I decided to analyze Beyoncé Knowles’ “Pretty Hurts”. This song was released in 2013 and was part of her album “Beyoncé”. In the beginning of the song we see the pageant host ask Beyoncé, who plays a contestant, what her aspirations are. She replies with, “ to be happy”. Her response is repeated throughout different shots during the music video, which tells us she is struggling. To me, this response is a cry for help. She is instigating that she is not happy with the person she is and that she is pretending to be someone she is not just to fit into a societal standard. The lyrics even state, “Perfection is the disease of a nation”. This music video signifies the reality of life and sets the mood to the fans and viewers.
The music video begins with Beyoncé wearing a sash reading “Miss Third Ward”. This is actually a reference to her hometown of Houston. Sociologist Robert D. Bullard stated in his book, Invisible Houston, that the Third Ward is "the city's most diverse black neighborhood and a microcosm of the larger black Houston community.” (Bullard, 2000) this creates an atmosphere for the rest of the video. The pageant women are all represented in the same way. They are primping and preparing for the competition. The pressure on these women is clearly visible though their
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Some of the first lyrics in the song are “ Mama said, “You’re a pretty girl, what’s in your head, it doesn’t matter. Brush your hair, fix your teeth. What you wear is all that matters.” The chorus of the song contradicts this. Beyoncé talks about how difficult it is for women in today’s society because they feel the need to be perfect in order to fit a certain standard. These lyrics suggest that people should not only focus on beauty because that is not all that matters. The beauty that matter comes from within. She says that in order to be fixed, “It’s the soul that needs the
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
If any woman did not meet the requirements, she is often cast aside and is labeled ugly. This essay will analyze Beyoncé’s music video “Pretty Hurts,” by summarizing the video, applying rhetorical and gender analytical methods, and discussing a source, which strengthens the claim that this video ultimately defies American hegemony. This video constantly demonstrates the way women try to conform to society, even though they seem to be miserable. At the beginning of the video, Beyoncé is presented getting ready for a pageant.
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.
It also happened to be a guidance for that particular group of women on how to get over situations and heartbreaks. As for the video, it was another one of her forms for getting in touch with women’s feelings, being that it showed her resilience. By Beyoncé displaying resilience to women, they had hope in getting better and getting over their hardships. Being able to see how another woman handles situations that the audience has been through allows listeners to be able to learn from their experiences and possibly follow their
To begin, this story includes everyday oppressional forces that weigh down young women. The characters' roles as pageant girls continue even after their plane crashes on a desert island. This exposes the toxic conditioning they've faced and the spotlight they've been placed in their whole lives. It seems the only time these women feel empowered and respected is when others are rooting for them and their looks. As early as the introduction, it's revealed that "a camera crew bravely recording every bit of the turbulence and drama", (page 3) was following the girls around during the beauty pageant. On a figurative level, the cameras may represent the eyes and attention placed on these women. The contestants regard it as normal, however it deeply contributes to their lack of respect in society; the
Beyoncé’s choice of lyrics in the song “Formation” reflect a cultural reclamation and celebration of being multiple things: an African-American of any sex, a woman of any race, and specifically a black woman. These multiple messages are allowed for by lyrical content that ultimately asks members of all these marginalized groups to “get into formation” in singing an anthem for empowerment. “Formation” begins with a few words from Messy Mya, a YouTube personality who was murdered in 2010 and was known for his overt satire regarding violence against the black community in New Orleans. This sets the stage for the political message the following lyrics portray. “The intersection between hip-hop and politics has empowered a generation of youth to believe that they not only have rights but maybe even an obligation to make a difference in their world” (Alalman, p. 42, 2011). Expressing self-feelings, thoughts or views through music can make a change in the world, which is what Beyoncé does through her music. The actions in the song is further reinforced in the music video, through African American women fighting for respect on the streets, creating a sense of devotion in the audience. Moreover, the artist openly addresses the culture of open social hate towards black features “I like my baby hair with baby hair afro, I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils”, to which she responds by accepting them as special traits to be cherished and not ashamed of. By embracing all these pejorative
