Summary
The messages and themes that Beyonce seems to be expressing through the song and video are mainly her reclaiming, or rather asserting her black identity in the face of critics who see her as having sold out or become the white mainstream. In the song and video Beyonce very strongly objects to being characterized as the “illuminati” whom conspiracy theorists characterize as the hidden powers-that-be that surreptitiously control the world. Beyonce hits back and discredits those who attempt to discredit her by characterizing her as illuminati, as being “albino alligators.” In the song and video, Beyonce gives the message that rather than being a sell-out or a puppet of the supposed illuminati powers, she represents her black heritage strongly and is fully aware of who she is and where she has come from as a black woman. Beyonce takes a strong tone in the song as she uses strong language to assert herself as being powerful due to representing herself as a black woman.
In the video Matsoukas helps Beyonce convey the message of her black identity by interspersing clips of Beyonce with those of black heritage. For instance, Beyonce is seen happily driving in a car and putting her head out of the car window with her hair in braids. There are images of black basketball players. There are also clips that seem to show Beyonce in the American south, to indicate her celebration of her Southern Heritage as in the song she says that her parents are from Alabama and Louisiana. In the part of the song where Beyonce is dancing with black women in a “formation,” the attractive women are shown with their hair in its natural state, which comes across as their embracing their natural hair as attractive, and thus embracing their black identity. The video also argues that Beyonce has not abandoned her black heritage after gaining mainstream celebrity as she is shown supporting the black lives matter movement where some clips show her languidly lying down on a police car that is sinking in water.
A powerful example of a rhetorical device is the use of the phrase “I like my negro nose.” The term “negro nose” is a rhetorical device, more precisely a dysphemism that portrays something in a negative manner. However, Beyonce turns this negative term on its head by portraying it as something positive as she negates the dysphemism by stating that she likes her “negro nose.” She thus shatters and neutralizes the negative power of the dysphemism by transforming it into a positive emotive word as she associates that term “negro nose” with her proudly reclaiming her black identity and thus the term “negro nose” becomes a term of pride. A use of hyperbole is the word “slay.” Beyonce is not literally killing people, which is what slay means. This word is used as a hyperbole to indicate that Beyonce is mesmerizing people and prevails over her critics and haters who mischaracterize her.
A likely reason why the video became controversial is that it shows Beyonce languidly resting on a police car as it sinks. The unlawful killings of black people by the police are currently a polarizing political issue, which has divided people into two camps, with one camp calling for the powers of police to be taken away and another camp wanting the police to retain their powers. Beyonce wades into this highly divisive and polarizing political issue by letting her stance towards the police be openly known as she shows a police car sinking under her weight representing the weight of black people.
