
White, green, black, red, brown, orange. Plain and simple, they are all colors, however when you relate it to the color of a person’s skin, such as brown, black and white, the context changes. Why is that? What caused that state of mind? Who is able to determine that a person of one skin color is more or less superior than a person of a different skin color? At some point in history someone made that decision and it has stuck for a significant chunk of American history.  Throughout the “Formation” music video, Beyoncé and the director have incorporated elements to highlight the oppression of African Americans during the course of United States history. We can see this specifically in the variety of clothing used - each scene has different outfits which can resemble different time periods of oppression, such as 1800’s, the 1960’s-1970’s, and present day. 

 In the 1800s, slavery was legal, interracial marriage was illegal, and Black men were unable to vote as well as own land. Black slaves were considered the property of rich white men and were often treated poorly by their masters. Slavery sparked the Civil War, and after the war- ended slaves were considered free, however the oppression was still prevalent. The 1800’s are depicted in the Beyoncé’s “Formation” music video at 2:00, which uses a medium shot of the scene which then pans out to a long shot. As viewers, the medium shot allows us to see the group of people remotely close, and as it changes to a long shot, depth is added to the image. Viewers are now able to see what is contained in the background. In this case, the background is a white house with light fixtures made from candles in cages and chandeliers with candles. The house is partially covered in green vegetation. The foreground contains five African American men and one African American woman, all wearing black, outdated clothing compared to present day, and all of the people are looking at something beyond the camera. The men are wearing black suits, some with bow ties, vests, cummerbunds, and top hats with white shirts underneath. The woman is wearing a large, floppy, black hat covering her face. Her hair is in two long braids that reach further than her waist. She is wearing necklaces all up her neck as well as bracelets on both wrists. She is wearing a black, off the shoulder dress that is semitransparent from the waist down. From the lack of electricity and the outdated clothing we can presume that this specific scene is meant to emulate the 1800’s. 

 The Civil Rights movement occurred in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and its goal was to end racial segregation and ultimately oppression that was embedded in U.S. history. We see this era represented at 2:27-2:32 in Beyoncé’s “Formation” music video, the scene begins with an aerial shot and progresses to a long shot, which adds elements to the scene we could not previously see. At this time, the scene is slightly blurry and appears to be recorded on an outdated video recorder; the bottom of the screen contains “PLAY.” The foreground contains a group of African American women, all dressed in various denim tops and bottoms. The middle ground contains parked cars on fully paved concrete with no cracks. The models of the cars are archaic to present day models, which allows us to presume that the specific image is resembling the 1970’s. The background is a large white plaza; the buildings contain no signs or other colors. The colors in this image are all muted down with a slight blue tint. The 1970’s marked the beginning of a new era; there were various legislative acts passed during the Civil Right movement, and there were various court cases overturned such as Plessy v Ferguson, which established the separate but equal doctrine. This case was overturned saying it was now unconstitutional to have separate facilities based on race, all due to the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prime activist and leader during the movement. At 3:32 during Beyoncé’s “Formation” music video, the man is holding a newspaper with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. on the front saying, “More Than A Dreamer.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most iconic speeches of time and especially during the 1960’s, he spoke about his aspirations for future generations. Presently, “More Than a Dream” is conveying the aspirations of Dr. King need to go beyond aspirations and finally become a reality. 

Oppression presently can be seen via police brutality, which appears at 4:23 in Beyoncé’s “Formation” video. The scene begins with a medium shot of a little African American boy who can be seen wearing a black hoodie over his head, and his pants are black as well. His back is facing the camera, as the front of his body is facing a line of police men. There are nine police officers in the mid-ground of the scene, all officers are wearing black clothing. The scene changes and the camera does a close up along the line of officers, allowing us to see their faces- containing no emotion. All officers are wearing black bullet proof vests with a white “POLICE” patch on their upper right sides, black gloves on both hands, long black cargo pants, large belts with multiple compartments, black combat boots, shin guards covering their knees, and black helmets with a clear facemask. The police officers are standing shoulder width apart and have both hands in the air above their heads. The background of the scene contains police car with the lights on the top of its car shining red and blue, as well as a house with a garage open. There also appears to be a beige fence next to the police cruiser. 

During this scene, there are a multitude of symbols that reference African American oppression specifically, police brutality. We see this first with the symbolism of the hoodie the little boy wears, as a reference to Trayvon Martin a 17-year-old African American boy unjustly shot and killed by a police officer. Another reference is the police officers standing with their hands up, when “hands up, don’t shoot” is a common saying for the Black Lives Matter Movement, particularly after the shooting of Michael Brown. This slogan became very popular in Ferguson, Missouri and caught nationwide news. The shootings of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin are only two out of numerous police shootings, but these shootings especially have become headline news across media. The two symbols the director chose are easily recognizable by the public; this was strategically chosen in order to continue to convey the message of African American oppression present-day. 

The theme of oppression can be seen through the entire music video and can even be seen in the name of the song, “Formation.” The song title combined with the content of the video offer a deeper meaning that African Americans are forming together in order to fully terminate the oppression that is present today. Not only do African Americans need to join forces, but rather all Americans as a whole need to unit and end the oppression of minorities.
