An Analysis Of Beyoncé's Song 'Formation'

In the year of 1988, a song called “Fuck Tha Police” was published and publicly released to the world by the famous rap group N.W.A. on August 9th. The song is an ultimate form of protest. Not only did it reveal racism and police brutality towards African Americans, but it was a real eye opener for the whole world to see how Caucasian people treated people of color back then. The song transcended into a slogan and is now a movement in pop culture all over the world today, you see it on posters, billboards, and even t-shirts. The song hits all three categories of ethos, logos, and pathos. It demonstrates credibility/trust, logic/reason/proof, and emotions/values.

Beyoncé has named the Artist of the Decade by The Observer in the year of 2009. Beyoncé has also been ranked the fourth Artist of the 2000’s decade in Billboard Magazine as well

Beyoncé uses “Formation” as a continuation of the story in “Freedom” by making a statement about working hard to obtain what she wants and pride in her roots, particularly her southern black heritage. She alludes to how far she has come when she says she rocks her Givenchy dress (citation). Here, she is calling attention to how far she has come and the fortune she has earned by referencing her Givenchy dresses, a luxury brand only someone well off can afford. However, she did not forget where she came from and references her heritage in the second verse when she says “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana” She is

All, of the dancers in this music video are African-American, and it is very clear. None of their hair is straightened, they are all in Black Panther-esque outfits, and they are “unapologetically black.” The concept of this video is head-on addressing systemic racism. An obvious example is the dancers but there are also many more. For one, the opening scene, as referenced earlier, includes Beyoncé herself standing on a police car flooded in water while a clip saying “What happened in the New Orleans?” plays in the background. This artist is using her platform to bring attention to the hurricane in New Orleans and how there was little to nothing done by police there. She is calling out the system in this video.

For nearly twenty years, Beyoncé has lived her life in the public eye yet she has always kept her cool, been submissive, and rather quiet when it came to her personal endeavors however after releasing the film “Lemonade”, we are able to see her in a vulnerable light. In Jeremy Helliger’s article: “Dear Beyhive: Stop Whining. Beyoncé Still Hasn’t Earned Her Album Of The Year Grammy” he addresses the idea that although Beyoncé was able to encourage black women to be proud and free, she also she missed the mark by adding raunchy, over the top content to her vulnerability.

analysis and inspiration. Something that jumps out during this video that needs analyzing is the racial stereotypes. In the unit two reading, it talks about a problem within hip-hop music videos. The videos supposedly put out bad messages and “perpetuate” stereotypes upon themselves. Fans of hip-hop say that “hip-hop music is a reflection of the realities of life in much of black America” (Caliendo 35). Although this music video has characteristics of stereotypes, they don’t seem offensive. Big Sean, Kanye West, and John

Beyoncé recently released her music video on Saturday February 6, 2016. Beyoncé 's "Formation" video forms messages in text and visuals that fits today 's social issues. They call attention to the audience mainly for women and Black America. This piece of rhetoric creates meaning in society by giving us events and visuals to help the

In 1982, Michael Jackson released one of the most iconic songs/music videos the world has ever seen. “Thriller” is a Halloween classic, and has been a hit since the day it was released. The Thriller Music video is roughly 13 minutes long, and is classified as a “short film”. 34 years later, the iconic Beyoncé released her album “Lemonade.” Lemonade is made up of 12 songs, and each song has its own separate video, but all the videos somehow connect and the videos were turned into an hour-long film. For this blog, I will compare/contrast the two videos.

With all this going on, a popular outlet for emotions regarding police brutality was music. A lot of hip hop artists wrote music to release their feelings on this subject. In the 1990s, one famous rap group, N.W.A, wrote a song that really expressed how a lot of African Americans felt at the time and may still feel now. (N.W.A) The song is called “F the Police.” The recent film Straight Out of Compton presents the story of NWA. One scene, in particular, shows how LA police

She dances in a colonial house’s hallway; while drawing reference to several southern states, while displays that she loves herself and her origin. She illustrates to the audience they should be proud of their ethnicities and celebrate their origins and draws focus on the many people devastated in New Orleans. Sometimes, throughout society there is pressure to alter ones skin tone, nose, or hair to conform to the while Anglo-Saxon expectations of beauty. In this video, Beyoncé makes it clear that she’s not interested in this from embracing her ethnicities and Southern

This year, the Super Bowl halftime show became the center of controversy because of a major pop star’s political statement. An intense backlash occurred when Beyonce and her back-up dancers performed her politically charged anthem, “Formation,” while dressed in homage to the Black Panthers. Seeing African-Americans with afros dressed in black leather jackets and berets struck a negative cord with many Americans. Critics of the performance claimed that it was racially divisive and anti-police. Many attacked Beyonce for promoting what they believe to be a racist terrorist group.

Beyoncé is being criticized for her Super Bowl halftime performance. The New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, ‘I think it was outrageous”( February 8th, 2016). Everyone has different opinions and reactions to Beyoncé’s performance but being judge is part of being famous. The female singer performed with her backup dancers wearing black afro hair and black berets that made an “X” on the pitch. The performance was supposed to

Beyonce is an African American female artist making incorporating empowering messages for women around the world. She is creating work that speaks to an audience that might not receive authentic mainstream. Beyonce ultimate goal is to visually and sonically entice wisdom through her music. Recently in a shocking video release, Beyonce debuted a new song “Formation” as well as a politically charged music video. This song was an uproar in the music industry worldwide. Millions of people around the world negatively viewed this song as a controversy. The music video and song caused many people to debate and cause a worldwide conflict.

In “Alright” Kendrick Lamar is speaking to the public about police brutality, or is he sending a deeper message to the people of minority. Kendrick Lamar released the song titled “Alright” in 2015. Upon release the song instantly blew up. It 's catchy and even though people got tongue tied trying to recite the song everyone knew the hook of the song which stated “We gon be alright do you hear me do you feel me we gon be alright.” I wonder did anyone catch the poetic verses Kendrick was saying before the hook. By simply watching the video you instantly think oh police brutality but I recieved a deeper message. I believe Kendrick wanted the song to inform the public about the brutality that seemed to be continuous at the time; and offer a bit of hope to those who didn’t feel there was any. That’s why the song was so famous, Kendrick performed this song on numerous award shows and talk shows because the people needed to hear it. Though some believe the song is in protest against cops or sending a bad message others believe it is an anthem for african americans.

In 2003, The Black Eyed Peas released a single titled, “Where is the Love?” which highlighted specific issues in the past. Now in 2016, a remix similar towards the hit released 13 years ago appeals to current issues around the world. Internationally anyone who had access to see the video saw the reality that many didn’t want to uncover back then. It’s clear that the message can be picked out even without viewing the video. The irrefutable acts of discrimination, hypocrisy, greed, violence, and crimes all trace back to asking where is the love? Emotions evoked light to what officials wanted to bury, and with a new single similar to it, individuals are now being informed about the current social issue of police brutality. The purpose of this song is to highlight police brutality as a social issue, and how it causes problems with racism, violence, and discord.