A day before her performance at the Super Bowl 50, Beyoncé released a new music video for her song "Formation" and it is everything one can hope for in a time where civil unrest and police brutality run rampant across the country. Beyoncé has never been one to shy away from her status as a cultural icon, and this music video cements her status as she does an excellent job of depicting various events that have affected the Black community in the United States. Proud, fierce and strong, Beyoncé sings and dances to the rhythm of alluded Black Pride. With all of the shallow mainstream musical acts that dominate the media, it's easy to forget that there are artists like Beyoncé to remind us of the nation's prevalent issues and that true artistry isn't dead.
Beginning her song atop a sinking police car in what appears to be flooded New Orleans, Beyoncé opens her song with swagger and a pulsing beat. Different shots of her wearing a red patterned cotton dress and intricate lingerie while she holds a small parasol lead into the song's theme of Black Pride as she sings, "I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros/ I like my Negro nose with my Jackson 5 nostrils." Her dynamic choreography is fantastic as could be expected, and it should be noted that her accompanying dancers all have their natural hair swaying with their bodies as they add to the powerful image Beyoncé conveys. Flickering images of scenes depicting everyday life give the music video more depth.
For example, there is a part where a man holds a newspaper with a picture of a solemn-looking Martin Luther King Jr. and the headline, "More Than a Dreamer." Components like those add more complexity to the video's overall theme. As the song progresses, the police car Queen B was standing on top of sinks lower and lower. It's clear in this video that she isn't afraid to call out her "Albino alligators."
The colloquialisms that layer the lyrics in "Formation" are brilliant, because they reflect the culture and highlights with specificity the issues that Black people face in the U.S. today. Effective cinematography and choreography aside, there is no mistaking the poignant message Beyoncé intends to convey with the shot of a young Black boy wearing a hoodie and dancing in front of a squad of police officers. Although they initially stand with their hands on their belts, there is no doubt that she is alluding to the "Hands up, don't shoot!" incident that originated with the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
As Beyoncé sings, "Okay ladies, now let's get in formation, I slay/ Prove to me you got some coordination, I slay/ Slay trick, or you get eliminated, I slay," the boy throws his hands in the air and the police squad mirror him. A haunting image of a graffiti'd "Stop shooting us" on a cinderblock wall precedes the slow-motion image of Beyoncé laying on the almost completely submerged police car. A quick sequence of her in her different dance outfits in the music video precede the final image of her sinking completely.
Needless to say, "Formation" is a video that will surely remain prevalent in the time to come as it provides a riveting reflection of the issues that affect the U.S. today.
