Formation Music Video- Beyoncé

Question 1

What album was formation the lead single for?

Answer 1

lemonade

Question 2

what event was the album released a day before?

Answer 2

day before Beyoncé performed at Super Bowl final in Feb 2016.

Question 3

Who directed the music video that was released with the song?

Answer 3

Melina Matsoukas

Question 4

what awards has the video won?

Answer 4

Clio award for Innovation and Creative Excellence in a Music vid 2016 awards, nominated in music video category at 59th Grammy awards.

Question 5

What is the backdrop of the video?

Answer 5

flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina & associated racial tension in US.

Question 6

What historical parallels does the video draw on?

Answer 6

racism and slavery.

Question 7

How are the racial tensions (following floods) easily accessible?

Answer 7

through Kayne West’s comments about president George Bush at time.

Question 8

What is Beyoncé inviting the audience to do?

Answer 8

interpret historical circumstances through racial tensions following floods.

Question 9

what does the music video offer a wealth of?

Answer 9

messages and possible meanings (sometimes conflicting/contradictory)

Question 10

what do many of the references in the video require an awareness of?

Answer 10

Issues and events (e.g. flooding in New Orleans and racial tension in America).

Question 11

Why does the video require a high level of media literacy?

Answer 11

To recognise and understand intertextual references (footage from documentary about bounce “That B.E.A.T, references to news footage of police brutality like lone dancing boy.)

Question 12

What do contrasting and conflicting factors create?

Answer 12

arguably a confused meaning in audiences or maybe a coherent message.

Question 13

what do the Antebellum dresses reference?

Answer 13

slavery

Question 14

what do the Antebellum dresses contrast with?

Answer 14

stereotypical “pop”signifiers like tight fitting/revealing costume in some of the video’s dance sections.

Question 15

what does Beyoncé’s performance shift from and to?

Answer 15

aggression (obscene gestures with fingers) to more culturally recognisable dance routines less lauded with political or social messages.

Question 16

what are some of the possible readings/ meanings of the video? (all come from contrasting use of signs)

Answer 16

Black experience in US, personal exploration of her life, discuss gender & equality.

Question 17

What genres had Beyoncé worked in that combine into Bounce?

Answer 17

Pop, R&b, dance, hip-hop (which are all mutable and subject to change.

Question 18

where does Bounce originate?

Answer 18

New Orleans where Beyoncé grew up.

Question 19

what is being signified by Beyoncé sitting in Antebellum dresses with other black women?

Answer 19

reference Antebellum era of US history, possibly signifying how Beyonce personally has not moved on.

Question 20

what is Baudrillard’s Postmodernism theory?

Answer 20

in modern age of simulacra we immersed in world of images which no longer refer to anything “real”.

Question 21

what theory does the video challenge?

Answer 21

Baudrillard’s Postmodernism.

Question 22

what might the video be a collection of?

Answer 22

images referring specifically to reality and encourage audiences to consider these issues.

Question 23

being released a day before Super Bowl performance what does this imply?

Answer 23

arguably video is sales promotion for career. making valid social comments or reducing important issues to means= promote career & sell records?

Question 24

What mustn’t be forgotten about the purpose of the video?

Answer 24

It is made for finance and profit- issues of representation can cloud this.

Question 25

what impacted the global circulation of the video and financial gain for her and collaborators?

Answer 25

released day before super bowl performance to over 100 million people.

Question 26

what are the opposing views of the purpose of the video?

Answer 26

promote political/ cultural agenda OR generate publicity and make money.

Question 27

How does Beyoncé make direct address?

Answer 27

frequently making direct address.

Question 28

what are some of her stances/poses?

Answer 28

stands in strong, powerful stances at front of groups (men & women, on top of a drowning police car.

Question 29

why is her persona constructed and cultivated to target a different audience?

Answer 29

normally presented as lighter skinned, passive. embraces her black heritage - poses/ stances cultivated to sell records rather than insight to personality/beliefs.

Question 30

what does the representation of Beyoncé reinforce and possibly condone?

Answer 30

the objectification of women.

Question 31

What is an examples of Beyonce reinforcing stereotypes of women?

Answer 31

Dance sections, wears short/tight or revealing outfits and sexualised lyrics, contrasted by construction as strong, powerful figure.

Question 32

How is Hooks’ feminist theory applied?

Answer 32

explore if video offers strong message about gender, OR feeds into oppression of women in patriarchal society.

Question 33

What theory can be used to ask if video part of feminist struggle or oppression?

Answer 33

Hooks’ that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression.

Question 34

Is Beyoncé adopting feminism as a lifestyle choice…

Answer 34

… to sell music or has she made political commitment to it.

Question 35

what theories can be used based on race?

Answer 35

Paul Gilroy ethnicity and post colonial- racial hierarchies and binary oppositions.

Question 36

How does the video challenge racial hierarchy?

Answer 36

subverting expectations and placing a black woman in a position of power and dominion

Question 37

where is there a binary opposition?

Answer 37

between races by perpetuating Gilroy’s sense of “otherness” and clear divide based on racial lines.