Formation

What is intertextuality?

• References to other media that creates meaning

• This may be done to build rapport with an audience, as part of a collaboration with another artist or politically relevant references to champion an ideology

What is the context around the release of the Formation music video?

• Came out in 2016 and was released the day before her Superbowl performance in February (BHM)

• Won multiple awards for innovation and creative excellence and was nominated for the 59th Grammy awards

• ·       The video is set against the backdrop of the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the associated racial tension in America, as well as other historical parallels to racism and slavery

What does the Star as a ‘construct’ mean?

• A star is a construct, not a real person

• Identity is made through marketing

• A star’s image in carefully constructed to appeal to a target audience

• Stars are always artificial even if they are represented as authentic

How does Beyonce relate to the star as a construct?

• Music comes first to appeal to her fans known as they Beyhive

• Forbes in 2014 declared Beyonce to be the world’s most powerful celebrity

• She has leveraged her brand in support of gender equality campaign, the BeyGood organisation

What is ‘Flawless’ feminism and how does it relate to Beyonce?

• People believe Beyonce is white-washed and sexualised

• ·       Bey’s flawlessness requires tens of thousands of dollars and a team of makeup artists, trainers and dieticians

• Juggling family and career would be difficult but Beyonce has round the clock help, setting an unrealistic standard for women to live up to as mothers

• Beyonce has created a highly curated online persona that twists feminism into another sexualised accessory

• Beyonce’s brand of feminism may seem empowering on the surface but gives in to societal norms of the oversexualisation of women making her message of feminism shallow

How does this image create meaning?

• A group of black women dressed in an Antebellum style reminiscent of what slave masters may have worn

• This can be interpreted as black people reappropriating and reclaiming their own history as they are their own masters now, controlled by no-one- not white people or men

• The lyrics ‘Get what’s mine’ further strengthens this message that black people are reclaiming a part of their history that was lost to them and their take control of their own future

How does this image create meaning?

• Most likely a reference to Malcom X

• Lyrics “Cause I slay” could be Beyonce taking pride in her race and heritage as well as pride in herself as a woman

  • One of the main message of Malcom X is that they should take pride in their own race

• “Okay ladies now lets get in formation” is a rallying cry for black feminists around the globe to take hold of their own identity

What meaning does this image create?

• Shows Beyonce against the backdrop of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina

• Only one police car shows the low effort response that was given to aid people in New Orleans, a mainly black community

• People may take issue with this depiction as Beyonce is presented as the main image, with her makeup all done up and looking very presentable against the devastation that killed people for the sake of being depicted as a ‘girlboss’

What meaning is created with this image?

• Antebellum clothing worn again showing the reclamation of history

• Beyonce uses profanity which goes against stereotypes that woman she be reserved and cannot use such language as it is unladylike

• It the lyrics flip the power dynamic in a relationship between a man and a woman, showing Beyonce has more power- subsequent lyrics say “I might take him on a flight in my chopper”

  • This furthers the feminist ideas that women are not supposed to be subservient to men but rather, they can even hold power over them, a message that empowers women

• Red Lobster developed a reputation for being friendly and open to black customers

Who is Messy Mya and why is she heard in this music video?

• Messy Mya was a queer black person who was shot and killed

• He is included in the video to give a voice to the forgotten and those who are not heard- queer social media breakthrough

• This emphasises the need for solidarity in the black community regardless of sexuality

What is Baudrillard’s Post-Modernism theory?

• The media provides a simulation of reality that is artificial and hyperreal

• The distinction between reality and media becomes blurred or even invisible

• Audiences interpret these hyperreal representations as reality

• We live in a culture where the fake is more readily accepted and the media creates hyper-reality

• This includes simulation, simulacra and hyperreality

What is hyperreality?

• The state where division between real and simulation has collapsed and therefore the illusion of reality becomes reality itself

• This represents an idealistic version of what a person sees and therefore will invest in as the audience tries to live up to an unrealistic standard

• Celebrities reach a point of popularity that every aspect of their lives is mediated and live in a hyperreal world which is presented as normal to the audience

What is a simulation?

• A copy of a real world system or process over time

• This could be virtual tours, VR, video calls

• This allows an audience who cannot view the real event to access it virtually

What is a simulacra?

