I’m not black and I don’t fangirl the loudest for Beyoncé, but I am a supporter of femininity, equality, and productive controversy. Beyoncé’s “Formation” abruptly reveals what is happening to African American population, personifies it in an uncomfortable and eerie way, and calls upon her supporters to “Get in formation.”
Being a white girl in an upper middle class, Californian family, I am the furthest person away from understanding the oppression of African Americans in the South and racism in the entirety of the United States. However, being an art history major and self-proclaimed in the know, I viewed “Formation” as the greatest work in the Black Lives Matter Movement. Following Hurricane Katrina, Ferguson, events at the University of Missouri, and so on Beyoncé has capitalized upon this climatic time and used her power to mass market her word and spread it to the broadest population possible. Outside of the lyrics and instrumental itself, it is incredibly important for one to analyse the images Beyoncé is portraying within the music video.
Images to ponder:
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Natural hair of Beyoncé’s background dancers, yet her synthetic blonde hair and braids
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Beyoncé and dancers dressed in Gucci in a drained pool
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Beyoncé eerily dressed in colonial style
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“Stop shooting us”
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Beyoncé drowning in the flooding of Hurricane Katrina atop a police car
In a way, with many critics agreeance, as Beyoncé becomes an even bigger superstar than she already is, she is becoming a more marginal artist, which further represents her brilliant capitalism upon being an African American woman in 2016. All in all, Beyoncé is rallying her troops and receiving the best revenge she can from her paper.
And yes Bey you do: