Formation - analysis, themes and representation

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Formation - analysis, themes and representation.


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.
Themes of conflict within the music video: 
  • In what ways are the themes of conflict encoded in this video? What media language is used to show conflict?
    The sinking police car - It creates evident conflict through the video as we see Beyonce being the cause to a sinking New Orleans police car, implying she is was at that point at odds with the law enforcement. There are various other references to conflict with the police through the video, exemplary with the riot-like visuals between the african-american women dancers lined up in stark contrast towards the rows of armed police officers.
  • What are the functions and purposes of this music video? What is it trying to get its audience to do? How do you know?
    The music video implores the preferred reading audience to follow along with Beyonce's political stance upon the events that took place namely in New Orleans. On the surface level, the titular 'formation'  holds obvious connotations as to standing together and unifying, with it's frequent mentioning in the lyrics its clear the intent is to get the audience to do so. - We see the video heavily imply Beyonce's point of view as the correct one through recurring biblical imagery via the pose of raised arms replicating christ on the cross and so forth.
  • What groups are represented in this music video? Are these representations typical or subversive?
    The groups represented within the video are namely African-Americans for the most part, particularly focusing on strong women. I think at this point its fair to call this a relatively typical representation of the African-American community within the contemporary world. - We see the video subvert representations of these communities at various points, One such segment being a scene in which Beyonce is seen adorned in late 1880s attire that one might have associated with a white slave owner during the period, paired with a parasol on location in a lavish home.
  • Is this a typical music video? How do you know?The music video follows the common convention of focusing heavily upon the celebrity themself for a vast majority of the runtime, I suppose you could call it slightly untypical to so heavily present her stances and views on the political landscape and so forth to a larger extent than many pop songs that dont often have a focus on bringing the audience's attention to anything of such depth.

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