
Violence and unrest in America is becoming incredibly prominent throughout our society. The most worrying acts of violence within these recent months has been confrontations between America’s white police force and African American communities. Unarmed and non-threatening African Americans have been shot and killed by white police officers so many times now that these events cannot be considered as isolated incidences but rather the sobering reality that severe prejudice is still a prevalent issue within in our society. The deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of the police force in Ferguson, Baltimore, Tulsa and Charlotte have brought the issue to the forefront of the American media as protest and riots have occurred consequentially. There has to be a change to stop these unarmed killings of innocent citizens, and some artists have taken it upon themselves to demonstrate the prejudice in our society. In her music video Formation, Beyoncé used several visual rhetorics to signify the prejudices of the oppressive police presence on African American communities and the major concern police now pose to a safe way of life within African American communities.  

In Beyoncé’s Formation music video there are numerous examples of prominent visual motifs, however the several scenes with Beyoncé atop a police car submerging into the flooded street of New Orleans is the most visually striking and powerful motif. This motif is the first image the viewer sees in the music video, invoking a strong first impression whether positive or negative. This motif is the establishing shot, as it gives reference to where the action within the rest of the video will be taking place. While this is the establishing shot, it is also a long shot as Beyoncé is in full view with the vastness of the flooded neighborhood surrounding her as she stands on the roof of the police car. The color scheme in the environment is dull, portraying the absence of life within the flooded neighborhood. The only vivid color in the scene is Beyoncé in red dress, drawing the viewers focus towards herself.    

The 2nd time this motif is prominently displayed is the last two scenes of the music video. In the penultimate shot, Beyoncé is laying prostrate on the roof of the police car that begins to sink rapidly. This angle is a long shot, as Beyoncé is in full view with the vast flooded neighborhood is eerily seen in the background. The scene cuts to the final shot of the music video as the police car now fully submerges into the water as Beyoncé lays motionless on the roof. This shot takes the approach of the bird’s eye view, seeing Beyoncé plunge into the water from overhead. The color scheme in both these scenes is very bland. The flooded neighborhood is devoid of color, even the water is a murky, dark shade of blue. The only vibrant color in the whole scene is again Beyoncé’s red which at this point is barely visible as she descends lower into the water. 

There is another striking visual motif prominently displayed in Beyoncé’s Formation music video occurring at the time 3:39. In this shot, an extremely young African American boy faces a line of police in full riot gear with two squad cars behind them. This scene is established as medium shot as the central character is the little boy, who we can only see from the waist up as he faces the police. This scene is also an over the shoulder shot as the little boy is shown in the foreground with the focus of the viewer being drawn to the ominous line of police in the background. The scene occurs in what appears to be an alleyway or on the sidewalk by small road, an environment incredibly relatable to African Africans living in urban environments. The color scheme is again quite dull with the bland gray of the concert, the darkening sky and black clothing of both the boy and police. The only flash of color comes from the police sirens on top of the squad cars.  

To understand the true significance of these motifs, the viewer should watch the music video at least twice in its entirety. By viewing the music video multiple times, the viewer can come to a clearer conclusion of the symbolic significance Beyoncé is trying to portray through these motifs than by simply making an educated guess upon a first impression. The first motif is Beyoncé’s way of symbolizing the oppression that African-Americans face when interacting with law enforcement. Beyoncé sinking with the police car signifies that the African-American population is being persecuted by law enforcement in an unprecedented way in this modern era. The placement of the police car is also just as important as the act of sinking. Putting the car in the middle of a flooded neighborhood implies that there are no life boats that can save Beyoncé. In essence, this act is to signify that the African American community cannot escape the seemingly doomed fate of police persecution. The second motif is meant to display the over aggressiveness of police against African Americans. Having the little boy approach the full squad of police in riot gear is disturbingly a situation not too distant from reality. Perhaps the most famous picture from the Ferguson riots is a single African American male approaching with raised hands a similar line of police with their guns raised and pointed at the individual. These acts by the police signify their over aggressive tendencies towards unarmed individuals as the only time police should raise and point their weapons is when they have the intention to fire.   

African-Americans are being oppressed by the predominantly white police force, an entity that is supposed to signify peace, law and order only now conjures fear and uncertainty to the safety of African-Americans in their communities. Beyoncé is portraying the persecution through visual elements in her music video as a sobering call to reality that calls for immediate change.