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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
#REDIRECT [[Formation (song)]]
{{Infobox film
| italic_title = no
| name = {{noitalic|"Formation"}}
| image =
| caption = Beyoncé standing in front of a [[plantation house]] wearing a black wide-brimmed hat
| director = [[Melina Matsoukas]]
| producer =
| starring = {{ubl|[[Beyoncé]]|[[Big Freedia]] (voice only)|[[Messy Mya]] (voice only)}}
| studio =
| released = {{Film date|2016|02|06|mf=y}} <small>(premiere)</small>
| runtime = {{Duration|m=4|s=47}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| music = Beyoncé
}}

The '''music video''' for American singer [[Beyoncé]]'s 2016 single "'''[[Formation (song)|Formation]]'''" was directed by [[Melina Matsoukas]]. It was filmed over the span of two days in [[Los Angeles, California]]. The video premiered on February 6, 2016, alongside the song's debut exclusively on [[Tidal (service)|Tidal]]. The video was also uploaded to Beyoncé's official YouTube channel unlisted, meaning this prevented the music video from being accessed by search functionalities, with viewers needing to access the video via Beyoncé's official website.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 17, 2016|title=The Beyoncé video for 'Formation' is still unlisted on YouTube|url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/beyonce-formation-video-unlisted-youtube/|access-date=March 22, 2021|website=The Daily Dot}}</ref>

The video begins with Beyoncé crouching on top of a New Orleans [[Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor|police interceptor]], which is partially submerged in floodwaters. As the video progresses, the car gradually sinks into the water. Another set of scenes portray Beyoncé as the mistress of an all-black household in a Southern plantation-style house, reclaiming the legacy of slavery in the South. Beyoncé and her dancers perform in an empty swimming pool in another scene. Beyoncé is later depicted standing in front of a plantation house with a black wide-brimmed hat covering her eyes. In another scene, a man can be seen holding a newspaper titled ''The Truth'' with an image of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] on the front page. The last sequence depicts a young boy in a hoodie dancing in front of a line of police officers in riot gear. When the boy holds up his hands, the officers reciprocate the gesture. The video cuts to a wall graffitied with the phrase: "Stop shooting us", echoing the demand of the Black Lives Matter movement for reform in [[Police reform in the United States|policing]] and [[Criminal justice reform in the United States|criminal justice]].<ref name=":21" /><ref name="npr.org">{{Cite web|title=With 'Formation,' Beyoncé Lights Up The Internet. Here's What People Are Saying|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/07/465934070/with-formation-beyonc-lights-up-the-internet-heres-what-people-are-saying|access-date=April 16, 2021|publisher=NPR}}</ref>

The music video caused controversy from conservative figures, law enforcement organizations and social media users over perceived anti-police, anti-American and racist messages, including the [[National Sheriffs' Association]], [[Internet Research Agency]], and the [[Government of Canada]]. It won the [[Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video]] and [[MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year]], among various other accolades.{{external media|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCHz1gwzTo Formation (Explicit)] (4:52)|width=210px|float=right}}

==Development==
[[File:Fenyes Estate 13.JPG|thumb|left|226x226px|The [[Fenyes Estate]] was used as a filming location due to its resemblance to a New Orleans plantation house]]
Beyoncé approached [[Melina Matsoukas]] to direct the accompanying music video for "Formation" a few weeks before its release. After Matsoukas agreed to direct the video, Beyoncé invited Matsoukas to her house in Los Angeles and explained the concept behind ''Lemonade''. They also discussed Beyoncé's family history, the South, and New Orleans. Matsoukas explained how she treats the videos she directs "like a thesis project", spending hours browsing art books, magazines, and websites. For the "Formation" video, she found ideas in the work of [[Toni Morrison]], [[Maya Angelou]], and [[Octavia E. Butler|Octavia Butler]]. Matsoukas conceived scenes featuring events from throughout black history, including [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]], [[Mardi Gras]] parades and the [[1992 Los Angeles riots|Rodney King protests]]. Matsoukas told ''[[The New Yorker]]'': "I wanted to show — this is black people. We triumph, we suffer, we're drowning, we're being beaten, we're dancing, we're eating, and we're still here".