Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Formation - Coggle Diagram
Formation
Product Context
Formation, lead single for the album Lemonade, was released the day before Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl final in February 2016. The Formation music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas, was released with the song
This music video has won numerous awards including a Clio Award for Innovation and Creative Excellence in a Music Video at the 2016 awards, and has been nominated in the music video category at 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, and also draws historical parallels with references to racism and slavery
Media Language
The music video offers a wealth of (sometimes conflicting/contradictory) messages and possible meanings. Many of the references in the video require an awareness of issues and events (such as the flooding in New Orleans and racial tension in America)
The video also requires a high level of media literacy to recognise and understand intertextual references such as footage taken from a documentary about ‘bounce’ called That B.E.A.T. and references to news footage of police brutality, such as the lone dancing boy
Consider the ways in which factors in the music video contrast and conflict and whether this creates a confused meaning in audiences or offers a coherent message
The use of costume is interesting. Antebellum dresses which seem to reference slavery contrast heavily with stereotypical “pop” signifiers such as tight fitting/revealing costume in some of the dance sections
Similarly Beyoncé’s performance shifts from moments of aggression such as obscene gestures with her fingers to more culturally recognisable dance routines that seem less loaded with political or social messages
This contrasting use of signs leads to possible readings/meaning of the video: » Is it exploring issues of the Black experience in America? Is it a personal exploration of Beyoncé’s life? Is it attempting to discuss issues of gender and equality? Is it possible for the video to be all of these things?
-
Representation
As explored in the Media Language section above the video offers a range of different representations relating to race and ethnicity, however consider also the specific presentation of Beyoncé herself
Consider Beyoncé the performer as a construct and the ways in which her image is cultivated on screen
Which images/sequences have been selected to construct her on-screen persona? For example, her representation as a person of strength and power
Beyoncé frequently makes direct address to the audience by gazing directly at us, she stands in strong, powerful stances at the front of groups (of both men and women), and perhaps most iconic is the image of her on top of the police car
Consider the extent to which this construction of her persona is cultivated to sell records and gain fans, rather than offer any mean
Industry Contexts
In discussion about the various issues of representation in this video we should not lose sight of the purpose of the music video in relation to finance and profit
-
The combination of this release date and a performance to over 100 million people impacted the global circulation of the video and the financial gain for Beyoncé and her collaborators
Candidates might discuss the extent to which the video was designed to promote a political/cultural agenda or to simply generate publicity and make money
Stereotypes
Formation uses stereotypes such as sexualized images of black females that could be interpreted as positive (strong, empowered) or negative (objectified)
Beyoncé is represented in different ways (sitting on the police car, dressed in historical costume) showing that her identity is more complex than a simple stereotype
Whilst Beyoncé is offering subversive (or at least politically motivated) comments about race, candidates might be asked to consider ways in which she is reinforcing some attitudes and values in relation to gender
Does the representation of Beyoncé in the video reinforce and possibly condone the objectification of women?
For example, the dance sections where she wears short/tight or revealing outfits as well as some of the sexualised lyrics
This might be balanced by looking again at her construction as a strong, powerful figure
-
Audience
The video is a sales and promotion tool, released the day before Beyoncé’s Superbowl performance
This was planned to reach an extremely large, mass audience
It is interesting to consider the video as both a means to address a wide audience with valid social comment and as a means to promote Beyoncé’s career and sell records
Beyoncé as a performer has worked within a number of different genres (pop, R&B, Dance, Hip Hop etc.). These genres are fluid and subject to change and arguably all combine in the genre that is being explored in this music video: “bounce"
Audiences may interpret this video in different ways especially as it presents many, seemingly conflicting, messages
The multiplicity of representations makes it challenging to define a single preferred reading (Stuart Hall’s reception theory
This allows the producers to target a range of audiences who may be familiar with one or more of these genres. Consider how audiences may interpret the media:
However, there are some clear messages about empowerment (relating to gender and ethnicity) and criticism of the establishment, including the police, following Hurricane Katrina that audiences may respond to in different ways
The racial tensions following the floods (easily accessible through Kanye West’s comments about President George Bush at the time) offer the chance to consider the way in which Beyoncé is inviting audiences to interpret these circumstances