Beyonce's "Formation"

How are media language and representations used to create emotional responses in the audience in Beyoncé’s “Formation” video?

"Formation" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her album "Lemonade" in 2016. Media language and representations are used throughout the video to evoke various opinions and responses from the audience. The video dives deep into the issues that the black community have been facing in New Orleans, from police brutality to unrealistic standards of beauty and life-changing events such as Hurricane Katrina.

Police brutality has been an ongoing discussion in the black community for a very long time, and Beyonce's video starts with her standing on a police car, in the flood that connotes the post hurricane traumatic state of the city. This initiates heart-rending responses from the audience as she filled the music video with images that ranged from graffiti that read "Stop Shooting Us," to a wall of SWAT officers. The tragedy of the whole situation was that New Orleans didn’t receive the attention it deserved because of its mostly black community. This proves that even though we live in an opened society, racism is still a big part of our lives. Beyonce standing on the car shows her trying to send a threatening yet dissapointed message to the police who instead of protecting the African-American community, have been shooting and brutally treating them throughout the years.

Even after all these years, some parts of New Orleans are still thoroughly affected and the various shots she portrayed in her music video, make the audience remember those dark times that are now considered history. Beyonce references multiple aspects of black culture, which shows how much pride she takes in her ethnicity. The references in the song to the livelihood of a black marching band, worshiping in a small, black church, and even the voodoo magic that is still very much a part of Creole culture. It is very clear that throughout the video, she embraces her blackness and everything that comes along with it. In a world where things are tough for people of color and women, being a woman of color is even tougher. The singer isn’t going to apologize for either her blackness or her womanhood; instead, she embraces every aspect of her identity. This makes the audience understand the beauty of black culture, and how times have changed and we should appreciate everyone.

Furthermore, one of the most powerful scenes in the entire video is the one where the small child is dancing in a hoodie in front of a line of police officers in full combat gear — Beyonce is trying to show the audience that even in a harmless situation, a black person can still be considered a threat. This evokes sympathetic reactions from the audience, as even today racism is a very big issue. The child is fearless in front of the authority, and this is a statement of how powerful black culture is in a world where they are considered as "the other" (postcolonial theory).

Another important message that Beyonce is trying to send her audience, is that time's have changed and black people are in power too. The use of luxurious items, wealthy houses and the expensive outfits subtly reflect back to the black slavery days. The reversal of position shows how black people are no longer afraid and are showing how they’re just as able to be in a position of authority as everyone else.

To conclude, Beyonce has evoked many reactions from her audience, especially the feeling of empowerment. It makes her audience stronger- "We gon' slay" elements of being together as one unit. It encourages people to stand together.

The editing of the music video also represents black culture as the cuts and shots of people dancing, in parades, in the streets etc. relates to how black culture is rich in many different ways as shown by the short shot duration, and therefore is being showcased in the video in order to convey the emotion of pride. The camera angles have also been strategically used to show the fearlessness of black people; it shows how through all of the racism, brutality and injustice, black people are not afraid and will continue as a community to remain united.