Simulacra are copies that depict things that had no original or no longer have an original in reality- in other words a copy of something that doesn’t exist

How does representation of women in formation conform to Baudrillard’s post-modernism theory?

• Beyonce has created a version or reality where all black women follow a hegemonic beauty standard for specifically black women

• Unrealistic beauty standards that the audience cannot live up to- hyperreality

• We do not see different shapes and sizes of the female body

How does Formation challenge ideas of post-modernism?

• The scenes referring to Hurricane Katrina are brutally realistic as they are take from documentaries

• This therefore creates a set that feels genuine and authentic

• She also challenges the unrealistic beauty standard for black women to have white features such as long, straight hair but rather embraces afro hair

• The video was largely shot in an LA studio that seeks to represent real life but uses a combination of reconstructed footage and documentary material

What is versimilitude?

The appearance of being true or real

What is bell hooks’ feminist theory?

• Feminism is an active battle against the patriarchy

• You must actively be campaigning for women’s rights to be a feminist

• Social positions are determine by Christian values

• There are levels of oppression for gender, race, class, etc.

What is gender representation like in the formation music video?

• No male characters are the focus in this music video

• Representation of queer males who display more feminine traits in Messy Mya

• Condones the sexualisation of women through revealing clothing and dance routines

• Emphasis on female black gender- reference to afro hair and nostrils which both Jay Z and Beyonce’s daughter were bullied about

What are some criticisms of Formation and its racial/feminist message?

• It does not matter how hard women work, all that matters is how sexually available they are willing to make themselves look

• The roles of women should not always have to be in relation to males

• Sexualised dances are not empowering

• There is a lack of black, male representation in the video

• Using so few white people could be interpreted as racist

How is feminist language used in Formation in order to empower women?

·       “I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'til I own it”

-          Feminist idea that women should be able to achieve great levels of success if they work hard, links to the American Dream

·       “Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation ('cause I slay)”

-          Women are capable of taking on leadership roles

·       “If he hit it right, I might take him on a flight on my chopper ('cause I slay)”

-          Puts herself above man, frames it like an average task, power imbalance showing that she is in control of that relationship, female empowerment over a man

·       “I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making”

-          Comparison to being Bill Gates suggesting that black people and also females can be incredibly successful just as Beyonce is

·       “You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation”

-          B**** used with positive connotations, as if to say that she is a ‘girl boss’, also used to reclaim the word that is normally used to insult them

How does bell hooks criticse Beyonce?

• She says formation is not a ‘love letter to black women’

• Lemonade (the album) regurgitates patriarchal values, disguising them as feminist

• Exploits images of black women and their bodies

• She described Beyonce as a '“cultural terrorist”

What are some of the things Beyonce has done to be an activist for black people and feminism?

•        Backed demands for a civil rights case after the death of Trayvon Martin- a black teenage

•  Endorsed campaign for Marriage Equality in 2013

• Celebrated Malala Yousafzai’s story highlight the lives of women living under the Taliban

What media language is used to convey meaning in this shot?

• Representation of black Americans

• Wearing antebellum clothing

• Medium shot pictures them all in the frame

• Looking straight ahead at the camera exerts dominance

• The ideological message constructed is that black people have been oppressed but now they are able to reclaim and reappropriate their history

• This inspires young, black and specifically female audiences that they do not need to conform to the idea of hegemonic society of how they should look as this is based off of post-colonial values but they should take value in black features

What is reappropriation?

• The idea of adapting something for a different purpose

• The intention is to reclaim or recover something for one’s own use that was used against them

How does formation use reappropriation to convey its message?

• Uses this to shape discourse and discussion around reappropriation

• She uses historically white imagery or ideas and adapts them for black empowerment

• This can be seen when she wears antebellum clothing and other examples which highlight the need for the black youth to address historical injustices against black Americans and be aware of their history

What is otherness?

• Minorities are seen as ‘the other’

• Simplistic identities lead to untrue stereotypes

• The othering of ethic groups leads people not feel ashamed of their heritage which leads to whitewashing

• The issues faced by this community are seen to be of little consequence and get little coverage in the media

Why do some people take offense to language used in formation?

