
Injustice, violence, cultural insensitivity, and generations of racism and hatred are adjectives used to describe the United States today. Society mistreats, stereotypes, and is violent towards people based on the color of their skin and their heritage and cultures. This concept is not new to this country. For hundreds of years, African-Americans have been emotionally and physically abused by members of this country’s government, especially it’s police force, through violence, racism, and ignorance. In Beyoncé’s Formation, she conveys this message with color usage, present-day scenarios, and cultural backgrounds.

The colors red, white, and blue are repeated to show the color divide in the United States. An example of this motif is the scene located in the wig salon that shows three women dressed in red, white, and blue. It represents how society stereotypes and belittles certain races simply because the color of their skin is not the same as another persons. Being dressed in these colors could symbolize that these women show pride in their country despite the stereotypes and bigotry that society defines them. The long shot angle was used to show the massive inventory of wigs that line the shelves while the women stand at the end of the room in the middle of the screen. This angle emphasizes the three women, the colors they are wearing, and how the colors shape the viewer’s perception of the entire visual text Both of these scenes relate to the work as a whole because they both show how society generalizes African Americans and also show how the colors that represent the United States are interpreted differently depending on the person’s race and experiences. To some people, the colors red, white, and blue symbolize freedom and unity. To others, those colors could represent oppression and confinement.

The little boy dancing in front of a fleet of Caucasian police officers in riot gear is a representative of the Black Lives Matter movement and of how horrible police brutality is in the United States. In today’s current events, there have been many problems surrounding African Americans getting killed by Caucasian police officers. People are being killed randomly and carelessly due to conscious and subconscious racism, lack of training, and a combination of all three. The boy is dancing in front of these men, and then the men hold up their hands, the sign for “Don’t shoot”. It then cuts to graffiti on a wall that says “Stop Shooting Us.” This is a metaphor for how police brutality against African Americans is so out of control. It also shows that with racism, criticism, violence, ignorance, and generalized stereotypes, there are untrained members of society that alienate entire races simply due to the color of their skin and then those oppressed are getting hurt. The camera angle of this shot is a wide frame, so the viewer can see about twenty police officers in full riot gear standing in front of this one child. This is a metaphor for how police intimidate and harm African-Americans and how hopeless they are because of the amount of adversity against them and their race. 

Cultural backgrounds are used in this video to show how far the United States both has and has not come in accepting African-Americans and treating them how they should be treated. Beyoncé’s cultural background is shown through the locations in which the video takes place, such as Louisiana. The main location is of New Orleans, and this is shown when she is standing on top of the cop car surrounded by water.  The opening shot is of Beyoncé in a red dress, standing on a blue and white police car that is submerged and surrounded by water. Her standing on the cruiser paints a picture of someone who is deserted and stranded with no one to help her. African-Americans are fighting for societal changes in how they are treated by the country and the government’s employees. They are being treated like second-class citizens due to the color of their skin.  Beyoncé perched on the cruiser shows how African Americans feel that the people who should be protecting them are abandoning them in a time of need. This abandonment is how many felt after Hurricane Katrina, which was disastrous to the people in New Orleans, Louisiana. This motif of abandonment is also shown in the way this scene was shot, which was by aerial view. This shot emphasizes the literal and metaphorical distance African Americans have from governmental and societal aids. 

Beyoncé’s music video has many elements that support the overall message of the visual text. Each element holds its own meaning, impact, and effect on the overall message, which is that society stereotypes, mistreats, and is violent towards people based on the color of their skin and their backgrounds. I interpreted this visual text as something that can empower certain groups of society and can also make others realize the very present problems in the United States. 