Ruth Andrusier Conversation 2

Summary

I believe Beyonce’s song “Formation” is about black marriages, black female empowerment, and police brutality. I do not remember my initial reaction to her song, but when I watched it over, what stood out to me the most was how she seemed like she was struggling to be black and wealthy. “Earned all this money, but they never take the country out me.” This line made me think she’s struggling with being black and wealthy because I believe that when people say a positive remark and follow it up with something that is usually bad, it’s a sign that even though they have the positive thing, they can’t believe that the negative thing is still true. When I read the word, they in that lyric, I right away thought she was talking about the money. That even though she makes all this money, all people see her as, is black. Matsoukas helped Beyonce convey this message by putting in lots of elaborate clothes and properties that resonate with black history and simultaneously showing less fortunate black people. One example of emotive language in the song is the line “Paparazzi, catch my fly and my cocky fresh” which is meant to evoke Beyonce’s style and confidence in her appearance. An example of a rhetorical device is the line, “I twirl on them haters, albino alligators.” Specifically, this is an example of hyperbole because Beyonce isn’t actually speaking to real alligators but to people who share qualities with them. I think the video became controversial because Beyonce is singing about how she’s still black even though she’s wealthy, I believe people need to count their blessings because unfortunately not many people are in her place of wealth, yet she is still complaining.