Beyonce Formation
Context
Historical Context
Media Language
Representations
Theory
Lyrics
Hurricane Katrina hit a poor suburb in New Orleans - relief + support was poor
Poor response time made the residents felt like it was racially motivated as they helped the wealthier suburbs quicker
Album Lemonade released in 2016 the day before the Superbowl
References to martin Luther King
Mise en scene - newspaper quoted by MLK saying 'More than a dreamer'
Police brutality
'Stop shooting us' seen in the mise en scene in graffiti
Antebellum dresses - symbol of deep south America and slave owners wife's typically wore them
Confederate flag seen in the mise en scene
Theme of slavery
They didn't want to end slavery
Creole culture - mix of French and afro American
Inspired by bounce music - typically listened by the gay community
Plagiarising the voice of Messy Mya's voice and footage from the Beat documentary
The word 'Bama' can be a racial slur in America - talking about herself and her heritage
Wide shot of Beyonce sat on a sinking police car
Direct mode of address
Strong gesture codes
Mise en scene of hurricane Katrina and the flooding
Positioned herself above the police, position of power and authority - Strauss and binary oppositions
Strass - binary oppositions
Over the shoulder shot of a shirtless man wearing skinny white jeans dancing
Dancing provocatively in front of a mirror - typically seen of a homosexual men but not black men in the media
Beyonce wearing a antebellum dress + parasol typically worn by slave owner's wife's
Subverting stereotypes - showing social change + Beyonce's ideologies about racial hierarchies
Afrocentric beauty - taking notions of slave owners and changing it - close up
'Texas Bama' - changing negative stereotypes and takes pride in her cultural heritage
'I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros' in a wide shot of her child Blue Ivy - addressing racial abuse of her daughters hairstyles - strong gesture codes - proud
Wide shot - powerful black woman (Beyonce) centrally framed surrounded by men - she is in power
Wearing lots of jewellery
Funeral wear - sombre morning tone
Morning the death of the life's taken from hurricane Katrina and or police brutality
'Wide flared nostrils' - embracing African looks - celebrating the black community
Slow zoom from a long shot of Beyonce dancing provocatively in a bodysuit in a hallway - sexualising, scopophilia, voyeuristic, male gaze, post feminist
Van Zoonen - men and women are represented differently - women are objectified due to western culture
Long shot of a little boy dancing in front of a line of police - resistance
Mulvey - male gaze
Van Zoonen - men and women are represented differently, women are objectified due to western culture
'I like cornbread and collard greens' traditional food, her roots
High angle wide shot dancing in a empty swimming pool
empty swimming pool is making a social comment - black woman tried to go in a swimming pool and the they drained it
Bell Hooks called Beyonce a terrorist as she believes she is having a negative impact on young women
'When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster' subverting stereotypes
'If he hit it right, I might take him on a flight on my chopper, drop him off at the mall, let him buy some J's, let him shop up' subverting stereotypes of women and them buying things for their husband or boyfriend
Gilroy - post colonialism theory