
When it comes to creating visual images and words that have impact on society, communities, individuals, and strong connections to American culture, Beyoncé is a true artist. The main reason why she is known as “The Queen” or just “Queen’ is because of the impact she has on the American people. Specifically, in her music video, Formation, Beyoncé uses images of groups of people in the city of New Orleans to represent current problems that African Americans and Americans as a whole are facing across the country. Beyoncé uses specific groups of people, law enforcement, wealth classes, children, all from the New Orleans community and imagery to shine light into American culture about the unspoken situations that are buried in society.

The ability for everyone to be able to voice their own opinions and the power and impact of voicing opinions is a key necessity for change to take place in America, and Beyoncé represents this power very well with the reoccurring scene of her and five men in black formal wear. They are standing on the front porch of what looks like to be an older home, they are all wearing black clothing, and Beyoncé is maintaining her spot in the center of the frame because placement in the center shows that she is leading this movement with all different types of classes backing her, giving her support. Everyone in the scene can be seen to be wearing their formal outfits, but they are representing different classes of the African American community. The man on the far right is fully dressed in the nice tuxedo jacket with gold buttons and a top hat. The man just to the right of Beyoncé looks to be wearing a tuxedo but just slightly less expensive. The man just to the left is not wearing a tie at all and just a black jacket on. The man on the middle left looks to be dressed as a religious figure. The final man is sitting down and is wearing a cheap bowtie and a simple black suit. These men are clearly representing the different class members of New Orleans, the wealthy class, middle class, lower class, and the religious groups. This scene pans from a medium shot out to a long shot showing that they are alone in their group, projecting the idea that the entire black community is alone in their fight. This scene represents the power of visual movement because she starts the scene off calm, and no one in the scene is moving at all, except Beyoncé with a simple head nod. Everyone else in the scene is just maintaining eye contact left or right of the camera.  No one else is entering this scene and no one else will exit this scene. Beyoncé is representing in this scene that without change taking place nothing will happen or impact the viewer, and the viewer is left sitting there wondering why they are just starring at nothing. This is the same in the real world. If we continue not to stand up or willing to move from our pedestals nothing will ever change, it will just stand still and stay the way it is. This is the first of many lessons that Beyoncé gives the viewer in her music video, continuing to stand in silence, nothing will ever change. Beyoncé uses this scene in connection with the second half of the scene in a comparative fashion.

As the scene progresses, Beyoncé moves to the front of the frame for a close-up, and the viewer will get to clearly see the impact of one person voicing opinion in a room of silence. As Beyoncé assumes the position in the center of the frame she gives a big “Fuck You” to the with her hands as she continues to sing. This will completely shock the viewer and this action is clearly representing the power of a strong voice in a silent room. In this scene, the viewer saw this first part of everyone in silence, no one even moved, but then Beyoncé shocks the viewer with her up front and personal loud voice that is impossible for anyone to ignore as being important, and in the music video this is a literal voice that she is using. Beyoncé gives the viewer this lesson of the power of a strong voice, or any voice at all, in a room where no one is saying anything at all. Because of Beyoncé’s choice in the location of this music video, she was representing voice with a bigger purpose to show the power of one person’s voice can have a huge impact. She is taking this lesson about using your literal voice and applying it to the New Orleans community and other communities just like it. In these strong black communities across the united states, the members have been sitting in silence against authority and law enforcement. The unjust treatment of the black and other minorities in these communities by law enforcement and authority figures has gone on for too long, Beyoncé shows that in a community where no one is standing up and making their opinion heard, nothing will ever change. They will be stuck in the first part of this scene, silent and never changing. Beyoncé is trying to tell the members in these communities that even if one person or a small group of people are willing to stand up against injustice, their voice can have a huge impact on their community and will be able to start moving towards a change. Just like Beyoncé does in this scene starting off silent and then completely overtaking the scene with the power of her voice. Beyoncé will continue with her lessons in this music video when she combines her first lesson and shows that it is how a person uses their voice is the key to having a positive impact on the community.

As the viewer continues into the music video, they will reach Beyoncé’s second lesson about how to use your voice in the right way because voice can have a huge impact, but if it is used in the wrong way it can lead you in the opposite direction of where you want to go. She does this by showing a scene with an over the shoulder shot of a little black boy in jeans and a hooded jacket and in the background we get a long shot of a line of police officers in riot armor standing with their arms crossed. The police officers having their arms crossed is very significant because having their arms crossed in this scene represents the barrier that police have put in place of themselves from the community they are serving in. The little black boy in this scene is the representation of the voice and using that voice to make an impact. Instead of fighting the police as some do in the current society, the boy chooses to dance in front of the police. This dance with police is representation of non-violent protesting because the “dance battle” has become very popular for kids instead of physically fighting they have a dance battle and whoever dances the best wins. Beyoncé chose to use this boy having a dance battle with the police as representation of this non-violent protesting. As the scene continues we get mid shots of the police and they boy as he dances, the police maintain their crossed arms until the very end. When the boy finishes dancing we get another over the should shot of the little black boy in the hood, but now he has his hands up and in the background we get the long shot of the police and every officer has his hands up as well. This dance represents the peaceful protest and it will take a long time as in the scene where the police continue to have their arms crossed, but in the end she is saying that we will be able to come to peace in the end on both sides. The boy and the police surrender to each other. Beyoncé specifically makes this point to show that it will not be one side surrendering to the other, but instead both sides will have to surrender to each other in agreement, it cannot happen any other way.

This is Beyoncé’s second lesson on the right way for people to protest. She included this lesson in her music video because of the current situations in The United States right now. There is constant violence between the African American communities and law enforcement officers following the unjust treatment of some of the members in these communities by law enforcement officers. Beyoncé acknowledges the problem that is currently taking place in America but she also knows that nothing will ever change if these minority communities are responding with violence to violence, and nothing will change if they continue to stay quite. Beyoncé is trying to show that the power of voicing opinion combined with the power of non-violent protesting will have a bigger impact on the predominantly African American communities. Combining Beyoncé’s two lessons she gives the viewer in her music video, that is when change will start being able to take place in the communities across the United States.

Beyoncé’s music video takes us along this lesson about the history of the black communities and how they are staying silent through the abused authority in their communities, and that nothing will ever change if they continue to stay in this state of silence. Then she shows the viewer the power of voice in her first lesson, and that in a community where everyone remains silent, even one voice or a small group of voices can make a huge impact on the rest of the community. Then she takes us to the second lesson where she uses a little boy to teach about the proper way to protest, nonviolently and even though it may take longer, both sides are able to come to an agreement. Each of these scenes gave to viewer a lesson on how to properly protest and voice your opinions, these lessons cannot be separated but they are one lesson in its entirety, voicing your opinion in a community that is not is very powerful but you have to do it through nonviolence to actually have an impact. So in the end both sides will be able to come to an agreement, abolishing the ideas of abused authorities in the strong black communities such as New Orleans.
