That B.E.A.T (2012)
Wider reading: this 2016 article explains some of the controversy that existed around Beyoncé's wholesale lifting of various elements from this documentary. While Formation is certainly a diverse and complex representation of marginalised black communities, the style and the aesthetic energy of the video are apparently far from original…
This documentary focuses on bounce music, a subgenre of hip-hip particularly popular in the deep south of America. Bounce music is characterised by a loud and noisy production, a heavy emphasis on samples, a very fast tempo, sexually explicit lyrics, a significant queer following and a large number of gay producers. Elements that are lifted from the documentary include the iconography of flooded buildings, footage of dancing, the sampled electronic drums and bass, and the rough and ready feel and exciting energy.
However, the video to formation completely dispatches with any queer iconography. The sight of men dancing in a highly sexualised manner is not hegemonically conventional, and would be unfamiliar to those not familiar with gay clubs or queer cinema. This documentary therefore dismantles heteronormative notions about rap music. By completely excluding all queer themes from this video, it can be argued that this decision has been made to minimise risk and to maximise profit. However, in doing so, Beyoncé is not only reinforcing heteronormative hegemonic values, but is also symbolically annihilated black queer queer representation.
Formation presents a powerful, diverse set of representations of black people, but it is not completely intersectional feminism.
Iconography - visual symbolism
How is meaning connoted through dance and gesture in formation
The gesture of Beyoncé's fist functions as a proairetic code and suggests imminent violence and is symbolic of her power
The MES of her outstretched arms is symbolic of B embracing her heritage
The sudden, snappy dance movements are not only aggressive and surprising, but also are symbolic of the violent snares that are high in the song’s mix
The aggressive whipping of her hair is symbolic of her assertiveness and control
The adoption of a direct mode of address connotes power, assertiveness and aggression
A confrontational mode of address is adopted throughout
Beyoncé frequently sits with her legs spread apart in the video, perhaps an example of ‘manspreading’, which has stereotypically masculine connotations. When anchored by her jerky, aggressive movements, Beyoncé constructs a complex and contradictory representation of gender
In the master shot sitting on top of the police car, Beyoncé's facial expression is nonchalant, superior, and even bored, which creates an atypical representation of femininity, and again constructs a complex representation of gender
Beyoncé rapidly bumps her head in time to the bass beat of the song, which connotes aggression and violence
How does the video to formation use mise en scene to construct a hyperreal bricolage to make reference to issues and events?
Wider reading: ‘Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ is a defiant reclamation of blackness’ - a wonderful and in-depth analysis of the complex and challenging representations of black identity that are encoded in Formation
The MES of antebellum era dresses are symbolic of slavery and of slave ownership. The dresses that Beyoncé and ‘her ladies’ wear in this video bear some resemblance to these dresses. Beyoncé's costume combines elements of antebellum era dress and that of a 19th century prostitute. By wearing the costume of an oppressor, not only does Beyoncé demonstrate her power, she also has destroyed this symbolic hierarchy, and presented a challenging mode of address to the target audience. By dressing as a prostitute, Beyoncé is empowering women at the bottom of society's hierarchy, and constructing a truly inclusive representation of women. This highly intertextual bricolage constructs a polysemic mode of address.
The video to formation is set in the 19th century, yet it is also set in the modern day, and in the 80’s, 90s and 00’s. This complete dismissal of space and time infers that the issues of racism that existed over a century ago still exist today, and that the south of America still has the scars of slavery.
Formation does not present a linear narrative. It presents a complex and fragmented narrative, a hyperreal bricolage that makes reference to antebellum era slave owners, slavery, revolution, and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. By breaking down the boundaries of space and time, Beyoncé is suggesting that racism is like an endless loop. She controversially suggests that the same issues that affected black people in America in the 19th century still affect black Americans in the 21st century. This is a highly complex and diverse set of representations.