BEYONCE I AM ….SASHA FIERCE ‘ If I Were A Boy ’ …

1. BEYONCE I AM….SASHA FIERCE ‘If I Were A Boy’…

2. Artist & Marketing This video is important for the artist as it aims to show her more emotional and vulnerable side. To do this she is marketed in such a way that shows the audience that she is ‘just like them’. In this video ‘If I Were a Boy’ she is portrayed to have very simplistic and neutral makeup, a simple hairstyle and wearing common clothes such as the NYPD uniform that shows that she works for her living. This is an effort to cultivate a new image as the video attempts to introduce to the audience that the artist has two different personalities, Beyonce and Sasha Fierce. The I am Beyonceside of side of the album, shows us that she is ‘an extremely sensitive human being who gets scared and nervous and who's feelings get hurt just like everyone else and [she] wanted to show that’ on this side of the album. The songs on this side are very personal and are written to try and relate to her target audience. Sasha Fierce is her alto. This is who she becomes when she is on stage performing the songs on this album with full exaggerated hairstyles, make up and is bombarded with the glamorous lifestyle that celebrities are usually associated with. This is the complete opposite to the I am Beyonce side. The contrast on the album plays a huge part in way she is marketed as for each side of the album she is portrayed in different ways.

3. Representation As the music video utilises a strong narrative which is clearly evident from beginning to end, the artist has taken a different direction in terms of how she is represented. Over the past few years in her career, Beyonce has tried to establish herself as a serious actress in the industry and so her role within the video tries to implement one of her many talents as an artist. One of the main priorities of a music video is to promote the artist and of course the song that accompanies it. Throughout the video, Beyonce presumes herself to playing a serious role which is much different to how she is normally portrayed; revealing outfits, various dance routines, a range of different hair and makeup styles etc. However, here all these elements are kept to a minimal in order to adhere to the R’n’B/Pop genre for a ballad.

4. Continued Whether Beyonce is featured in a magazine, film, music video, awards ceremony etc. the artist is always portrayed as having flawless beauty and of course, sex appeal. It is interesting to note that even as she takes on the role of playing a female police officer, her outfit is still tight fitted to highlight her figure. This shows the audience that the artist can pull off almost anything and still manages to keep up her appearance regardless of the role she undertakes. Also, even composition makes a significance on how the artist is represented. For example the image on the right shows Beyonce in a centralised position at a certain distance from her colleagues which makes her appear to stand out from everyone else. This gives the impression that it is almost as thought she is taking centre stage.

5. Song This particular song if I were a boy is from disc 1 ‘I am’. It was released so that it could give the audience an insight of the type of songs that will be on the I am… side of the album. This song is not a typical break up song as it focuses more about what some boys do in relationships and how girls are mistreated. The video has a strong correlation to the song lyrics; a concrete interpretation is used to show the relationship of the lyrics to the video itself. For example ‘ if I were a boy even just for a day’ cross gender is used here as she plays the role of her husband throughout the video. The lyrics talk about what boys do while their in a relationship, such as ‘drink beer with the guys…chase after girls’.This is shown while she is at work with her colleague in the NYPD as she is constantly flirting with him and forming a close relationship which her partner is unaware of. ‘I would switch off my phone, tell everyone its broken so they’d think that I was sleeping alone..’ This is revealed in the video as she is seen constantly ignoring calls from her partner and whilst in the presence of her colleague, she is also shown dancing with him until she gets caught and confronted by him. The characters switch roles and it is made known that Beyonce had been acting out her partners day and how he mistreats her ‘You don’t listen to her, you don’t care how it hurts until you lose the one you wanted ‘cause your taking her for granted… but your just a boy’. The video ends with the couple acting out their real roles in life. This video shows a strong relationship between the lyrics of the song and what is conveyed in the video.

