Formation Breakdown

        After the 2016 Superbowl, there was quite a bit of controversy over Beyonce’s new song and video. Her new song, titled “Formation” was released the day before the Super Bowl and drew an awful lot of attention to the underlying themes throughout the song. Growing up, I was never a huge fan of Beyonce. However, with that being said, I plan on stating my views on this song completely unbiased.

The song has multiple different sections that are blatantly clear when watching the music video. Throughout the song Beyonce changes her outfits. They go from the sophisticated looking white dresses that are worn in a parlor-type setting, to the raggedy dress she wears while sitting on top of a cop car. There is a red one piece that she wears that is quite revealing. There is the tracksuit she wears in the empty swimming pool, the 80’s themed acid washed jean shorts and lastly the all black dress and hat. I feel as though these different outfits symbolize the evolution of black culture on the women's part. As discussed in class, there may even be a stronger theme of voodoo present when Beyonce is wearing all black. After watching the video a few times, you may notice that she bobs her head in a seemingly strange way while in that outfit. Makes me wonder what the idea really was behind that part of the video.

A few aspects of the song and video did bother me. The first part, that we also discussed in class, was the use of Messy Mya’s voice. I feel as though it was disrespectful, and not discussing the reasoning behind using that recording and not really acknowledge it, especially with the circumstances surrounding Messy Mya’s death, was inconsiderate.  The second part that upset me was the use of Hurricane Katrina “footage.” Although I believe a lot of the so called footage was reenacted, in discussing other reviewer articles in class, victims of Hurricane Katrina were extremely upset by Beyonce’s use of such a traumatic event. She is now making money off of this song, while people who suffered through the horrific event are still struggling to make ends meet.

I think this song and music video brings up a lot of different emotions and problems. For myself, I know it makes me want to say things but I don't because I know how they will be misinterpreted. Just as a lot of people that are white over generalize their opinions on the black culture, I find that just as many blacks overgeneralize about the negative qualities of white people. Especially regarding police brutality. If we were to take a look at all of the shootings that took place by the hands of the cops in the United States, the number of blacks vs whites would about equal out. I feel as though, with the “Black Lives Matter” movement, a lot of the deaths of black people are sensationalized and brought to the news. Ten times more than the shooting of a white man. The entire racism situation is so sad to me. It does not make sense to me how another persons skin color even matters. We are all human with hearts and brains, if only we used them.

      In conclusion, regardless of how I feel about Beyonce or Formation more specifically, she still did a fantastic job of getting her points across. She used her platform for something she strongly believed in, and those who resonated with her, are probably rejoicing right alongside her.