Beyoncé Formation
Explore the flooding in New Orleans, USA following Hurricane Katrina to place the video into this context. When did it happen? Why did it happen? Who did it happen to?
Hurricane Katrina began on the 23rdof August 2005 and lasted until the 31stof August 2005. Hurricane Katrina happened from the events of a tropical storm. Hurricane Katrina affected many areas. These areas where: New Orleans, Cuba, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. Many more areas where affected but these are the main places. The main focal point in the music video is New Orleans and how it was affected by the hurricane and how the people were affected by it. The majority of New Orleans that was left and affected by the hurricane where African American. This is crucial as it shows that even in times of need the government are still using race in who to help first. No one really knows why the government decided to do this I believe it is because the way media described the scenes in New Orleans.
Was there racial tension at this time? How do we know this? What happened? And who to? (Use images, TV stills and newspaper reports as evidence to assist you).
While Hurricane Katrina was happening there was a lot of racial tension in the air at the time. We know this because of new reports and newspapers. As we see that the African Americans where left for dead. As they were left with the horrible conditions that Hurricane Katrina had caused. The media reported that African Americans where going around with guns and robbing things which wasn’t true, but this was assumed because of race. This caused an uproar after the events had past. It also delayed the rescue teams from helping because their lives were in danger. This delay caused many innocent people to die though. Reports told the evacuation team that there was a sniper aiming at them which caused them to leave killing more people and then a swat team was sent in which wasted even more time.
This contrasting use of signs leads to possible readings/meaning of the music video. Is it exploring issues of the Black experience in America? Is it a personal exploration of Beyoncé’s life? Is it attempting to discuss issues of gender and equality? Is it possible for the video to be all of these things? If so how?
This video uses all of these things as it shows how difficult it is for African Americans. There are many examples of this used in the music video. A significant frame in the is when a young black boy is dancing in the street and the police are standing aiming their guns at him. This is important because it shows how black people are treated as criminals in America for expressing themselves in simple forms of dancing or music. Showing how racism is still happening. Another example is the clothing worn in some scenes represent a time before and after slaves were freed around the 1900s. White corsets, binding the women during a time when slaves were technically “free” but still being oppressed. The black attire scene depicts a more empowered and free people, with the men dressed up in nice suits and Beyoncé adorned in jewellery and blatantly flicking off the camera in front of a plantation.
Consider the dynamic and historically relative nature of genre: What genres has Beyoncé worked in?
The music that Beyoncé sings is RnB and pop. RnB is traditional as it’s what most African Americans sing and listen too. Other than that, she hasn’t looked into more genres of music and there isn’t any historical context behind why she chose these genres.
Explore what “bounce” is and how it relates to Beyoncé specifically as a performer and the issues she is exploring in this video/song.
Bounce is a dance in New Orleans, which is based off call and response. I couldn’t really find much about how it relates to Beyoncé and why she’s exploring with it.
What is MOBO? Discuss the historical significance.
MOBO is the music of black origin which was established in 1996. It was the first mainstream music awards for African American music. It allowed
A platform for black artists to be heard worldwide.
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