When analyzing the content of Beyonce’s song, formation, there were two common themes throughout the song, feminism and race. For many years now, Beyonce has been whitewashed by the media, but this song is allowed Beyonce to take back her salient identity, let people know that she is proud of who she is and she is not afraid to tell anyone.
The two common themes that I have identified in the song Formation are feminism and race. First is feminism.
As a self-proclaimed Feminist, Beyonce is proud to be a woman. In this song, she discusses non-conventional gender roles in her marriage. One of the first examples in the song, is the second line of Beyonce singing, “Paparazzi, catch my fly and my cocky fresh”. This lyric is saying that they should be looking at her confidence (cocky fresh). Two examples that fit the same mold are, “I’m so possessive so I rock his rock necklaces” and “When he fuck me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster, ‘cause I slay”. Both of these lines are embodying feminism because they are …show more content…
Golly, look at that water, boy, oh lord.” This is a clear statement that backlash and moral panic is inevitable. When Formation was released, this song created moral panic throughout the country and as well as with her following, the Beyhive. One of the first lines of the song is all about reclaiming her identity as a proud African American woman. This created a moral panic because of the identity the media has assigned Beyonce. In the media, Beyonce has been consistently whitewashed for two reasons, her looks. Beyonce’s light, caramel colored skin and her blonde hair has allowed the media to not acknowledge her true race, and to see her as “white”. One of the main signs of moral panic was brought to the media from Saturday Night Live. When the song was released, the comedians released a sketch that mocked the moral panic of white America realizing that Beyonce is black. Due to the moral panic created, the feminist message is not as talked about as Beyonce declaring her identity to the world. I think the most important message of this piece is reclaiming her salient identity as a black woman. Beyonce knew this was not going to receive only positive feedback from her audience, but it got the attention Beyonce aimed