

Question 17

Beyonce’s direct address

Answer 17

Beyonce directly addresses the viewer in powerful stances (commonly in front of groups of people (men and women)) to portray herself as a person with great power despite her ethnicity and race

Question 18

stereotypical portrayal of black women

Answer 18

this portrayal can be seen as either positive (strong, empowered) or negative (objectified) depending on the viewer

• Despite this, Beyonce herself portrays herself as more complex than a simple stereotype by representing herself in a multitude of ways

Question 19

Stuart Hall, response

(inequalities of power)

Answer 19

• challenges traditional inequalities of power by placing a black woman in a position of control
  BUT may perpetuate a sense of binary opposition between races, supporting Hall’s notion of difference or ‘otherness’

Question 20

bell hooks, response

Answer 20

• bell hooks believes that the sexualised and objectified portrayal of women is

“Patriarchal society cannot be challenged when women are reduced to singing and dancing for the pleasure of consumers.”

Question 21

representation of men

Answer 21

• there are no dominant male characters throughout the video
• men are often represented as passive and relegated to the background of the composition.