<ref name=":16">{{Cite magazine|title=The Provocateur Behind Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Issa Rae|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/the-provocateur-behind-beyonce-rihanna-and-issa-rae|access-date=February 28, 2017|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> She wrote out a treatment at 2&nbsp;am and sent it to Beyoncé at 5 or 6&nbsp;am, thinking that Beyoncé would reply later in the day. However, Beyoncé responded immediately and asked to discuss it further.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Morris|first=Wesley|date=December 28, 2016|title=Melina Matsoukas Touched Nerves From Behind the Camera|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/arts/music/melina-matsoukas-beyonce-formation-interview.html|access-date=March 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

One set for the video was the [[Fenyes Estate]], which was used due to its resemblance to New Orleans [[plantation house]]s. To evoke a [[Southern Gothic]] aesthetic, production designer [[Ethan Tobman]] and his crew decorated rooms with vintage plantation-era rugs and furniture, while adding [[Hurricane shutter|storm shutters]], [[Spanish moss]], ivy, and wisteria to the building's exterior. Matsoukas wanted to include [[French Renaissance]]-style portraits of black subjects in the house, with the aim of subverting traditional power dynamics by portraying a plantation house where the black people are the masters and not the slaves. The crew looked for such portraits but found that none existed, so they painted black people over other portraits and hung them on the walls.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":20">{{Cite web|last=Sisson|first=Patrick|date=February 9, 2016|title=Beyoncé's 'Formation': How a Historic Pasadena Home Went Southern Gothic for This Year's Biggest Video|url=https://archive.curbed.com/2016/2/9/10953432/beyonce-formation-music-video-production-design|access-date=April 13, 2021|website=Curbed}}</ref>

The music video for "Formation" was shot in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]] over two days. [[Arthur Jafa]] was hired as camera operator; Jafa had been the cinematographer of ''[[Daughters of the Dust]]'', a 1991 film about [[Gullah]] women in South Carolina whose focus on black sisterhood is echoed throughout the "Formation" video. Matsoukas wanted to create a sense of verisimilitude in the video, shooting some scenes with a [[camcorder]] and others with a [[Bolex]] camera, the latter giving the scenes a grainy look resembling documentary footage.<ref name=":16" /> Matsoukas also used footage from ''That B.E.A.T.'', a 2014 documentary about bounce culture in New Orleans. The filmmakers of the documentary were alternately pleased with its inclusion and frustrated by their work being used as "just [[b-roll]] by someone else". A representative for Beyoncé told ''Entertainment Weekly'' that the documentary footage was used with permission and licensed from the owner of the footage, and that they were correctly compensated and credited.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|last1=Caramanica|first1=Jon|last2=Morris|first2=Wesley|last3=Wortham|first3=Jenna|date=February 7, 2016|title=Beyoncé in 'Formation': Entertainer, Activist, Both?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/arts/music/beyonce-formation-super-bowl-video.html|access-date=March 23, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Contrera|first=Jessica|title=Before Super Bowl halftime show, Beyoncé responds to accusations of plagiarism|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/02/07/before-super-bowl-halftime-show-beyonce-responds-to-accusations-of-plagiarism/|access-date=March 23, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
[[File:FEMA_-_17701_-_Photograph_by_Jocelyn_Augustino_taken_on_09-04-2005_in_Louisiana.jpg|thumb|226x226px|Some scenes in the video depict [[Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans|flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina]]]]
Matsoukas devised a scene of Beyoncé performing on top of a police car that slowly sinks into the floodwaters of [[Hurricane Katrina]]. This scene represented how the police "hadn't really shown up for us, and that we were still here on top, and that she was one with the people who had suffered".<ref name=":16" /> The scene was filmed on a soundstage with an artificial lake backed by a [[Chroma key|blue screen]], with oak trees, rooftops and cast iron gates added to the lake to provide realism. A series of pulleys and cables connected to a winch and a crane allowed Beyoncé and the police car to be repeatedly sunk into the water with controlled speed.<ref name=":20" /> The scene was filmed using one camera suspended by a crane on a barge and another camera that Matsoukas operated from a speedboat. Beyoncé's mother [[Tina Knowles|Tina Knowles-Lawson]] was scared because the water was cold and called Matsoukas saying "You're going to give her pneumonia, and she has to perform at the Super Bowl", however Beyoncé did not complain. Instead of ending the video with Beyoncé sinking into the water, Matsoukas wanted to use a more uplifting image. Looking through the footage, she found a shot of Beyoncé sitting in the plantation house making the "black-girl air grab". She placed this clip at the end of the video as an emphatic last gesture.<ref name=":16" />

==Synopsis and analysis==
The music video is set in New Orleans, exploring interpretations of the city's past, present and future [[Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans|in the wake of Hurricane Katrina]], in turn forming a celebration of [[black pride]] and resilience. It features rapidly edited scenes that depict the variety and heterogeneity of [[Black Southerners#Culture|black Southern culture]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ball|first=Kevin|date=2016|title=Beyoncé's "Formation"|journal=Film Criticism|volume=40|issue=3|doi=10.3998/fc.13761232.0040.309|hdl=2027/spo.13761232.0040.309|issn=2471-4364|doi-access=free}}</ref> This includes [[Mardi Gras in the United States|Mardi Gras]], [[black cowboys]], [[Stepping (African-American)|stepping]], wig shops, [[Crayfish as food|crawfish]], [[cotillion]]s,<ref name="guard" /> [[Grill (jewelry)|grills]], black preachers,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lampen|first=Claire|title=5 Moments From the "Formation" Video That Prove Beyoncé Is Woke AF|url=https://www.mic.com/articles/134572/5-moments-from-the-formation-video-that-prove-beyonc-is-woke-af|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=Mic}}</ref> [[Second line (parades)|second lines]], marching bands, bounce dancers,<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Robinson|first1=Zandria F.|date=February 8, 2016|title=Beyonce's Black Southern 'Formation'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beyonces-black-southern-formation-235827/|access-date=April 16, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> and traditional courtship and burial rituals.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} Beyoncé is seen embodying several archetypal Southern black women that span time, class, and space,<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 8, 2016|title=Beyonce's Super Bowl performance: Why was it so significant?|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35520636|access-date=April 16, 2021}}</ref> which [[Ryann Donnelly]] viewed as being nine distinct personas that recur throughout the video.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Donnelly|first=Ryann|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057778833|title=Justify my love : sex, subversion, and music video|date=2019|isbn=978-1-912248-41-4|location=London|oclc=1057778833}}</ref> The video modifies the song to include spoken interpolations from the New Orleans artist [[Big Freedia]] and the YouTube personality [[Messy Mya]], who was murdered in New Orleans in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Calvario|first1=Liz|date=August 29, 2016|title=MTV VMA 2016: Beyoncé Wins Best Direction for 'Formation'|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/vma-2016-beyonce-wins-best-direction-formation-mtv-video-music-awards-1201720811/|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=IndieWire}}</ref> Dance routines are performed throughout the video by Beyoncé accompanied by back-up dancers. Her daughter Blue Ivy Carter makes a cameo appearance,<ref name="pops">{{cite news|author=Sisavat, Monica|date=February 6, 2016|title=9 Celebrity Reactions That Perfectly Describe How You Felt When Beyoncé Dropped "Formation"|work=Pop Sugar|url=http://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Celebrity-Reactions-Beyonce-Formation-Music-Video-40090669#photo-40090669|access-date=February 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Helman|first=Peter|date=February 6, 2016|title=Beyoncé – "Formation" Video|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1857868/beyonce-formation-video/mp3s/|access-date=May 1, 2016|publisher=Stereogum}}</ref> sporting a natural afro.

The video begins with Beyoncé crouching on top of a New Orleans [[Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor|police interceptor]], which is partially submerged in floodwaters. As the video progresses, the car gradually sinks into the water.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abdurraqib|first=Hanif|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1158510350|title=A little devil in America : notes in praise of Black performance|date=2021|isbn=978-1-9848-0119-7|edition=First|location=New York|oclc=1158510350}}</ref> The scene forms a [[Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina|criticism of the police response to Hurricane Katrina]], which disproportionately affected people of color, while also acting as a symbol of rebirth.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The One Powerful Moment From Beyonce's "Formation" Music Video You Might Have Missed|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/140142-the-one-powerful-moment-from-beyonces-formation-music-video-you-might-have-missed|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=Bustle}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite journal|last=Hartmann|first=Johanna|date=December 22, 2017|title=Sound, Vision, and Embodied Performativity in Beyoncé Knowles' Visual Album Lemonade (2016)|url=http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12415|journal=European Journal of American Studies|volume=12|issue=12–4|doi=10.4000/ejas.12415|issn=1991-9336|doi-access=free}}</ref> An additional interpretation of this scene is that Beyoncé is invoking [[Mami Wata]], harnessing water as a force of life and destruction.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 12, 2016|title=New Collective Show Explores African Deity Mami Wata|url=https://www.papermag.com/new-collective-show-explores-african-deity-mami-wata-1970466702.html|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=PAPER}}</ref> Jennifer Sweeney-Risko believes Beyoncé's outfit in this scene to be a reference to the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee|Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee]], who traveled through the South to plan [[Freedom Riders|freedom rides]], [[Sit-in movement|sit-ins]] and voter registration drives while wearing jeans and simple dresses to replicate the clothes of the black working class.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1127541319 |title=Fashion : new feminist essays |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-367-43688-9 |editor-last=Parkins |editor-first=Ilya |location=Abingdin, Oxon |oclc=1127541319 |editor-last2=Dever |editor-first2=Maryanne |editor-link2=Maryanne Dever}}</ref> Another set of scenes portray Beyoncé as the mistress of an all-black household in a Southern plantation-style house, reclaiming the legacy of slavery in the South.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dazed|date=February 8, 2016|title=Beyoncé's 'Formation' is a defiant reclamation of blackness|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/29689/1/beyonce-s-formation-is-a-defiant-reclaimation-of-blackness|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=Dazed}}</ref> Beyoncé and her dancers perform in an empty swimming pool in another scene, referencing the story of a recently-[[Racial segregation in the United States|desegregated]] public swimming pool in the 1950s being drained after [[Dorothy Dandridge]] dipped her toe in it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allred|first=Kevin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1080251528|title=Ain't I a diva? : Beyoncé and the power of pop culture pedagogy|date=2019|isbn=978-1-936932-61-0|edition=First|location=New York, NY|oclc=1080251528}}</ref> Beyoncé is later depicted standing in front of a plantation house with a black wide-brimmed hat covering her eyes, which Janell Hobson interprets as an invocation of the [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] death [[loa]] [[Maman Brigitte]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} In another scene, a man can be seen holding a newspaper titled ''The Truth'' with an image of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] on the front page. Headlined "More Than A Dreamer", the image contains the caption: "What is the real legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and why was a revolutionary recast as an acceptable Negro leader?" Laura Visser-Maessen wrote that with this scene, Beyoncé is bringing awareness to the whitewashing of King's legacy as a non-radical figure, which is being used to undermine the current movement for racial equality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Visser-Maessen|first=Laura|date=March 29, 2019|title=Getting To That Promised Land: Reclaiming Martin Luther King, Jr. and 21st Century Black Activism in the United States and western Europe|url=http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/14395|journal=European Journal of American Studies|volume=14|issue=14–1|doi=10.4000/ejas.14395|issn=1991-9336|doi-access=free}}</ref> The last sequence depicts a young boy in a hoodie dancing in front of a line of police officers in riot gear. When the boy holds up his hands, the officers reciprocate the gesture. The video cuts to a wall graffitied with the phrase: "Stop shooting us", echoing the demand of the Black Lives Matter movement for reform in [[Police reform in the United States|policing]] and [[Criminal justice reform in the United States|criminal justice]].<ref name=":21" /><ref name="npr.org"/>