The song come out on Friday February 6, 2016, the day before the Super Bowl 50 was hosted. Through the song she embraced her blackness and the stereotype southerners have created to the black-American people and she also involved herself with the black lives matter movement. Beyoncé State,“Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess”( Beyoncé 2016). This is a part Of the song's introduction were Beyoncé declare some words to her haters that continue to get involved in her personal life. When the song’s tempo and beat start to increase the musician wrote some lines describing her roots and her mother birthright. The female artist involved a lot of her past and family members but she also attached the different kind of problems African American people had to go through the 1900’s and still are fighting
This includes standards of beauty, empowerment, culture, and the shared parts of our history. The message that Beyonce is trying to convey to us is that there are real issues going on that are constantly being ignored. She is also stating that if no one else will voice their opinions on these issues then she will. As I analyzed the position that I received was discrimination to African American culuture, police brutality, tragedy, and cultural pride. I agree with the message behind this video/song. For many years cultural issues have been ignored and failed to be solved due to political
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
Prince Royce is mainly trying to say that people should not judge or be judged by their physical appearance but by what they have and feel in their hearts. This song is trying to capture women who think they are not good enough. They think of themselves as something lower and have difficult time to see themselves but rather see what they don’t have. They feel not beautiful and have low self esteem. He also tells that he also is not perfect and that love never see faces but hearts.
But if one were to take a closer look at her songs would see that is not the case as they do in fact push the mentality that the modern girl can do it all. For example, in her song “Run the World [Girls]” Beyoncé asserts that she or all women for that matter are “smart enough to make these millions, strong enough to bear the children, then get back to business.” Therefore, it is evident that Beyoncé has contributed to the notion that being the ideal modern girl means being successful and powerful. Furthermore, it asserts that this ideal is achievable through hard work and makes her the new standard for women to achieve. Unfortunately, this ideal doesn’t take into consideration the fact that Beyoncé is an outlier, the exception to the rule because of the resources she has at her disposal. Consequently, girls are made to hold themselves accountable to a set of standards which may not be as easily attainable to them making them believe they have failed in their mission to become integrated members of the modern
Beyonce uses pathos, the first of the three appeals in her song by using very descriptive phrases. When she states, “I’d listen to her, `cause I know how it hurts,” Beyonce is telling her audience that she understands what it is like to be hurt, and that if she were a boy, she would treat her women better because she could understand where she was coming from. This tugs at the listener’s heart because you can see that she has been emotionally hurt from a past relationship. Also, many people can relate to what she is disclosing. It is human nature for people to get emotionally damaged in a relationship and therefore her feelings are empathized. She also uses syntax by the way she orders her words by telling a story. If the song was not in story form, it would not produce the great impact that it does.
In the song she states, “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana/ You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama/ I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros/ I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils/ Earned all this money but they never take the country out me/ I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag” (Beyonce). Beyonce is challenging society's views of her and her ethnic features. She also notes that these essential parts of her identity are the things that she is being criticized about. Instead of becoming upset of these criticisms she embraces them and notes her sense of pride in these traits. Beyonce specifically refers to Creole when she discusses the intermixing that is a critical part of the Creole
look and point at gay couples, it is human nature to feel singled out and targeted. This song states that We are beautiful no matter what they say/ Yes, words can't bring us down, oh no. It is trying to help the stereotypes understand that being beautiful is more than the image, it is the inner beauty. Gay people may become ashamed of there orientation because the socially acceptable way to be is straight. This is a double standard of the lyrics, because it states that even if people do act in rude and unkind manners, the gay people will still consider themselves beautiful. But this
Her tone leads us to her message, which is that Christina Aguilera is, indeed, satisfied with herself and everything she is. She explains that despite whatever anyone says, she will not be discouraged in any means. She wants the reader and listener to comprehend that she doesn't need anyone to dishearten her of what exactly she is. She expresses to the reader and listener that she, herself will not be stressed by others negative disapproval. Her purpose is to basically state that she is who she is and no one will change that and addresses someone that there opinion would not matter, regardless.