Kayla Hanifen
ENGL 306
02.23.2016
Rough Draft:
Strutting
Your Political Power Beyoncé?
It was expected Beyoncé would
dominate during the collaborated Super Bowl performance with Coldplay and Bruno
Mars. However, no one expected her to reposition herself as a ‘lightning rod
for radical politicized black America during her performance of “Formation”.1
Her ‘unapologetically black performance’ alludes to not only to Knowles and her
jacket that echoed Michael Jackson3, but of dancers with Afros and
Black Panther berets arranging
themselves into the letter “X” for Malcom, and their homemade sign reading “Justice
for Mario Woods”.2 Mario Woods, the victim of the San Francisco
police shooting whose case has been a Black Lives Matter rallying point, was
not the only subject of her performance. The performance followed in the
footsteps of her video “Formation”, which is described by Vox to be a “riskier,
filthier, angrier, and pulpier” Beyoncé. The video proudly steeped in black American
culture, overtly political, and celebrating black femininity, the video show’s Beyoncé
sinking a New Orleans cop car as a little boy in a hoodie dances in front of
riot cops.3
So what is all the rant? Her performance of “Formation” at one of the largely watched media events in the world, was a huge purposeful statement.3 While certainly not the first controversial stir produced from a work of art, Beyoncé’s performance left so much left over heat because- until now- the icon had been beyond race for the mainstream audience.4 Mass media has stormed in response to her latest protest like fore example “Saturday Night Live”, in their recent skit, portrayed white fans freaking out about her “blackness”, in comparison to her new “Formation” music video and Super-Bowl performance, and law enforcement officers and officials, in particular, National Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director, Jonathan Thompson stated to The Washington Post: “It’s inviting bad behavior. Art is one thing, but yelling fire in a crowded theater is an entirely different one.”5 If her political movement at the center stage of Coldplay’s set was not enough, the content of the song’s defiant social commentary and heavy anti-police message3 was just an ingredient to the recipe in the transformation to one of the largest events in sports/corporate synergy/entertainment, into a political act.3
It’s apparent here that what makes this performance so intensely captivating in the eyes of the public is because of Beyoncé’s ballsy play on all ends of the persuasion platform. The performance builds up and reflects the persuasive techniques of Ethos (trust, authority), Logos (logic, reasoning), and Pathos (emotion, beliefs) that turned what the audience would trust as entertaining, light-hearted fun, into a strong, well rounded political act.
Ethos, an appeal to ethics, and
means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader,7
was largely recognized during Beyonce’s Super Bowl 2016 performance. Her
manifestation of a large spread of political activists, like her formation of “X”
in tribute to Malcom X, her dancers, with afros and Black Panther caps in support
of the movement, and her jacket that echoed from Michael Jacksons famous ‘Beat
it’ leather jacket all carry with them symbolic characters associated with
Black Lives Matter. This weighed heavily in the underlying message of her
protest. If people were not sure what it was, it wasn’t too long until they
could recognize the symbolism used in her performance to guide them to what is
being said.
Pathos, an appeal to emotion, a way
of convincing an audience of an argument by creation an emotional response.7
A great and powerful element of persuasion, used by artists and protestors
alike. While idea behind the performance never really started with the Super
Bowl, but instead with the development of her music video “Formation”, the
video itself created and enhanced a mixed sense of emotion within its viewers. A
feeling of tenderness, bitterness, and anger enveloped one side of the critic
pole, while power, enthusiasm, pride, and support enveloped the other. Why? We
would have to refer back to her music video that takes place in New Orleans
actually shot in L.A.3
Iconic New Orleans imagery and clips
were used as a supplement from a NOLA (New Orleans local news) documentary, and
shots (Beyoncé laying across a drowning New Orleans police car, Hurricane
Katrina background) were used to invoke imagery and a feeling of power even in
the face of racism3 and the devastating outcome of the Hurricane in
the area. While relevant, the emotional pull did not stop there, Beyoncé also
wore Jay Z’s chain stating it wasn’t him being possessive of her, but of her
owning him.3 This statement by Beyoncé coincides with her feminist
protest through her other various videos (i.e. “Who Runs the World (Girls)”).
“Baby hair
and afros”
“Jackson
Five nostrils”
“hot sauce
in my bag”
Were all listed elements in her new hit “Formation” in which
she celebrates her culture and not shying away from it which later in the video
does she refer to herself being light-skinned but still taking pride in her
blackness in which she states “Yellow bone it” .3 The video then
progresses into a run on imagery of a series of houses, a scene take from the documentary
“The B.E.A.T” against the wishes of filmmakers, yet still licenses fairly.3
Showing the evolution and the many facets of black culture and femininity,
Beyoncé and her back-up dancers are revealed in a parking lot wearing
short-shorts and crop tops and then flipping back to her ancestors wearing
Antebellum-era dresses in a Louisiana mansion, and for that reason, maintains
an important juxtaposition in the video itself.3 The video then
comes again to the image of Beyoncé on top of the drowning New Orleans car in which
she refers to herself as “Black Bill Gates” referring to her power and wealth3
followed by what is believed to be the most important and controversial topic
in the media, a nod to the Black Lives Matter Movement, where a hooded boy is
dancing in front of a line of police officers. What makes this imagery so
powerful is that the boy raises his arms (an image reminiscent of Trayvon Martin8)
with the police in homage to the “hand up, don’t shoot” chant.
