How
and why is Beyoncé represented in different ways in her music videos?
For this task, as a group we watched four of
Beyoncé’s music videos from throughout her career, in which there were both
similarities and differences. We then individually made notes about the ways
she was represented in each video, and the reasons for it.
The video from the earliest point in Beyoncé’s
career that we looked at was ‘Crazy In Love’ which she performed with her
husband Jay-Z. Throughout the video, Beyoncé is seen dressed provocatively,
dancing s*xily and parading herself around in a daring manor. The video submits
a message of danger and excitement, which is reflected from how she must feel
being, as she describes, ‘crazy in love’. Dance routines fill this music video
with heat and energy. Approximately half way through this video, Beyoncé can be
seen trapped in the back of a car which is then set on fire. She then appears
on screen as the un-touchable alter-ego that she has created for herself- Sasha
Fierce. Dance routines appear more intense and even more s*xually related,
giving Fierce the representation as Beyoncé’s wild inner-self.
The second video that we watched by Beyoncé is
called ‘Single ladies’ and immediately represents s*xiness and class. The video
is consistent throughout in both music and visuals. It is set in a pure white
room with just Beyoncé and two other dancers, one either side of her. All three
girls are dressed exactly the same, with the exception of Beyoncé’s left arm,
which appears to have some form of armour on it, possibly to represent power
and strength. Exhibitionism is displayed throughout this video as Beyoncé and
her dancers perform a sexualised dance routine in black leotards. The costume
for this video also creates a sense of class, as well as s*xualisation, as the
leotards only really reveal Beyoncé’s and the dancers’ legs. The nature of the
song is to express the independence and strength of women. This is represented
in the video as no men appear throughout the whole video, just three women
energetically parading around a room. Also, the majority of the camera angles
are from below eye level, which enhances the message to the audience of females
being strong, single and independent.
Beyoncé’s video for her song ‘Halo’ has more of
a narrative than ‘Crazy In Love’ and ‘Single Ladies’. More scenes of her with
her husband, Jay-Z, are featured and there are less s*xualised images. A couple
of very short voyeuristic dance scenes can be seen of Beyoncé practicing ballet
alone in her dance studio, where she is unknowingly being watched from above by
her husband. Not once does she look into the camera, or acknowledge that it is
there. The video also starts with Beyoncé watching over her husband lovingly as
he sleeps, and continues to show many different scenes of them together in
their home. The song is about being in love, but is represented in a completely
different way to ‘Crazy In Love’. Beyoncé’s character is portrayed as sweet,
innocent and natural, in comparison to being portrayed as s*xy and strong, or
voyeuristically dancing in the middle of the street. In connection with the title of the song, the
colours used in the video for ‘Halo’ have been selected to coincide with the
heaven-like theme. For example, Beyoncé and her husband are always shown
wearing neutral colours, instead of perhaps a bright colour such as green or
orange. The type of colour palette and the desaturation of the image also connect
the lyrics to the visuals, creating a blissful, dreamlike state associated with
being in love.
The final video to be analysed is ‘Telephone’,
which Beyoncé performs with Lady Gaga. In this video we see Beyoncé take much
more of a supporting role, as Lady Gaga is in the spotlight. This video also
shows much more of a narrative, and is full of inter-textual references to
Thelma and Louise, various Quentin Tarantino movies and many more, particularly
in the second half of the video. Beyoncé has completely replaced her usual
style of class and elegance with a more edgy bizarre dress sense, much like the
dress sense in which Lady Gaga is famous for representing. The storyline within
this video is Lady Gaga being held in prison, which could be seen as a visual
representation of feelings displayed the in lyrics, where she feels trapped and
held down, unable to go out to a club without being mithered. Beyoncé plays the
character who, in the video, bails Lady Gaga out of jail, and then accomplices
her in poisoning to death several members of the public in a café, before
driving off together and promising to ‘never come back’. These characters may
represent a bad or dangerous side to Beyoncé or Gaga, giving Beyoncé’s fans
something unusual and explicit.
The audience of these music videos can be easily
influenced, and this can be explained by the two-step flow model. Most
commonly, Beyoncé is the ‘opinion leader’, with many followers and is seen as a
role model, especially to younger girls. The messages and feelings portrayed in
her music videos, along with sense of dress and general characteristics, are
likely to be imitated. It is believed that young women and girls can sometimes
use music videos and other media forms to try and build a personal identity by
relating their real life situations to the lyrics and thoughts/feelings in a
song. Male viewers tend to have a more s*xualised view of the videos, and wish
to view Beyoncé herself, or seek the females that imitate her behaviour.
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