==Reception==
Syreeta McFadden for ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted that the video depicts archetypal southern black women "in ways that we haven't seen frequently represented in popular art or culture".<ref name="guard">{{Cite news|last=McFadden|first=Sureeta|date=February 8, 2016|title=Beyoncé's Formation reclaims black America's narrative from the margins|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/08/beyonce-formation-black-american-narrative-the-margins|access-date=February 9, 2016}}</ref> [[Jon Caramanica]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the video as "high-level, visuallystriking, Black Lives Matter-era allegory".<ref name=":17" /> In an interview for [[NPR]], [[Dream Hampton]] described the video as a "visual anthem" that feels like "an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-worthy feature". Hampton also praised how Beyoncé centers both black women and queer people in the video.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyonce's 'Formation' Is A Visual Anthem|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/08/466036710/beyonces-formation-is-a-visual-anthem|access-date=March 23, 2021|publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

In 2021, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' named "Formation" the greatest music video of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 100 Greatest Music Videos|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-music-videos-1194411/|access-date=July 30, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> In 2019, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' named "Formation" the best music video of the 2010s, stating that it "served as an active reminder that black people could not be silenced".<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 26, 2019|title=The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 2010s: Staff Picks|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8544596/best-music-videos-2010s-top-100/|access-date=November 26, 2019|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> The video was included in ''[[E! News]]''<nowiki/>' "The Most Memorable Music Videos Ever" list, describing it as "a gorgeous paean to the Black experience in America, both a love letter and a rally cry."<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 3, 2020|title=The Most Memorable Music Videos Ever|url=https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1175736/the-most-memorable-music-videos-ever|access-date=April 7, 2021|website=E! Online}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Ceremony
! Award
! Result
!Ref.
|-
| rowspan="22" | 2016
| [[Association of Independent Creative Editors|AICE Awards]]
| Best Music Video
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=AICE : Events : AICE Awards Show : 2016 Winners|url=http://www.aice.org/?section=events/aice_awards_show/winners/&view_by=year:::2016|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=www.aice.org}}</ref>
|-
| [[BET Awards]]
| [[BET Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]]
| {{won}}
| <ref>{{Cite magazine|title=BET Awards: The Complete Winners List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7416617/bet-awards-complete-winners-list|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Camerimage|Camerimage Awards]]
|Best Music Video
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=Music Video Nominations Are Here! – Energacamerimage 2021|url=https://camerimage.pl/en/nominacje-w-konkursie-wideoklipow/|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=camerimage.pl}}</ref>
|-
|Best Cinematography in a Music Video
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity|Cannes Lions Awards]]
| Excellence in Music Video – Grand Prix
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Beyonce's 'Formation' Music Video Wins Grand Prix at Inaugural Cannes Lions Entertainment for Music Awards|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7416509/cannes-lions-beyonce-formation-video-grand-prix|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
| [[Clio Awards]]
| Best Video of the Year
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyoncé - Formation|url=https://clios.com/music/winner/12669|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=Clios}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | London International Awards
| Best Music Video
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=US Wins 185 Statues, Including Five Grand LIAs at the 31st Annual London International Awards|url=https://www.liaawards.com/press/press_winners/2016/press_article.cfm?press_id=673&start=41|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=www.liaawards.com}}</ref>
|-
| Best Direction
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Europe Music Awards]]
|[[MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video|Best Video]]
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=2016 MTV EMAs: See the Full Winners List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/7565727/mtv-ema-2016-complete-winners-list|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="6" |[[MTV Video Music Awards]]
