Getting in[Formation]
Many people have watched music videos and sometimes have even watched the same video over and over again. What many don’t realize when watching these videos is that nine times out of ten they have some sort of hidden and deeper meaning behind them. Music videos and lyrics are a way for artists to express themselves and also put out certain messages to the public, some of which can be viewed positively while others negatively. Aside from the singer starring in the video and singing along to their song, which can be powerful in and of itself, the addition of certain types of dress, location, and background can add more to the meaning that’s lying right underneath the surface of the catchy song that is stuck in your head. Beyonce is one such artist whose songs are listened to by millions of people in the United States and around the world. Beyonce is viewed by many as a credible source whose actions as well as what she says and what she sings about play a large role in helping form the opinions of many. When an artist of her magnitude puts into her songs and videos subliminal and deeper meanings, people take notice even if they don’t even realize it at the time. Beyonce attempts through her music video Formation to empower and inspire confidence throughout the black community.
In just a few minutes’ time, this music video is able to evoke various feelings and emotions because of the lyrics, background, and attire. The big picture message is in all the small details that made this video and its important message possible. The video starts off with Beyonce on a partially submerged New Orleans Police Car that invokes images of Hurricane Katrina, condemning the police and various other messages depending on one’s perspective when watching the video. For some, this image invokes feelings of despair and sorrow because they might be remembering what it was like to live through Hurricane Katrina and all the terrible things that came along with it.
While the sinking police car does reference Hurricane Katrina, it also references condemnation of the police which is one message in her music video that can be viewed in a negative light. Condemning the police and other forces meant to keep people safe and who every day risk their lives for that is probably not a positive message that should be sent out to the public especially from an influential person with such a large following. The police forces are not perfect and have made plenty of mistakes but condemning a whole entity over the mistakes of a few does not give off the right message, especially when there are officers who try their hardest to do the best job that they can do. This is one example of how Beyonce can use her influence and persuasiveness to get people to believe a certain idea, which in this case can do more harm than good.
The use of vivid imagery as well as kairos allows for this music video to have a much larger impact on the public than it would have had otherwise. The timing of the release of this video had more thought behind it than Beyonce just dropping another single and music video for the world to listen to and watch. The time of its release had a lot to do with it being Black History month and also to show Beyonce’s solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The day it was released was on what would be Trayvon Martin’s birthday, which is also the day before Sandra Bland’s birthday. Both of those days are important when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement and it is obvious that Beyonce released the song and video at this time to make a statement because of the day’s importance to the movement. The images portrayed in the video also add to the meaning of the song and the importance of its release date. During one part of the video, there is a boy in a black hoodie with his arms raised and a line of riot police across from him who are doing the same. The hands up don’t shoot stance that is done by both the boy and the riot police references the death of Michael Brown, an eighteen-year-old black man who was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. As this scene is ending the video cuts to a wall that has “stop shooting us” scrawled in graffiti. In a way, the video and song are meant to show Beyonce standing in solidarity with the victims of police brutality.
For many watching this music video, a common belief they have would be that there are riots going on and people being shot and killed for the wrong reasons. While this is true, it also has to do with the kairos of this piece and its connection with Trayvon Martin and his death. The saying does have to do with black people as a whole but it also in a way is specific to Trayvon Martin and what he went through and what others in the black community are going through now as well.
Another one of the many arguments being made in this video is that black women are not wholly accepted by American society unless they try to change themselves, from the way that they dress and style their hair to what they eat. Another argument being made seems to be on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement and those that have been unjustly killed, to stop such violence that has been going on for quite some time. The argument about black women is seen all throughout the video and through the lyrics as well. In one of the verses, Beyonce says “ I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros/ I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils.” With just these two lines as well as the images that go along with it it’s clear to see that Beyonce is trying through her words and the images that she sets forth to show that changing who you are to fit into what society deems acceptable does not need to be done. She tries to show and say that there is nothing wrong with having natural hair or a natural nose. Throughout the video, there are many women who are seen with their natural hair, which alludes to Beyonce’s formation with black women. From the very beginning, there is a message being set forth of centering black women
From the beginning to the end of the video the women seen have natural hair and features and Beyonce herself is seen with cornrows and her daughter is also seen in the video with her natural hair. In the past and currently as well, many black women take to using various products to change the texture of their hair to fit into what society has deemed acceptable and nice in terms of hair. It is important for someone, in this case Beyonce, to speak out and say that natural hair is acceptable and that there is nothing wrong with it and to empower women who do wear their hair naturally. The song and video as a whole are meant to empower women in many ways and showing women with their natural hair is just one of the ways that Beyonce manages to empower black women in her music video.