6. Narrative The video “If were a boy” has a strong narrative. Beyonce Knowles is portrayed as an NYPD officer for the majority of the video. The song starts as her partner prepares breakfast and Beyonce takes off. It later shows Beyonce on patrol with her male colleague. Beyonce and her colleague form a close relationship throughout the song. Her partner is unaware and is singled out since she constantly ignores his calls while she is out. She is then shown at a party dancing with him and is eventually caught and confronted. Towards the end of the video the characters switch roles and it is revealed that Beyonce had been acting out her partner’s day and how he mistreats her. The video ends with a cross cut where the couple now acting out their real roles in reality which gives the audience a chance to see both sides of the story.

7. Form & Style The length of the video is 5:19 this is quite long for a video but as it’s telling a story more time is needed to covey the meaning of the song. The structure of this video has been made obvious for the audience to understand its implications. The lyrics may be confusing for the some people so it aims to portray a direct visual interpretation of the lyrics for the audience to identify with. There are many stylistic decisions made for this video, the whole video is set in black and white. Black and white is usually associated with the past it also adds to the simplicity as that is the look she is going for. As this video is telling a story I think the decision of black and white was made as she is acting out her husbands life and how she would act if she were a boy so for the male audience after watching this video it should be a message that this should become a thing of the past.

8. Ideology/ Genre Beyonce plays a role whereby she takes on the daily routine of her partner until of course we find that halfway through a climatic, post-party argument, the tables turn have turned and Beyonce is in fact the neglected half of the duo whilst on the other hand, her partner is the insensitive one. The ideological message within the video isn’t so much underlying. The video masquerades the empowerment on gender roles within relationships and how people can be manipulated in these positions. The video tries to show that anyone within a relationship can be taken for granted and that perhaps, if people were more considerate of their loved one’s feelings and were careful with their own actions, hurting them emotionally can inevitably be avoided. As an artist, Beyonce Knowles has always been primarily established as an R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. Occasionally however, Beyonce has always put forward several tracks that can be categorised into the pop genre. The song ‘If I were a boy’ adheres to the musical genre because as the song is relatively a medium paced ballad, it takes advantage of promoting the artist to target a varied target audience which allows the music video to be promoted on several music channels.

9. Cinematography (Opening of video) In terms of sound, when the male character says ‘you’ Beyonce’s voice is layered in the background and the same is repeated when she says ‘me’. Immediately a long shot is used on the artist as we take note of her facial expressions. The effect this has on the audience is to give the impression that they are both talking to each other during a crucial moment and highlights the fact that the couple represent a unity. The artist and male actor are featured standing in front of a white bricked wall. This particular colour has connotations of purity and innocence and is significant because it could imply to the audience that their status together as a couple is in a vulnerable state.

10. Continued There is a high angle shot of Beyonce walking down the stairs which gives the audience a clear perspective of the environment she is in. As she walks into her kitchen towards a table prepared with breakfast this shows the audience how her day initiates and therefore allows us to see how a day in her life as a police officer progresses . This is followed by a mid shot of her partner looking up at her; showing his vulnerable facial expression, as she has very sharp body movements around the kitchen. The camera position seems to outline who has power in the relationship because he is looking up towards her rather than at the same level. Beyonce therefore appears to be more superior to the audience. A mid shot is used showing Beyonce leaving the house as she puts on her sunglasses. This then becomes a low angle shot of her walking down several steps. The combination of the low angle shot and mid shot shows the audience her role in the video, which is a policewoman part of the NYPD. This is also revealed by her clothing which is her work uniform. Again, by implementing the use of a low angle shot, this shows the audience that the artist upholds the power within her relationship as well as her profession.

11. Continued A continuous shot is used when she enters the police car in order to show the movement from her apartment to the start of her daily routine as she sets off for work. This is then followed by a two shot of the artist and her male colleague who awaits her. Throughout the video, it makes use of a number of two shots because it shows the transition between the relationships of certain characters and how they interact with each other. For example, with Beyonce and her colleague in the vehicle, you can see how well they get along and this implies to the audience that perhaps the artist is being deceitful and unfaithful. The choice of her colleague would be an important decision for the producer to make because he is clearly charming and slightly cunning when he welcomes the artist into the car; especially with a grin across his face. Again, this gives a hint to the audience that there might be a possible relationship between them being more than just friends/colleagues. A two shot is taken from behind the driver and passenger seat as they receive an emergency call. As the shot is taken from behind, this makes the audience feel part of the chase and the action which soon unfolds. Immediately, this cross cuts to the camera being fixed onto the front of the car as we get a clear view of what is happening inside. The shaky effect also adds a sense of urgency to the audience as we are made to believe that the car is moving at a constantly high speed.