This video is so incredibly
important when analyzing Beyoncé’s super bowl performance because the video
itself is what really pulls in that Pathos- hence why it was released to the public
(without any knowledge) just a day prior to her performance. It was not mistake
either that after two hits to the public does she announce her “Formation”
World Tour, spiking up media headlines. So what is being said here? Some say
the song marks a transformation for Beyoncé, from more than just an artist who
steered clear away from political propaganda.7 Her political message
over racism and police brutality is unmistakable, especially with the
ammunition of her surprise music video “Formation”.8
“This is an unprecedented moment in popular
music culture. Never before have we seen a pop icon, especially an African
American woman, user her platform as a musician, as a celebrity, in order to
make some of the boldest, most ferocious, most inspiring political statements about
the Black Freedom struggle,” says Daphne Brooks, professor in the Department of
African American Studies at Yale University.8 Beyoncé’s “Formation”
was the most shared song within the 24 hours of it’s depute and tops the
Billboard “Twitter Trending” Charts.8 Beyoncé’s performance could be
described as a political earthquake, her video, the earthquake itself, her
Super Bowl performance as the aftershock, and then the announcement of her
World Tour completely set in the context of her controversial video “Formation”,
the tidal wave.
Citation
Page
1. Framke, Caroline. “Beyoncé Didn’t Just Steal the Super
Bowl Halftime Show. She Made It a Political Act.” Vox. 07 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
2. Ellen, Barbara. “Beyoncé: The Superstar Who Brought Black
Power to the Super Bowl. Observer Profile.” The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
3. Chokshi, Niraj. “Sheriffs: Beyoncé Is ‘inciting Bad
Behavior’ and Endangering Law Enforcement.” Washington
Post. The Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
4. Johnson, Blanche. “Miami Police to Boycott Beyoncé Concert
over Controversial Super Bowl Performance.” Fox
News. FOX News Network, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
5. “Why the Beyoncé Controversy Is Bigger than You Think.”
Myfox8com. CNN WIRE, 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
6. “Beyoncé Super Bowl 50 Performance Analysis.” Metro. Metro International, 09 Feb.
2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
7. “Examples of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.” YourDictionary. Web. 24 Feb. 2016
8. “Beyoncé Sends Political Message with Super Bowl Halftime
Performance of New Single, “Formation”” CBSNews.
CBS Interactive, 8 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
In your first two paragraphs you discuss the reactions to Beyoncé’s super bowl performance and music video, which do give context to the protest. However in terms of the assignment, I do not see where you establish an audience or clear purpose for this performance in the first half of your paper. I think you should remove some of the quotes and references and discuss what you interpret the audience, context and purpose to be instead of solely describing reactions to the performance. For example you mention overtly what the purpose is at the end of your paper, which I think needs to be stated in the first half.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of her use of ethos is very good, however I think the paragraphs discussing pathos need to be restructured. In the pathos paragraph you begin by saying audience reactions to the performance, and then explain why they had these reactions. I think it would make more sense to discuss elements of the performance and then explain what emotions they caused individually.
In this paper you are essentially addressing two objects, the super bowl performance and music video. However I think you need to re think how you are addressing both because it seems like you are discussing the performance in the first half of the paper and the video more in the second half, making the paper seem disorganized. I think discussing the performance and the video together would make more sense in your paper structure.
I agree with Anna on the two different objects, but I see what you're thinking. You're addressing the song itself, rather than one of the two performances. That makes sense, and would work if you incorporate each performance into the first and second half of your essay, instead of addressing the Super Bowl Performance then the music video.
ReplyDeleteAll of your claims are backed up and make sense, but I feel that you should address the context a bit more. You mention the racism and feminism that she addresses, which makes sense since she is such an advocate for both. What I feel is missing is the protest content itself. You have everything you need, you could elaborate on the BlackLivesMatter movement and what it means to the black community that Beyonce identifies herself with. You definitely addressed her feminism movement well with her JayZ statement, but why is this such a strong statement? How does it define her values as a feminist?
I think with some addition to the explanations and a better context with the protester herself, this paper would be really good.
Kayla:
ReplyDeleteI’ve already seen this video like four times so I was already pretty pumped coming into your paper.
Ditto re above what Anna and Julian said. There’s not enough about who the intended audience is, which by the way, ties perfectly into how she’s waited this long to do something so political, because that allows her to build up a huge white fan base to receive the message of the song. The context also could use more elaboration, because there is so much more depth to the Black Lives Matter movement than just police brutality; there’s beauty standards tied to colorism, there’s the dismissal of the deaths of those in poverty like with Hurricane Katrina, even the idea that Blacks can’t be successful without some sort of extra advantage (which is the underlying message of illuminati rumors) and I think Beyoncé is attempting to cover as much of it as possible.
I think your ethos paragraph could be made clearer, I’m not sure what you’re saying she pulls her ethos from. Is it because of Black rights movements that she’s representing? Is it because she pays homage to past Black icons? Be very clear about what you’re calling her ethos.
Also, I think Kairos is worth mentioning. A lot of people were mad that she waited so long to be political, but it makes sense for her to wait until her following is so strong, you can’t help but feel the impact of the video.
At one point you defined logos (which was good in my opinion) but never mention it again…?
You should also talk about how the lyrics aren’t always seen as effective by themselves without the context of the video or the superbowl performance for the necessary imagery. Standalone, the song is almost another ego hype. Does that weaken her song as an object of protest?
I think with the above comments, your paper will be solid.
Personal comments: I’ll be honest, I felt like there was some bitterness in your tone from the get-go (that title, for example), which invoked strong emotional responses from me (like some serious side-eye) that I tried to leave out on account that this assignment is about improving your writing, but maybe being more objective/neutral and analyzing the object for what it is, a commentary on the state of affairs for the Black community in America, instead of how you, as a white Beyoncé fan, felt about it…
Delete