| [[MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="6" |<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=VMAs 2016: See the Full List of Winners|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/vmas/7487873/vmas-2016-winners-list|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
|[[MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| {{won}}
|-
|[[MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video|Best Pop Video]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography|Best Choreography]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Video Music Awards Japan]]
|[[MTV Video Music Award Japan for Best Female Video|Best Female Video]]
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=MTV VMAJ 2016 - 日本から世界へ発信する、ミュージックビデオの祭典|url=http://www.mtvjapan.com/microsite/vmaj2016/|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=MTV VMAJ 2016|language=Japanese}}</ref>
|-
| [[Q Awards]]
| Best Video
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=And The Winner is... Muse, The 1975, U2, MIA, Blondie, Bastille, PJ Harvey & more honoured at StubHub Q Awards 2016|url=https://www.qthemusic.com/articles/q-awards/q-awards-2016-winners|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221125932/https://www.qthemusic.com/articles/q-awards/q-awards-2016-winners|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Soul Train Music Awards]]
| [[Soul Train Music Award for Best Video of the Year|Video of the Year]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=2016 Soul Train Awards: See the Full Winners List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7588852/2016-soul-train-awards-winners-list|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
| [[Soul Train Music Award for Best Dance Performance|Best Dance Performance]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[UK Music Video Awards]]
| Best Urban Video
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=UK Music Video Awards 2016: all the winners! {{!}} News {{!}} Promonews|url=https://www.promonews.tv/news/2016/10/21/uk-music-video-awards-2016-all-winners/44192|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=Promonewstv}}</ref>
|-
| Best Styling in a Music Video
| {{won}}
|-
| [[WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards]]
| Best International Video
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 29, 2016|title=Shatta Wale saves Ghana at 2016 WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Shatta-Wale-saves-Ghana-at-2016-WatsUp-TV-Africa-Music-Video-Awards-497577|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=www.ghanaweb.com}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="9" | 2017
| [[Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Music Video|Best Music Video]]
| {{won}}
| <ref name=":18">{{Cite magazine|title=Grammy Awards 2017: See the Full Winners List|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/7686168/grammy-awards-2017-winners-list/|access-date=March 9, 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
|-
| [[iHeartRadio Music Awards]]
| [[IHeartRadio Music Award for Best Music Video|Best Music Video]]
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=March 6, 2017|title=iHeartRadio Music Awards Winners: Updated List|url=https://variety.com/2017/music/news/iheartradio-music-awards-2017-winners-list-1202002403/|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=Variety}}</ref>
|-
| [[NAACP Image Awards]]
| [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video|Outstanding Music Video]]
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 10, 2017|title=2017 NAACP Image Award Winners: Complete List|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-naacp-image-award-winners-televised-966471|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>
|-
|[[Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards]]
|Favorite Music Video
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 12, 2017|title=Kids' Choice Awards 2017 Winners: The Complete List|url=https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/834823/kids-choice-awards-2017-winners-the-complete-list|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=E! Online}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards|Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Brazil]]
| Best Music Clip
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS 2017: CONHEÇA OS VENCEDORES|url = http://kca.mundonick.com.br/video/kids-choice-awards-winners-video/zpde1k|website = Kids' Choice Awards|access-date = April 22, 2017}}</ref>
|-
| [[NME Awards]]
| Best Music Video
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 15, 2017|title=VO5 NME Awards 2017 - full winners' list|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/heres-full-list-vo5-nme-awards-winners-2017-1976867|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=NME}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[The One Club|One Show Awards]]
| Cultural Diver Award
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=The One Club / The One Show - Archive of Award Winners|url=https://www.oneclub.org/awards/theoneshow/-search/beyonce|access-date=March 9, 2021|website=www.oneclub.org}}</ref>
|-
| Best Music Video
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Webby Awards]]
