Formation, Beyonce, and representation

In the last session, we explored the Antebellum South and slavery. Slavery was finally abolished in North America in 1865, following the collapse of the Confederacy and the American Civil War. However, despite being illegal for a relatively long time, there still exists great discrepancies in the rights and lives of black and white people in America (and many other countries).

The act of owning another human being seems bizarre now. So how was it ever justified in the first place? One answer is that it was justified by flawed, racist scientific assumptions.

Task - study the above image from Types of Mankind (1854), and answer the questions below:

• What assumptions are made here about black people and white people? 
• What purpose does this image serve?
• Consider the sociohistorical context of the time this image was created. What is this image attempting to justify?

The assumptions that are made of black and white people have different skull structure. And that black people aren't humans they are more similar to apes than human. This is a racist image which created a diversion between white and black people, to show that they are seen as an animal rather than a person 

Formation as reappropriation 

Reappropriation is the process of taking an offensive word, concept or idea, and then changing the meaning of it.

An excellent example of reappropriation is the use of the word 'queer' by LGBTQ communities.  Queer, originally meaning 'odd', was repurposed to be an offensive slur against gay people. However, many gay people now use this term to refer to themselves. We may now talk of queer cinema, queer culture, or queer people. Through its reappropriation, the term 'queer' can now refer to somebody who identifies as outside of the heteronormative, traditional gender and sexuality categorisations. 

However, don't go around calling people queer, especially if you are straight. The word still has homophobic connotations. This demonstrates and underlines the power of language, and exactly how important semiotics and signification can be.

• What ethnicity/ethnicities are being represented in this image?
• What media language is being used to represent these ethnicities?
• What ideological message is being constructed about ethnicity here? Is it simple and straightforward, or challenging and complicated?
• What impact does this image have on the young, black, female target audience?
• How can we apply the concept of reappropriation to this image?

The people in the music video and Beyonce are black so there is a representation of black people but we can also say that their costumes are typically white costumes so there's a representation of both of the race. 

The mise-en-scene of the hair, makeup and costumes represents these ethnicities 

This is an example of reappropriation, the ideological message is that black people are equally powerful as white people. The producer is using the dresses that white people used to wear to represent the strength of the white man. 

 It gives them a role model, someone to look up to. It tells them to be proud of they are.

It's using the power that white people had over black people as something that leads to black people being as powerful as white. Reappropriation = using something with negative connotations and turning it to positive

Formation as a celebration of black culture

So all my red bones get on the floor
And all my yellow bones get on the floor
And all my brown bones get on the floor
Then you mix it up and you call it Creole

Task - Beyoncé, Creoles, and Modern Blackness by Tyina Steptoe

In this article, Steptoe argues that Beyonce has rejected "monolithic", as in simple and straightforward representations of black identity, and instead presents a range of disparate and complex black identities for the audience to engage with and to identify with. 

Task - analysis of black identity

Find three different images of Beyonce in different outfits/scenes from the music video to Formation. Alternatively, just save and insert these three:

 

The Mise-en-scene of Beyonce wearing hair in different makes her seems not ashamed of her culture and identity and even encourages younger audience to not feel the shame of their culture and be proud of who they are. As you typically won't see it in the mainstream media