In the music video, we see New Orleans, covered with water showing the disasters of Hurricane Katrina, yet we see the residents pushing through the tragedy. In the video we see them shopping, celebrating Mardi Gras, going to church, and eating. Through this action, they send the message that no matter what the catastrophe is, they, the African American residents of New Orleans, and the United States citizens will be there and persevere. Matsuoka states “I wanted it to be a police car to show that they hadn’t really shown up for us [African Americans]”. This was said about the scene of Beyonce dancing on top of a police cruiser, a scene that had caused controversy as well as two other scenes. The scene of the young boy dancing in front of a row of police then followed by a shot of graffiti writing “Stop shooting us”. A lot of people made the assumption that Beyonce was anti-police because of this, and was using her fame and popularity to spread anti-police.
Another message that wasn’t conveyed in the music video but more in the lyrics was “Ya’ll haters corny with that Illuminati mess”. Here she uses dysphemism to criticize her haters by using the word ‘corny’ to emphasize that this isn’t her first time hearing people say she got her fame due to her being in the ‘secret society’ and that those who don’t like her or her music should come up with a better insult or comeback. They try to undermine her hard work and success by claiming it wouldn’t be possible for her to be famous without their help.
Looking at another lyric we see “Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation, ’cause I slay. Prove to me you got some coordination, ’cause I slay. Slay trick, or you get eliminated”. She uses emotive language, a positive emotion by using the words ‘I slay’. Originally the word slay used to mean killing a foe in a violent matter, but as time moved on it’s changed to mean you are killing a look or a job it became something more positive. This line is a message to women more specifically African American women that they need to support each other. If every woman worked together in, formation, they could create beautiful work and get ahead in the game. There is another message to be received here, not sure if it was intentional, however, you can hear “Okay ladies now let’s get information” telling her followers, her women to get educated if they wish to succeed in life and not get left behind or ‘eliminated’. It could also work as telling women to get information on their spouses to see if they are having an affair. Matsouka did say “She wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love and what it has done to the black family… and Black men and women how we’re almost socialized not to be together”.
The song had also received controversy due to her representation of women in power, more specifically, African American women. There were scenes of her and other women in all-white dresses, fanning themselves in what seemed to be the library of a plantation house. Many may not know this but back in the day, people wore the color white to show they had wealth. They had the money to clean their white clothes frequently, they had so much money they didn’t need to do chores or tasks that could dirty their clothes. This caused controversy because, in the early days of America, the women who were seen would be working in the fields making the individuals in the house the income they show off, so switching the roles had upset many people.
