Formation: explore how representations of social groups are constructed through media language in this image

• The representation of Beyoncé as a hegemonically attractive woman clearly may appeal to both heterosexual male audiences and lesbians. While her costume covers her entire body, her dress emphasises her curvaceous figure. 
• This image constructs a highly polysemic mode of address. Beyoncé is both sexualised and covered, and her expression simultaneously connotes seduction and anger. This highly complex representation reinforces the ideological perspective that black people are not a single representational group, but are complex with many different cultures and identities 
• The MES of the police car is striking. It forms a binary opposition of authority that conflicts with B’s performatively lazy and unbothered posture.
• The MES of the water around her however not only relates to hurricane Katrina, it also constructs Beyoncé as isolated and vulnerable . This alarming binary opposition contradict Beyoncé's star image, and reinforces the vulnerability of black people in the south of America
• The colour palette is dull and desaturated, which connotes themes of poverty and oppression
• The shot makes intertextual reference to Hurricane Katrina, and in particular the news footage of this event that would be particularly relevant to American
• B’s direct address constructs her as powerful in spite of the flooded setting. 
• B’s dress has connotations of the 1970s, and may be making reference to the civil rights movement, or even just symbolising the timeless notion of black resistance 
• The MS of the natural lighting suggests that everything the audience is seeing is real. It demonstrates a positive ideology regarding black representation, and suggests black people in the deep south slowly progressing
• This is further anchored through the use of costume. B’s costume is bright, stands out, and constructs B as a celebrity. A celebrity is someone in the public eye, and the use of MS here constructs B as the main focal point, and as a powerful black woman. 
• B’s expression is serious and determined, which symbolically encodes not only B’s authority, but also her desire for her music to be taken seriously
• The video is about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the disproportionate effect on black people in the state of Louisiana. Therefore her stern facial expression here encodes not only the seriousness of the topic, but also the fact that B is now ideologically opposed to the government
• The image makes intertextual reference to other rap and hip hop videos. However, here B subverts stereotypical representations of black men in ostentatiously expensive cars 
• The setting remains blurry, and this shallow depth of field further reinforces B’s status as a powerful person
• B’s jewellery is distinctive, and the excessive use of expensive jewellery (bling) is another typical convention of the hip hop genre
• B’s hair is in extremely long luxurious braids. Symbolic of black identity, it not only reinforces B as a celebrity, but also as a powerful black woman 
• B’s glamorous appearance constructs a diametric opposition with the grimy and boring parking lot . Not only does this look amazing, it also reinforces B’s confidence in a rea where many would feel threatened