music video 1

Beyoncé’s music video for ‘Run the World (Girls)’ is a hybrid of narrative and performance style. The

video uses Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements in order to enhance the viewer’s experience and convey

the message of the song. The main themes of the video are feminism and female empowerment,

and these are expressed strongly through the five elements: characters, narrative events,

iconography, setting and technical and audio codes.

Characters are used in the music video in order to add to the narrative aspe ct of the video, and also

performance. Beyoncé herself is the star of the video and is the only recognizable actress. The

moves the focus solely onto her and also allows us to appreciate the huge cast of other dancers who

accompany Beyoncé in her performance. All of the female characters are represented as strong

women who behave like soldiers at war. The women all stand straight in uniform lines in the form of

a ‘female army’ and even salute. This representation breaks the stereotype of women in music

videos, linking back to the themes of feminism and empowerment. It may be argued that in this

video, the women take on the persona of a stereotypical male, with themes of strength and

dominance. This role reversal is effective as it emphasise the women’s strength as they stand against

the ‘male army’.

The narrative aspect is displayed through a story, consisting of Beyoncé’s army of women standing

up against an army of men. Various scenes of the two groups standing up against one another occur

throughout the video. The music video follows a nonlinear narrative, as various scenes are cut

together randomly. Some scenes are arguably conceptual, such as scenes including Beyoncé holding

wild animals by chains or Beyoncé standing in front of an exploding car. Other scenes such as

Beyoncé fighting against the male army dressed as riot police follow the storyline that the women

are at war with the men. The random structure to the video arguably makes the video more exciting

and engaging as the audience have new and different scenes to experience all the time.

Iconography is arguably the most extensively used element in the music video. The video uses grand

and extravagant props in order to make the video appear to be epic and impressive. For example,

Beyoncé enters the video on a huge horse which rears against the sunset. Other animals such as

wolves and bulls are included to make the video seem almost like a Hollywood film due its

extravagance. Beyoncé also stands next to a lion, which has connotations with dominance, power

and pride, all of which link to the message behind the video. The costumes worn by the characters

also have various connotations. The female characters wear brightly coloured dresses and

accessories where the men wear all black and carry riot shields, connoting conflict and violence.

Other epic yet violent imagery such as exploding cars and fire are again all stereotypical of the male,

action thriller genre which Beyoncé attempts to break down by using these themes in a feminist

video.

The setting used in the video is a vast and desolate desert space. The setting is arguably similar to a

warzone, which links to the narrative of the video. Some of the performance shots seem to filmed in

a sort of temple, with huge brick columns. Both of these huge settings link to the epic nature of the

video. Shots include images of mountains, sunsets, fire and burnt trees. The mise en scene of the

setting also suggest that the video is filmed in an area of conflict, again adding to the masculine

imagery of the video.

Camera use is effective in the video to help establish themes. Many of the shots in the video are

wide-angled long shots which are used either to establish setting or to show the performance

element of the group of dancers. Many of the shots including Beyoncé and the group of women are

long shots which fit their entire bodies from head to toe. These shots are also often shot either at

eye level or from below, displaying the female dominance in the video. Editing is used effectively in

order to fit the tempo of the song, where the beat or change in rhythm replaces the need for SFX or

diegetic sound. Fast cut edits are used between different scenes in order to build momentum and

excitement in the video. Longer cuts are used during the performance scenes so that the viewer can

watch the dancing without any distraction, therefore displaying the talent in the video. One scene of

Beyoncé also uses a fast cut edit with a strobe light effect, in which Beyoncé’s close up is cut with an

all-black screen. This effect is disorientating and enhances the viewing experience for the audience.

High key lighting is used on the women in the video in order to connote their power and strength in

the sequence, linking to the feminist message behind the video.

In conclusion, Beyonces music video for ‘Run the World’ effectivley uses Lacey’s Repotoire of

Elements in order to convey the key messages and themes of the song and video, including

feminism, female strength and empowerment. By using narrative structure in order to establish a

story of female uprising against a male army and iconography and characters in order to enhance

this sequence with performance, the video successfully conveys this idea by linking back to the song

and its lyrics.