Summary
1. Some of the themes Beyoncé wanted to highlight in the song were black rights, racial issues and the status of women in politics. The song embodies Beyoncé's attitude of working for her dreams, pride in her black heritage, and affirmation of feminism. It also expresses her dissatisfaction with the unfair treatment of people of color because of their skin color and other reasons，and the unfair enforcement of the law by the police.
2. These themes are similar to my initial reaction because of its lyrics. I can feel that she is very proud of her birth and her black skin，this can be reflected in the lyrics, such as “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana, You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama. I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros, I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils”.
3. Matsoukas designed a scene about Beyonce performing in a police car that sank into the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina, a scene that implied that because it was a person of color, the police did not take any action to save them.
In the video, Matsoukas filmed a group of black women dancing, confidently showing off their healthy black skin and beautiful body lines. As the lyrics say, "cause I slay".
4. I think the lyrics and video use euphemism and irony as rhetorical devices. She ironically refers to white people as albino alligators, and euphemistically talks about the unfair behavior of white people towards people of color.
5. Race has always been a contentious issue in the world, from the Atlantic slave trade, to the white police brutality enforcement incident in May 2020. This means that the issue of race has never been fully ended and there are still people who treat different people with different attitudes based on their race, color, and other factors. The song is not only about race but also about the problems between blacks and police, which is seen as controversial because Beyoncé is sending out anti-police thoughts. However, in my opinion, Beyoncé is trying to encourage everyone to treat all people of color equally and to have a peace and love environment.
