Summary
In Beyoncé's song "Formation," the themes she aims to convey include self-confidence, power, success, black culture, and women's empowerment. These resonated strongly with my initial impressions of the song and video, as I immediately noticed abundant displays of self-assurance and elements of black culture in the song. Throughout the lyrics in this song, Beyoncé exclaims power and success, as evident in lines such as "You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation" and "Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper." Additionally, she intertwines her personal heritage into the song as well when lyrics such as "My daddy Alabama, momma Louisiana" and "Earned all this money, but never take the country out me." Director Matsoukas is also noted to have assisted Beyoncé in effectively communicating these messages and themes in this song through the use of symbolism, employing elements such as colors, clothing, camera angles, and visual cues to convey their intended message to the audience alongside the overall lyrics. Beyoncé's inclusion of emotive language, such as "I got hot sauce in my bag, swag," and other similar lines serves to illustrate how she carries a piece of her culture with her at all times and has done throughout her career and lifestyle.
