music videos: formation- beyonce

messy mya

intertextual reference: ‘what happaned at the New Orleans’

Referencing other cultural icons- signifies genre, theme of black oppression and discrimination- engages the audience

• popular rapper, YouTube star, comedian, quite famous within the black and lgbtq+ community

• famous for speaking out in controversial ways

• messy shot and killed- emphasises theme of violent crimes

• Beyonce sued for not asking permission to use audio- disrespect

  • suggests illusion of supporting black culture for marketing due to failure to show respect in reality

that B.E.A.T

intertextual reference

• documentary about bounce music and fans in new orleans

symbolism of police

• blue and red lights, poilce sirens- police brutality against black community

• symbolism shown throughout- suggests conflict is common in US-

• binary opposition between the police and black community

• low angle of ploice with uniform- powerful in comparison to boy

  • eye level camera shot- encourages audience to position themselves with boy- unaffected and confident

  • police unaffected- opposes media

• stop shooting us- police brutality

profanity

‘when he fuck me good, i take his ass to red lobster, cause i slay’

• aggressive, passionate

• connotes Beyoncé’s power, challenging typical female representations

• ‘i like my negro nose’- using an offensive term- implies media representations of black features considered bad, Beyoncé takes the term and makes it more positive

  • 1960’s negro was an accepted word for racial pride

  • now associated with segregation and racial oppression

clothing

• expensive- gucci, jewellry- connotates wealth and status-

  • common for artists in music videos

  • Subverts typical representations of black people often seen in media as poor

• juxtaposition of historical clothing/ setting with black people wearing symbols of wealth- highlights ways black people have been enslaved and how it has changed

discrimiantion

• images of children- suggests discrimination isnt over and still happening to youth

• Smiling faces imply hope

• newspaper of MLK- longevity of racial discrimination

• reference to mother and father's cultural origins- proud

  • Celebrating rich diversity in america

• word ‘creole’ used to divide black communities and judge them based on darkness of skin

  • Drawing attention to negative historical practices, some found it offensive

jackson 5 nose

Jackson 5 popular band in 1960s

• black feature- wider nose and larger nostrils- potrayed neagivly by media

big freedia

sample of voice

• gay male musician and tv star

  • fans of bounce genre

  • non binary backgrounds and lgbtq+

• celeb collabs represent Beyoncé as successful and popular

  • Inclusion represents Beyoncé as inclusive, progressive, accepting,ally

representations of culture and ethnicity

• shop with wigs- popularity amongst many black women

  • variety of hairstyles, fashion and colour- suggests more than 1 one black women can be fashionable

• dancing in formation- unity- black women are powerful when they work together

• excludes other ethnic groups

• represents black people as seperate, othered by the rest of society, while united together

• Beyonce standing on top of a police car, sinking in water

• wide-angle shot

• dominant over police- challenges the context of America, black people portrayed as dominated by police

  • Hall: reception theory- some audiences assumed she was anti-law enforcement and anti-America

representation of women

• Typically, women sexualised in music video- conforms to this through costume- heels, stockings low cuts

• ‘i see it, i want it, i take it’, ‘if he fuck me good i take his ass to Red Lobster’- dominance over partner

• representations mixed- women powerful, sexualised

why does beyonce choose to represnt these events/ cultures etc.

• political artist- campaigns, events- hurricane katrina- created funds with Jay Z Katrina

• personal discrimination

• unusual representations- engaging- attempt to gain money, etc.

  • chose to release the song before the Super Bowl and perform it live at halftime- black panther style costumes- overtly political and controversial to gain publicity