Throughout the music video, there are a variety of underlying political messages, whether that be through visual imagery or quite literally through the lyrics. She tackles mainly issues focused around black women but also includes other discussions such as violence and police brutality. One of the more obvious showcases of her political agenda are shown through images of a wall which has been spray painted that says “stop shooting us,” as well as other visual representations such as the wall of SWAT officers and sinking police car. This is used to represent her respect and the lack of equality the police officers have against the black community. Images aren’t the only way she represents black culture. Another way this is shown is through the use of bounce music, which originated in New Orleans. Furthermore, within the lyrics, she says “Earned all this money but they never take the country off me,” staring she will not hide her ‘blackness’ from anybody.
Within the video, there are a multitude of different ways that Beyoncé tells the audience that she is proud of where she came from by showing off ethnic qualities. She uses an almost all black cast - bar the white police officers, and shows off their natural features. Some of the lyrics she uses to do this are “I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros I like my negro nose.” These lyrics reflect the passion she has for her culture and people showing that she wants to stand strong. She even includes a scene reminicent of when police officers shot an innocent child Mike Brown. She flips the whole situation showing how there is an innocent child who was unarmed you against a wall of armed police officers, yet in this scene which she has reinacted she makes the police officers surrender. It shows the young boy as fearless and brave by standing up to the police officers despite his odds.
moreover, the whole concept of the song and lyrics “ok ladies let’s get in formation,” encourages women to work together to make a change, spreading the message that more can be done when people come together with a common interest.
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