• “You mix that negro with that creole and make a Texas bama”

• ‘bama’ was slang to describe working class blacks during the great migration

•   Creoles are people who are off mixed African and French/Spanish/Native American descent

• Creoles due to having lighter skin and non-kinky hair had more opportunities than other non-creoles who would have been denied basic needs like education

• Making a distinction between these two like Beyonce does is “deeply triggering” due to the history of colourism- people with lighter skin may have been treated more favourably

Why do some people take issue with the footage of the music video?

• None of the filming was done in New Orleans

• All footage was taken from a 2012 documentary called B.E.A.T which focused on New Orleans bounce music

• The producers of the documentary didn’t even know footage was being used from their documentary until the Formation video dropped

•   Chris Black said “Was the budget not big enough to spend a week in New Orleans and actually build with the people?”

Why did people take issue with Beyonce using the Hurricane Katrina disaster in her music video?

•   Maris Jones, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, said that “inserting yourself into the storm narrative is just as insensitive as using Katrina’s aftermath as a conversation starter when meeting a New Orleanian”

• Criticism is that Beyonce was not there and it is not her story to appropriate or perform

• People also complained about how the focus was on Beyonce’s high fashion and beauty and the disaster of Hurricane Katrina was merely the backdrop

• People also said that the reason why Beyonce made this video was only for profit and the political commentary was half-hearted and it’s just an ode to wealth

What is David Gauntlett’s identity theory?

• The media provides us with tools to construct our identities

• The media only used to present singular, straightforward messages about identities but now a wider range of interpretations are offered

• Media now offers pluralistic interpretations to demonstrate he complexity of identities

How does David Gauntlett’s identitiy theory link to Formation?

• The identity of feminism portrayed is that of girl power

• This may not be the label to the feminist answer however- feminism today consists of all the exciting part but the complexities especially with women’s relationship with men are left out

• To young women, official feminism belongs to their mother’s generation and because of this, young women have to adopt their own response to sexual inequality

  • Young women do this today by making themselves seem as sexually available as possible as a form of ‘girl power’ which is supported by Formation

• Formation reflects this new identity of women through sexualised danced routines

How does formation provide a sense of identity?

•      Formation provides a positive sense of identity by:

  •     Empowering black Americans to reclaim their heritage

  •    Take confidence in their natural beauty

  • Win against a racist society by being successful

What is Stuart Hall’s stereotypes theory and how does it link to Formation?

• Stereotypes arise from viewpoints help by a hegemonic groups and is built off of inequalities of power

• Formation challenges inequalities of power by:

  -          Beyonce comparing herself to a famous and incredibly wealthy white man, Bill Gates

  -          Reclaiming a history of oppression

  -          Reappropriating the negative stigma associated with black features

What is Gilroy’s post-colonialism theory?

• The impact of colonialism on contemporary society is that values from the colonial era have been internalised as part of our culture as a result of slavery and segregation

• Colonialism refers to ones culture being forced onto other cultures

•   Colonial discoursed continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity

• Civilisation constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions on notions of otherness

• The result is that black people feel othered from mainstream society

How does Gilroy’s post-colonialism theory link to Formation?

• Antebellum clothing was typical for slave owners to wear

• A result of colonialism is otherness and the stigmatisation of certain features such as afros

  • “I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils” challenges this and goes against whitewashing

• We see dancers in a pool that was reserved for solely white people showing that black people are breaking down barriers to be recognised in mainstream society

How has Beyonce reinvented herself?

• An artists star image evolves over time

• Beyonce took a break to have a child

• She relaunched her star image as ‘Mother’

• In Formation we see her and Jay Z’s daughter featured, praising her natural black features

What is historical revisionism?

•   The reinterpretation of a historical event

• Usually challenges accepted views held by scholars about a historical event

•    Revisionism in extreme cases can cause the reversal of older moral judgements

What is Richard Dyer’s star theory?

• Construct, ideology and commodity

•   Star as a construct- The star is a construct is not a real person, this is done through magazines, interviews, music videos, advertising

  -          Beyonce presents herself as confident, wealthy, advocate for women’s rights

•   The star as an ideology- Stars represent certain social groups and views and will therefore create certain ideologies. As a result fans may try to copy their style and adopt similar values

• The star as a commodity- Stars are created in order to create a profit through music, concert sales and merchandise. Record labels create similar stars by looking at patterns and trends of what cells.