Hurricane Katrina was a deadly and destructive hurricane which took place in 2005 and affected various areas of America including New Orleans, Louisiana and Alabama. This hurricane was followed by mass flooding which majorly affected and damaged New Orleans. There was and still is a huge controversy behind the disaster as many people believed that a lot of the damage and lot of the damage and loss of life was preventable and that the government and authorities did not act efficiently enough in the aftermath. The music video for Formation by Beyoncé is largely about the aftermath of the hurricane.
The music video is set in New Orleans and features real clips from the documentary "That B.E.A.T". This includes a lot of devastating imagery of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other imagery of the city of New Orleans. By using these clips and tying them in with her own, a sense of realism is created and viewers of the video are able to connect with the message the Knowles is trying to produce through the video.
Throughout the video, there are multiple performance shots which have a deeper meaning in relation to Hurricane Katrina and the lack of police support for people of colour in less affluent areas. One shot in particular of Beyonce sitting /standing on top of a police the which is sinking in a river of water, appears throughout the video. The clip, which I have shown on the right, represents how powerless the police and authority were and how the people of New Orleans (represented by Knowles) were the ones to solve the issue and help to save the city and it's people.
Later in the video, there are also clips of the singer standing up on the police car with her hands up in the air. This could be reference to New Orleans' religious aspect and maybe how that played a part in the the peoples' time of need. There is also a shot of Beyonce posing in what can be described in many ways. The pose, above, is similar to that of the Black Lives Matter movement. This represents how Knowles is proud of her race and roots, something that she has been called out for in the past. This could also be taken as Beyonce trying to make reference to the State of Liberty. This is supported by the fact that the statue is situated on a small island surrounded by water. similar the the singer standing on a police car in the water. This could be an ironic reference to the statues message of liberty and acceptance and how the Katrina represented the people of New Orleans being severely let down.
Furthermore, during the aftermath of the hurricane, statistics show that a white person was one third (1/3) times more likely than a black person to have their property saved. This highlights the issues of racism in the police system during the time and this is represented throughout the video. The video has an all black cast which is very much a sign that this is people of colour fighting back for the injustice at the time. Also, class and affluence was a factor in the survival rate during the flooding of 2005. Those people who were richer and maybe had more expensive homes were more likely not to loose their homes and get help.
This is shown through many clips of the singer wearing an all white outfit, traditional for affluent women of the time, sitting in a grand antebellum home. This is followed by a clip of Beyonce wearing all black surrounded by men. During the antebellum time period, it was very out of the ordinary for women to wear black. This is a way of Knowles braking conventions of female roles.