| Best Music Video
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=21st Annual Webby Award Winners Announced {{!}} The Webby Awards|url=https://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-releases/21st-annual-webby-award-winners-announced/|access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Controversy==
The music video, as well as the song in general and its performance at the Super Bowl halftime show received criticism from [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] figures, law enforcement organizations and social media users over perceived [[Anti-police sentiment|anti-police]], [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] and [[Reverse racism|racist]] messages.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Gammage|first=Marquita|date=November 2017|title=Pop Culture Without Culture: Examining the Public Backlash to Beyoncé's Super Bowl 50 Performance|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021934717729504|journal=Journal of Black Studies|volume=48|issue=8|pages=715–731|doi=10.1177/0021934717729504|s2cid=149269119|issn=0021-9347}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lopez|first=German|date=February 8, 2016|title=Why conservative pundits and politicians are attacking Beyoncé|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/2/8/10940558/beyonce-super-bowl-conservative-backlash|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=Vox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Allen|first=Lauren Chanel|title=Why the Outrage Over Beyoncé's Super Bowl Performance Is Completely Ridiculous|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/beyonce-super-bowl-performance-outrage|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=Teen Vogue}}</ref> Former [[Mayor of New York City]] [[Rudy Giuliani]] called the performance "outrageous", adding: "I don't know what the heck it was. A bunch of people bouncing around and all strange things. It was terrible."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyonce criticised by Rudy Giuliani for Super Bowl 'attack on the police'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12147195/Beyonce-criticised-by-Rudy-Giuliani-for-Super-Bowl-attack-on-the-police.html|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=The Telegraph}}</ref> Congressman [[Peter T. King|Peter King]] condemned the "Formation" video, saying that "no one should really care what she thinks about any serious issue confronting our nation".<ref>{{Cite web|title=New York Rep. Peter King Lashes Out At Beyonce Video|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/new-york-congressman-peter-king-beyonce-music-video-formation-black-lives-matter/1266610/|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=NBC New York}}</ref> Canadian politician [[Jim Karygiannis]] said that the [[Government of Canada|Canadian government]] should investigate Beyoncé and consider banning her from the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Should Beyoncé be banned from Canada?|url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2683289096|access-date=April 8, 2021|website=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]}}</ref> Conservative TV host [[Tomi Lahren]] directed a rant towards Beyoncé, accusing her of "ramrodding an aggressive agenda down our throats" and concluding: "Your husband was a drug dealer. For fourteen years, he sold crack cocaine. Talk about protecting black neighborhoods? Start at home".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Power of 'Petty': How One Small Word Came to Represent Black Resistance|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/9k9b77/petty-memes-history-black-twitter|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=www.vice.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 10, 2016|title=Tomi Lahren to Beyonce: Your husband was a drug dealer, worry about that|url=https://thegrio.com/2016/02/10/tomi-lahren-to-beyonce-your-husband-was-a-drug-dealer-worry-about-that/|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=TheGrio}}</ref> Beyoncé requested to use thirty seconds of Lahren's rant for the [[The Formation World Tour|Formation World Tour]], but Lahren denied the request.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A News Anchor Says Beyoncé Asked to Use Her Anti-Beyoncé Super Bowl Rant for the Formation Tour, and, Well, She Blew It|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/04/beyonce-asked-anchor-to-use-anti-bey-diatribe.html|access-date=March 22, 2021|website=Vulture}}</ref> An anti-Beyoncé campaign was started on social media titled #BoycottBeyoncé, which was met with a competing #IStandWithBeyoncé hashtag.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 7, 2016|title=The 10 most talked-about albums of 2016 - BBC Music|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/1fa16c30-9906-4790-b902-4534b4453018|access-date=April 8, 2021|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

