Product ResearchAmy Brackenridge

Music Video Analysis: Beyoncé ‘Run the World’

The music video for Beyoncé’s 2011 single ‘Run the World’ is a narrative video, which depicts some form of battle/war between the two sexes. The narrative of the video is elliptical and non-linear, with certain pieces of information missing for the audience to fill in, also known as the theory ‘enigma code’ as defined by the theorist Roland Barthes. This is a highly conventional narrative style for music videos, as it leaves the audience questioning what has happened and encourages them to continue watching. In this particular video, we are unsure why the two sexes are at war with each other and whether or not it was resolved. The video could also be considered to be conceptual, as the literal battle that is going on could be a metaphor for the social battle between the sexes. In terms of the stages of equilibrium, the video does not follow conventions, as from the start the equilibrium is disrupted therefore starting at Stage 2. However, at the end of the video this disruption is resolved as the battle comes to an end and the females win.

In terms of characters in this video there are two army’s; male vs. female. The representation of each side differs slightly, as the males appear extremely violence and aggressive, as there are many shots of them carrying weapons (shields, batons, guns) and they are wearing all black. Whereas the female side appear far for calm and collected, they are dressed in much more glamorous and regal clothing. This suggests that the female side are of a higher class to the male side, which is quite an unusual gender representation for music videos. This clear difference in the representation of the two genders can be seen in the screenshots below. Beyoncé, like in many of her other videos, plays the main character in the video, as the leader of the female side. It is possible she is the Queen, as in many shots she is wearing a crown. The overall style of Beyoncé’s performance and attitude in this video is very strong and independent, which gives quite an unconventional representation of women, as it is promoting the idea of female empowerment. This is something which has become increasingly popular in contemporary media, due to mainstream artists like Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus.

A high frequency of iconography related to the theme of war and violence is included in this video, in order to establish the theme clearly. In the opening shots we see propaganda posters, flags and fires burning, all of which suggests there has been some kind of violence. The use of wild animals in the video also promotes the theme of violence, in a number of shots the artist, Beyoncé, is stood next to lions and bulls, also in the opening shot we see her riding a horse. The costumes worn by the females in the video, particularly Beyoncé, include a lot of red and gold colours, which commonly symbolises wealth and power, again emphasising the females being of a higher class than the male side. This conforms to Levi Strauss’ theory of opposition, as there is a clear contrast between the wealth and the poor.

Product ResearchAmy Brackenridge

The setting of the music video also adds to the theme of war. The entire video is set in a desserted area, away from civilisation, this can be seen in the screen shots below. The setting helps add to the narrative of the story, as it suggests the female army are there to reclaim the land they lost. At one point in the video, there is a shot of Beyonce standing on a burnt out car, which furhter emphasises the idea of female empowerment, as she is stood above everyone else.

In terms of the cinematography of this music video there are a wide range of different camera techniques being used, in order to make the video visually interesting. At the start of the video there is a long sequence of quick establishing shots in order to determine the location and theme of the video; these shots include images of war posters, fires, wild animals. There is also an extreme close up of Beyoncé towards the start of the video, which is in slow motion, and is done to establish her as the main character of the video. In this particular shot, direct mode of address is used to engage the viewer and it marks the official beginning of the video, as at this point the lyrics begin. Through out the video, a hand held camera technique is used to create an unsteady, disrupted atmosphere, which fits well with the theme of war and violence. There are also a high frequency of mid-shots used in the video, in order to capture the dance sequences effectively.

Overall, the music video for ‘Run the World’ does break conventions slightly through it’s representation of the female gender. In the video, the idea of female empowerment is emphasised greatly through the theme of war and Beyoncé’s fierce, aggressive attitude in the video. Therefore, the needs of the target audience for this video have been met, as this is the type of video we would expect Beyoncé to produce, as she is known for her strong views on gender equality and female empowerment.