Music Video AnalysisBeyonce – if I were a boy

If I were a boy..

If I Were a Boy is a song recorded by Beyonce for her third album, ’I Am Sasha Fierce’."If I Were a Boy" is a pop introspective ballad which draws influences from folk rock through its instrumentation of which includes acoustic guitars, drums and strings. The song's lyrics lament the misunderstandings between the genders and indict the male side of relationships.

Genre

If I were a boy is a slow pop song. Typical of many slow pop songs "If I were a boy" is a love song. The Music video is in black and white. This creates a different atmosphere as it emphasises Beyonce’s feelings of sorrow, sadness and dissatisfaction. The locations used are the home e.g. the bedroom and kitchen. Kitchens are more associated with women while bedrooms are more for men. However the role is swapped as the male is seen doing feminine activities such as cooking.

Narrative

Beyonce challenges conventions as she acts as the guy ,the one who wears the pants. Throughout the music video Beyonce puts herself in her boyfriends shoes so he could feel the pain. However at the end of the music video it comes back to reality. Beyonce takes a stereotypical male role as a policeman and challenges the common conventions of male role models in music videos. In the music video it portrays men as emotionless and more concerned with their jobs and work life than their partners. This is shown through scenes such as where he purposely misses his partners calls.

Voyeurism

Even though Beyonce plays a male role in the music video, Her sexuality is still explored. In these two cases there is evidence of the male gaze being adopted, as the camera lingers over her body. This is done to get the male audiences attention and also down to show even though she is playing a male role she is still sexy. This reinforces the fact that females are seen as sexual objects satisfying the needs of men.

Demand for close ups

I decided to compare these two close up shots. The first close up is right at the beginning of the music video. Beyonce’s facial expression connotes aggression and no emotion, which emphasises her male role in the music video. In the second shot at the end of the music video it shows her crying ,this is a powerful close up as it suggests that women are weak and emotional compared to men.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. An example of this is at the beginning, when the lyrics starts Beyonce says ‘If I were a boy, even just for a day’ .we then see Beyonce in the kitchen while her husband makes breakfast as she is getting ready for work. This emphasises patriarchy still exists as women are seen as the passive homemakers while the men go out and work. The second shot shows Beyonce practising her shooting as she is police woman. However while this is shown the lyrics ‘Cause I know how it hurts’ may suggest that this is the way she deals with her relationship issues.

Intertextuality

The music video flows the same conventions seen in typical American movies of policemen. For example the way they dress,(sunglasses and hat).The two main characters who always work hand in hand to try and solve crime.