Formation music video, Beyoncé, Lecture notes of Music

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Formation music

video, Beyoncé

© Sony Music; http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/

Formation music

video, Beyoncé

Unit 1: Selling images – Advertising,

marketing and music video

Focus area:

Media language

Representation

Audiences

Media contexts

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. PART 1: STARTING POINTS – Media language Consider how the different elements of media language, and the combination of elements, influence meaning and communicate multiple meanings:
• 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? Consider theoretical perspectives Semiotics – Roland Barthes
• The concept of the signifier/signified , using specific signification in the music video and considering how this might be interpreted according to social convention: » For example , the use of antebellum era dresses. Beyoncé and a group of other Black women pose in white dresses that appear to reference the antebellum era of American history. Consider the significance of slavery in relation to this sequence and what is being signified.

which the audiences’ age, gender and ethnicity, as well as their attitudes and beliefs, may affect their interpretation of the video.

• The multiplicity of representations makes it challenging to define a single preferred reading (Stuart Hall’s reception theory). 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. Consider how audiences are positioned by advertisements and music videos: - Explore the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina to place the video into this context. 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.