The title of the song is also very important when it’s mentioned in context with the video or the lyrics. The significance of the title Formation is metaphorical in that it’s meant to unite black women and centers on them being in leadership positions which at this point are very scarce. The video makes many references to the song title, with women standing in formation with Beyonce at various points in time and all acting as one large unified group. There seems to be more than one message in the music video as well as within the lyrics and all of them in a way are interconnected with one another. The main message within this piece looks like it is a way to inspire confidence and empowerment within the black community.
Another element of the music video that is quite interesting to note and that ties into the empowerment of the black community as a whole is the setting of the video. For a good portion of the video, the background was that of a plantation which when going back in history was a place where black people were slaves and had no control over anything. In this video though, it isn’t meant to be a house of black people as slaves but rather they are portrayed as being the ones in charge, the ones who are the masters in a way. One can tell that in this situation that they are in charge because when the video shows the plantation the paintings and portraits on the walls aren’t of white people. Instead, there are portraits of black women, something that would’ve never been found on a southern plantation during the days of slavery. The music video manages to not only mentions the history and culture of the current era but also of the past eras and tie in all the history of the black community into one very moving music video.
Many of Beyonce’s music videos and songs have in the past also carried an important and deeper meaning behind them. This isn’t the first one that has such an important message but it is one with a message that speaks to many people and has a message that many in the black community, in particular, can relate to. Beyonce’s past music videos have many times had messages of empowering women in them but in this case, she is empowering black women in specific and black lives in general. Beyonce can perform on such a topic because of her southern roots and because she herself is black and the issues she mentions are issues that she and many others if not almost all black people in the United States, in particular, are facing. The music video is meant to appeal to ethos and logos and does so through the moving images that are seen throughout the video and through Beyonce herself who has a type of credibility to sing and portray such a video on what is ultimately meant to be an empowering video to the black community as a whole.
It is meant to unify the community and inspire confidence within black culture and by alluding to the various events that had taken place in the south through the location and backdrop of the majority of the video and pairing that with the lyrics and powerful images seen throughout the video is more than just another music video, it’s a pathway to challenge the thoughts and ideas of people and what they believe true. It’s to challenge the belief that a black woman should not wear her hair naturally, it’s to challenge the belief that a black man is always in the wrong, it’s to challenge the belief that there is something wrong with black culture at all.
Since Beyonce has such a large following and appeal internationally, what she says and how she says it has an effect on the opinions that are formed by people. She is a person with a very large and diverse following through which she is able to reach many people and also persuade them to believe in certain things. While this may not always be a good thing, she does have the power to shape people’s opinions in some ways, however minute or significant that effect might be. As a well-known public figure who is also very influential, speaking up about a topic that is rife with tension both fueled politically and otherwise, it is important to note that the main part of this music video was to empower the black community as a whole and also in many ways black women in particular. It was also meant shed light on an important movement at a time when her message through the video can be best understood by the public.
Works Cited
Carrol, L. B. (2010). Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.parlorpress.com/pdf/carroll–backpacks-vs-briefcases.pdf
Miller. “What Is Rhetoric?” N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/eng2150sp16kta/files/2016/02/Miller_WhatIsRhetoric.pdf>.
Sisavat, Monica. “It’s OK to Keep Watching Beyonce’s “Formation” Music Video Over and Over Again.” RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Beyonce-Formation-Music-Video-40090121>.