Beyoncé is known worldwide as the “Queen”, not only because she is one of the most-selling artists of all-time, but she is also a very influential person in society. Beyoncé has used her fame and fortune to make contributions in philanthropy and improve the lives of people, especially African-Americans across the country. Beyoncé’s most recent album Lemonade, is her most successful album to date, not only due to the songs, but also to their visual displays which won eight awards at the MTV Video Music Awards. The most notable, “Formation”, tackles one of today’s largest social discrepancies using scenes and motifs to get her message across. 

“Formation” shows without a doubt the most political message Beyoncé has ever put in a song. Her song, which provides images of black power, pride, mistreatment and misfortune, received a very controversial reception when it was first released. The award-winning video that goes alongside “Formation” includes visual displays of multiple societal issues, including Hurricane Katrina and police shootings. As one of the most edgy music videos created in the 21st century, the “Formation” music video was received with a controversial reaction. People falsely accused Beyoncé of slandering the police, but, in fact, she was just exhibiting the true elements of black society.

The intensity of this video opens right with the first scene (:05). The video opens with Beyoncé in the midground of the screen, sitting on a sinking cop car in New Orleans, Louisiana, following Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, the background seems to be a sea of murky water. Beyoncé is first shown with a medium shot, with the background over her shoulder (:25). The next two scenes observe the entire landscape using a wide shot, showing the full background, the entire car, and her full body (:28-:30). As she sits on the car, Beyoncé’s posture and body language does not seem to be that of someone who is scared or shaken by the disaster; she is the complete opposite. She sits on the car with a sense of resiliency and swagger. The scene also includes shots of houses sinking in the street, lights going out and a priest. Although horrific, the disaster does not stop the people of Louisiana from dancing. Here, Beyoncé is promoting a message that the black community is strong and resilient, and that regardless of what happens, they are not going to give up. The final time this scene is seen is from a bird’s eye view, showing the car sinking with her laying on top (4:43), which could represent the fact that the community will not go down, regardless of what happens around them. This is perfectly exemplified in the video using the different shots to add a dramatic sense to the message. 

Another scene that stuck out is the scene where a young black child is breakdancing in front of a row of white cops dressed in SWAT gear (3:44). The innocence of the child in this scene is depicted by his stature. Here, Beyoncé is trying to prove a point by showing that, although the boy is so small, innocent and harmless, the cops are still targeting him because of the color of his black skin. In today’s world, police targeting the blacks is a controversial issue that seems to stir a lot of debate. The entire time, this scene is shown with a wide view, showing all of the officers in the background to the dancing child. The all-black color scheme in this scene contributes to the seriousness of it because black is a color that has a negative connotation and is often associated with power, evil, death and fear. The sirens and police lights also set a serious scene and the police officers are dressed in SWAT gear, even though the child is unarmed and harmless. Just when you think the scene is over, the boy raises his and to surrender, the cops do the same, and then the camera shifts to display graffiti on the wall that reads, “Stop Killing Us”. This powerful scene is a cry out against police brutality and violence which has been a heavily debated issue in the United States over the past few years. 

All in all, the visual representation of Beyoncé’s “Formation” is incredibly powerful in assisting Beyoncé’s effort in exhibiting the several elements of black society in the United States today. Beyoncé not only uses her voice in “Formation” to create awareness of the issues that African-Americans each and every day, but she also uses it to state her claim that regardless of the challenges they say, the black community will stick together to overcome them.
