Beyonce Formation MV

 - 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). For example Beyonce is standing over the floating police car, she is surrounded by water, linking with the flood. Beyonce is more superior than the police, and she shows this by topping the car. 

-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.

-Beyoncé going on record against the police brutality in her music video. She filled the music video with images that ranged from graffiti that read "Stop Shooting Us," to a wall of SWAT officers...and literally sunk a New Orleans Police Car into a body of water to let everyone know where she stood on the issues at hand.

-The very first words we hear are “What happened at the New Orleans?” It’s a valid question. The opening images of the video show parts of the city under water, reminiscent of the fatal aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. During the tragedy came controversy, as onlookers believed that New Orleans didn’t receive the attention it deserved because of its mostly black community.

- 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.

- Beyonce  embraces every aspect of her identity. Hair is and has always been a way for black women to bond with each other, express themselves, and make a statement. She and her dancers rock multiple hairstyles in the video: she hangs her long, golden braids out of her car window, and women with blue and purple extensions stand defiantly in the beauty supply store .

- Beyonce references different aspects of the black community culture. The references in the song range from her choice of soul food — “I like cornbread and collard greens, b*tch, best to believe it” — to the livelihood of a black marching band, worshipping in a small, black church, and even the voodoo magic that is still very much a part of Creole culture. Bey has not forgotten her roots: “Earned all this money but they never take the country off me,” she says. She is not in the business of shying away from her blackness to appease anyone, but rather embraces it and everything that comes along with it. And her presence demands that you believe her.

- Beyonce is proud of what she's accomplished...and is telling her girls to "get in formation" and run the world right alongside her. She says that “you might just be a black Bill Gates in the making," but doubles back and augments the statement: “I might just be a black Bill Gates in the making, 'cause I slay.” Bey has never been afraid of breaking the glass ceiling and rewriting all of the rules. She may be married to one of the most powerful men in entertainment but she doesn’t need him to dominate in her own right.