The conclusion we shall make is that Formation resists stereotypical representations of black people by presenting black identity as complex and challenging
Top tip - in your own essay responses, point out your conclusion in the introduction. Remember, in media studies, you are making an argument
Task - watch What Beyonce Taught Me About Race | Brittany Barron
In this video, Brittany Barron discusses how Beyonce has moved from straightforward pop songs to scathing political commentary about race and ethnicity. This discussion nicely sets up the themes and ideas used in this lesson, so watch this before you go any further!
Formation as a reaction to historical racism
In the last session, we explored the Antebellum South and slavery. Slavery was finally abolished in North America in 1865, following the collapse of the Confederacy and the American Civil War. However, despite being illegal for a relatively long time, there still exists great discrepancies in the rights and lives of black and white people in America (and many other countries).
The act of owning another human being seems bizarre now. So how was it ever justified in the first place? One answer is that it was justified by flawed, racist scientific assumptions.
Task - study the above image from Types of Mankind (1854), and answer the questions below:
- What assumptions are made here about black people and white people?
- What purpose does this image serve?
- Consider the sociohistorical context of the time this image was created. What is this image attempting to justify?
Formation as reappropriation
Reappropriation is the process of taking an offensive word, concept or idea, and then changing the meaning of it.
An excellent example of reappropriation is the use of the word 'queer' by LGBTQ communities. Queer, originally meaning 'odd', was repurposed to be an offensive slur against gay people. However, many gay people now use this term to refer to themselves. We may now talk of queer cinema, queer culture, or queer people. Through it's reappropriation, the term 'queer' can now refer to somebody who identifies as outside of the heteronormative, traditional gender and sexuality categorisations.
However, don't go around calling people queer, especially if you are straight. The word still has homophobic connotations. This demonstrates and underlines the power of language, and exactly how important semiotics and signification can be.
Task - analyse the above image using the textual analysis toolkit, and answer the following questions:
- What ethnicity/ethnicities are being represented in this image?
- What media language is being used to represent these ethnicities?
- What ideological message is being constructed about ethnicity here? Is it simple and straightforward, or challenging and complicated?
- What impact does this image have on the young, black, female target audience?
- How can we apply the concept of reappropriation to this image?
Formation as a criticism of the response of the US government to the Hurricane Katrina disaster and its aftermath
Last time you researched the US government's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Since this is already in the bag, you will want to have a little more context, so as part of your widner reading, watch this documentary on the government response to Hurricane Katrina.
Formation as a celebration of black culture
So all my red bones get on the floor
And all my yellow bones get on the floor
And all my brown bones get on the floor
Then you mix it up and you call it Creole
Task - read Beyoncé, Creoles, and Modern Blackness by Tyina Steptoe
In this article, Steptoe argues that Beyonce has rejected "monolithic", as in simple and straightforward representations of black identity, and instead presents a range of disparate and complex black identities for the audience to engage with and to identify with.
Task - analysis of black identity
Find three different images of Beyonce in different outfits/scenes from the music video to Formation. Alternatively, just save and insert these three:
Now, answer these questions for each image
- How is black female identity encoded in this image? Make reference to hair, costume and mise-en-scene in particular
- What ideological message is presented to the young black female target audience?
- What impact does this have on the young, black female target audience?