12. Continued There is a mid shot of beyonce with all the other officers in the street, this shot shows Beyonce being part of a team and work force; showing the audience that she belongs to a collective group. A long shot is then taken of Beyonce’s partner at his work desk which gives a chance for the audience to see what environment he is in. This then proceeds to an over the shoulder shot as he looks down to view his laptop. The website that he views seems to suggest to the audience that he is shopping online for jewelry; presumably a wedding ring which therefore shows his intentions to marry. However, the close up of his facial expressions seem to show doubt and uncertainty to make a firm decision. A close up is used showing Beyonce training at a shooting range with her colleague. The use of diagetic sound emphasises the intense and dangerous programme they both go through to the audience and as this becomes a two shot of her trying to help him aim at the board, this implies their close relationship because of their intimate body language.

13. Continued The camera zooms in through a glared glass window of a restaurant/bar until it focuses and becomes clearer to show the artist at a table surrounded by other work colleagues. Here, this almost makes the audience feel as though were spying on the artist because whilst she’s out enjoying herself with company, her partner is far from happy. This cross cuts several times back and forth to close ups of her partner trying to get into contact with her. The close ups show the male character to be genuinely concerned about where and who she is with and immediately, we can see that there is a strain on the couples relationship who don’t seem to be communicating well. A long shot is used to show Beyonce and her colleague dancing at a party. As this takes place, her partner watches from a distance and an eye line match is used to show what he sees. The effect this has on the audience is that it tries to put us in this same position and feel betrayed if we caught our partner dancing intimately with someone else. Before the main digression takes place in the apartment, the screen turns completely black in order to show that something important is about to follow. As the dialogue takes places, the transition between the two changes at a fast pace and this is emphasised by an unusual sound in the background. As the characters switch roles, Beyonce who was once the person who upheld power over her partner, has now become inferior and this is pointed out to the audience as she is positioned lower on a chair. The close up of the artist with a tearful eye shows the audience the extent of how emotionally she has been abused in her relationship. The shot eventually fades to show the audience the reality of the narrative which is her partner being the police officer who flirts with his female colleague.

14. Makeup/Costume/Lighting/Setting Beyonce’s makeupin this video is very natural because she is portraying a male character. Her hair is tied back into a bun which is done to convey the character to appear more subtle and blend in more with the male officers. When the video crosscuts back to her being her self in the video she has her long hair flowing down highlighting her femininity and still has very natural make up. In terms of lighting, it is generally low key throughout and as the video is completely black and whitethe contrast is bright in order to create a subtle and heart felt ambience. There are several different settings used in the video: the apartment, police car, office, street, restaurant and party. All of the above settings help to illustrate and reinforce the purpose of the narrative which is to show how Beyonce and her character lead very different lives in terms of their different jobs and the people they are surrounded by. The costume in this video is really simple. Beyonce has three main costumes, her NYPD uniform her long black dress at the party scene and her tailored suit. The video has a strong narrative so there’s really no need for the artist to have fancy clothes on in every scene which the audience would be used to seeing. The video sticks mainly to the NYPD uniform in order to emphasise the different role she is playing.

15. Institutional Contexts This music video promo would be shown on channels such as MTV, KISS, MTV BASE, THE HITS, FLAVA etc. apart from classic and rock music channels this is because it fits into the other genres of music. It would also get more than regular peak time play, as it is a very popular music video coming from such a well established and influential artist; Beyonce. This music video is important to the record company because it is promoting the song to a wide range of audience’s and is also promoting the album showing the audience the type of material that the artist is producing