
“Now let’s get in formation”, the lyric is now almost seen as a battle cry for the African American community in the era of police brutality and shootings, Formation was released in February of 2016 as a part of her widely successful visual album Lemonade. Many have found this song to be a call for unity as well as a call of more unrest. However, in the music video it can be argued that the viewing audience is introduced to what can be seen as her appreciation of African American culture, as well as the empowerment of other African Americans. Throughout this video the viewer can see examples of Knowles- Carter’s empowering message whether blatantly obvious or subliminal, such as, the shots of her daughter with two other children, the shots of the men in black suits and women in white dresses, the New Orleans neighborhood submerged in flood water, and lastly the formation of Beyoncé and her dancers.  

Lyrically, in the seventh line of the first refrain of the song Knowles-Carter talks about different things that are associated with African-American appearance. “I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros…” (Refrain line 7) Visually speaking, the scene depicts Blue Ivy Carter, her daughter, standing with two other young African American girls in white dresses in natural hairstyles. In the African American culture, the “natural” hairstyle has made a resurgence as a popular way to wear your hair without the use of any artificial hair products. Knowles-Carter also uses the phrase “baby hair”, which in black culture is the wispy, soft, and light hair that is located at the edge of the natural hair line. 

Throughout the music video, there are shot of Knowles-Carter in a but black and white dress standing with African American men in black suits and women in white dresses. At first glance, the audiences see Knowles-Carter sitting in a room, circa the late 1800s-early 1900s, with other women dressed in old fashioned, long white dresses. That visual shot is a representation of the time of history after the end of slavery and the Reconstruction period, where this would be appropriate for women of some stature to wear. In those shots the women are seen wearing white corsets; corsets are a women’s garment used to train the torso, but can be as something constricting. The corset can be seen as the artist’s visual representation of how even after slavery the African American community was still oppressed and constricted by unequal treatment. In following scenes, Knowles-Carter is outside of a house with African American gentlemen in black suits, as well as herself wearing a long black dress with jewelry. From these shots, it is inferred that Knowles-Carter is trying to show that the nice attire and jewelry shows empowerment and freedom, as later on in history after slavery, African Americans slowly gained more and more freedoms like the rest of the citizens of the United States.

About twenty-two seconds into the music video Knowles-Carter is seen standing on top of a New Orleans police squad vehicle, progressively through the song the car is sinking into a body of water which by the end becomes fully submerged. In the couple of shots that this happens a wide shot is being used. The audience can see the car, Knowles-Carter’s entire body, and the New Orleans type neighborhood in the background. But the question from the audience is “why does Beyoncé have the video set in this location?” On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina raged through the City of New Orleans, Louisiana after passing over the Caribbean Islands. As a result of the natural disaster, many of the citizens of New Orleans, majority Black Americans, were displaced from their homes and communities. However, Knowles-Carter uses that visual to bring light to the situation of the failure of the federal government to react quickly and mobilize humanitarian disaster relief efforts; as well as show the unity of the people of New Orleans in the rebuilding process. 

At different times in the music video, the audience watches Beyoncé dancing in a “X” formation with other female dancers. Instantly, one could look at the dancers and notice their hairstyles and their clothing style. The afro style that these women were wearing is known to be a common style for black women who are there to become “natural” or without the use of chemicals. At one time the hairstyle was seen as a showing of black culture and empowerment as it was a symbol of black women separating themselves from social conformities. 

All throughout Knowles-Carter video, Formation, the audience can easily grasp a small view of Beyoncé’s appreciation of African American culture. But upon careful study of the music video, it presents examples of her message of unity and empowerment of the Black community. This is seen through scenes featuring her daughter along with other black children, men in black suits and women in white, corset dresses, the New Orleans neighborhood submerged in flood water, and the women dancing in the “X” formation. Emotionally this music video has caused some to mobilize themselves through organizations such as Black Lives Matter, while also causing strife among some who think that it is causing more division in the already divided world. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter raised the question through visuals about standing up for what is “right” in a world filled with “wrongs.”