Formation Representation Revision

 How do the representations in Formation reflect the ideology of the producer?

• New Orleans - setting
• Representation of black women
• Representation of the working class
• Mise-en-scene - 
• Costumes - Antebellum dresses, jeans
• Lighting - 
• Hair - various hairstyles to reflect black culture
• Atypical and subversive song for Beyoncé 
• The music video both typical and subversive
• Binary opposition of old vhs effect and modern high quality cinematography.
• Working class settings.
• Establishing shot montages of the beginning of the video.
• The antebellum dress symbolises slavery, Beyoncé is reclaiming and re appropriating - taking the power from white people. 
• Gospel church setting, wig shop, 
• News footage of Hurricane Katrina
• Proairetic code of violence against black people: binary opposition of riot police vs little child
• Choreography associated with afro culture, e.g twerking - bounce music originating from New Orleans - scene of a documentary
• MES of Beyoncé sinking in to the water on top of police car
• Referential code.
• Bricolage - combination of different forms of media to create a complex and confusing representation.

Knee Jerk: Representations of working class black people to draw attention to underrepresented issues. 

• Establishing shots of flooding, Beyoncé is sat on top of a police car long shot to emphasise the New Orleans police car and flooded houses, a referential code of Hurricane Katrina and floods in New Orleans and the lack of help and resources that was given to predominately black areas, an underrepresented issue reflecting racism still being a large issue.
• Binary opposition of Beyoncé inside and around a previous slave-owner's house and with establishing shots of flooded houses and run down houses - symbolism of poverty.
• The setting of the abandoned swimming pool is symbolic of the black community drowning under the influence of poverty and racism. Connotes poverty, rundown and isolated. Negative stereotype of black people being not able to swim (segregation of public pools).
• Mid shot of MES of graffiti 'stop shooting us', drawing the audience's attention to the significant issue faced by the black community in America  - graffiti symbolic of black culture. 
• MES hoodie is stereotypical in the way in which young African American boys are represented as troublemakers or criminals.
• Gilroy - postcolonial theory - black people and white people are represented differently.
• Black people are powerful, vulnerable, victims of police and natural disasters.