
Within film, comics, and other types of visuals, there are many different strategies in which one might use to convey a deeper meaning. These strategies include the construction of color and use of various types of camera shots and attention in order to highlight a specific meaning or symbol. This occurs many times in music videos, especially in songs in which there is a specific meaning attempting to be portrayed within the lyrics. Often times video directors and artists will use visual symbols in order to clarify the meaning to the viewer. In Beyonce’s music video for her song “Hold Up” the recurring visual motif of water serves as a symbol for her overcoming her paralyzing sadness and emerging stronger than before as she moved on. 

The first scene of the music video shows Beyonce falling into water, the camera follows her into a room that is filled to the top with water. In this room, we see a close up of Beyonce watching herself sleep as she speaks in the background about her personal struggles. She describes everything that she did during this time and makes it seem as though she was almost going through depression. In this scene, she states, “fasted for 60 days, wore white, abstained from mirrors, abstained from sex, slowly did not speak another word” (Beyonce, 0:40). This, along with her watching herself in a way that seems as though she has almost given up on everything due to these feelings, makes the viewer believe that she is almost being “drowned” by her thoughts and emotions. This continues, as she remains in the water-filled room and gives a list of everything she had tried to do to overcome this feeling until she states, “but still inside me coiled deep was the need to know, are you cheating on me?” (Beyonce, 1:30). The shot serves to symbolize how the problems within her relationship had overtaken her life and shows the physical appearance of the feelings explained in the lyrics. The close-up shot on her face along with the water also allow the reader to relate directly to the feelings being portrayed. The director also uses Beyonce’s gaze as she watches herself sleep. She watches, focused in a way that she is almost admiring herself. This specific use of gaze and attention can be referred to as a semi-reciprocal shot, as Beyonce is focused on herself, as the sleeping version of herself does not return the gaze.  It symbolizes how she became paralyzed in her thoughts and could only think about whether or not her husband was cheating on her and that these thoughts began to make her feel as though she were drowning. Her gaze is relative to this symbol as it continues the theme of her helplessness. She stares heavily, yet it does not awake the sleeping version of herself, further portraying the extent to which her thoughts consumed her life. 

In the next scene, the water appears again. However, in this instance, Beyonce is standing up tall in front of a door and the water is pouring out of the room below her.  The director utilizes a long shot in this scene. The use of a long shot can serve many different purposes, in this case, it serves the purpose of showing the character’s surrounding. Beyonce’s surroundings in this scene show the disappearance of the engulfing water, which symbolizes the disappearance of her overwhelming speculations. The director used a long shot in this specific scene in order to show the viewer that she is overcoming her hardship. She has begun to stand up tall and allow the water to disperse so that it is no longer engulfing her, displaying her new, stronger attitude. The song then begins, the lyrics serve as a transition from a monologue of her hardship to how she feels in moving on. This scene allows the viewer to watch the progression of the song, even without the lyrics. The transition from a weak woman who was ready to give up and let herself drown to a strong, powerful woman ready to overcome her fears is clearly shown through the way the director shows Beyonce opening the doors, standing tall, and letting the water out. She becomes seemingly unaffected by the water. This scene ties into the lyrics as she begins to sing in a way that makes it seem as though she is moving on. For example, she sings, “What's worse, lookin' jealous or crazy, jealous or crazy? Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately, I'd rather be crazy.” (Beyonce, 2:40). This line in itself ties into the scene because it describes that she is not going to allow herself to be treated poorly anymore. The water serves as a symbol for her negative thoughts and her hardship, and in this scene the viewer sees Beyonce let it all go. This camera shot along with the water allows the viewer to gain greater insight into the purpose of the song and the video. The water pouring around her ankles instead of her entire body pertains to the meaning of the work as a whole, as it shows a shot of a previously weak woman transform to forceful and independent, one that can not be overcome with worries of a man. This song serves as a way for Beyonce to show women that they should not let men determine their happiness, and this scene encaptures that meaning. 

Although the water is used differently in these two scenes, it serves as one symbol. In the first scene, it drowns Beyonce. She seems helpless as she lies on the bed, allowing the water to take over her body. However, as the song progresses and the lyrics begin we see a dramatic shift in the tone. It goes from a depressing monologue regarding her paralyzing thoughts over the possibility that her husband is cheating on her to a song that serves as a way to show herself moving on. The water, in this case, symbolizes her thoughts regarding her situation. The viewer sees them suffocate her during her depression, and let them all go once she works up the strength to begin to overcome her hardship. The ways in which the camera angles and water are used hand-in-hand with the lyrics of the songs, grant the viewer a way to relate to the meaning of the work as a whole. 