[[Rutherford County Sheriff's Office|Rutherford County Sheriff]] Robert Arnold blamed shots being fired outside his home on the "Formation" video.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|last=Chokshi|first=Niraj|title=Sheriffs: Beyoncé is 'inciting bad behavior' and endangering law enforcement|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/18/the-beyonce-backlash-continues-sheriff-cites-super-bowl-show-after-shooting-near-home/|access-date=March 21, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Police unions across the US encouraged a boycott of the Formation World Tour.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Time Person of the Year Runner Up: Beyoncé|url=https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-beyonce-runner-up/|access-date=March 22, 2021|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Outside Beyoncé's concert at [[NRG Stadium]] on May 7, 2016, the Coalition of Police and Sheriffs held a demonstration over the Black Lives Matter themes in "Formation". The protesters wore "[[Police Lives Matter]]" T-shirts, held a printout of Jay Z's mugshot, and shone a blue light toward the stadium.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|last1=George|first1=Cindy|last2=Rahman|first2=Fauzeya|date=May 7, 2016|title=Dueling protests to get in 'Formation' outside Beyoncé's Houston concert|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Beyonce-concert-7420583.php|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=Chron}}</ref> President of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association Vinny Gericitano urged a boycott of Beyoncé's music and tour, however ensured that her concert in [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] would be properly policed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Company|first=Tampa Publishing|title=Tampa police union supports boycott of Beyoncé's music but doesn't tell members not to work her Tampa concert|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/will-tampa-police-officers-heed-call-to-boycott-beyonces-concert/2265915/|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=[[Tampa Bay Times]]}}</ref> Other law enforcement organizations did not join the boycott, such as those in [[Houston]] and [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], the latter of which voted unanimously not to boycott the tour.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|author=Lisa Respers France|title=Why the Beyoncé controversy is bigger than you think|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/entertainment/beyonce-controversy-feat/index.html|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=CNN|date=February 23, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=":15" />

==Legacy==
===Academic study===
In 2016, the [[University of Texas at San Antonio]] offered a class focusing on the "Formation" video. The video was used as a basis to examine the sociocultural issues affecting black women through the study of black feminist theory, film, music, and literature.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UTSA to Offer "Black Women, Beyoncé & Popular Culture" Course on 'LEMONADE'|url=https://www.complex.com/music/2016/09/utsa-black-women-beyonce-popular-culture-course-lemonade|access-date=March 19, 2021|website=Complex}}</ref> In 2021, [[Boston University]] offered a course that studied the "Formation" video as part of their exploration of how the South has been depicted in American fiction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fall 2021 Advanced Literature {{!}} English|url=https://www.bu.edu/english/undergraduate/courses/fall-2020-undergraduate-courses/|access-date=April 7, 2021|website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> The [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] School of Nursing analyzed the concepts and issues in "Formation" to explore topics such as intersections of black history, black femininity and body politics, and how the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted health and [[Health Outcomes Research|health outcomes]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 19, 2016|title=Unpacking Beyoncé's Formation: Nurse as Social Justice Educator|url=https://diversity.wisc.edu/2016/02/unpacking-beyonces-formation-nurse-as-social-justice-educator/|access-date=April 7, 2021|website=Creating Community}}</ref> Beyoncé's shoutout to the [[Chevrolet El Camino]] car in the song and its feature in the music video "did more in 5 seconds for the El Camino than [[General Motors]] marketing did for years", according to Hannah Elliott of [[Bloomberg L.P.|''Bloomberg'']].<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 12, 2016|title=Rediscovering the Awesomeness of a 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-12/rediscovering-the-awesomeness-of-a-1967-cadillac-deville|access-date=March 11, 2021}}</ref> One of the hairstyles that Beyoncé wore in the music video, with long cornrows with a deep side part, has since been termed "Lemonade braids" after the album and remains a popular hairstyle for black women.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lemonade braids|url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/fashion/lemonade-braids/|access-date=March 11, 2021|website=Dictionary.com}}</ref>
=== Brands ===
Beyoncé's use and references to various brands have resulted in sales spikes for their respective products. The mention of the American restaurant chain [[Red Lobster]] in "Formation" increased sales at its restaurants by 33%, and upon the song's release, the chain was tweeted about over 42,000 times during the first hour and trended for the first time in its history according to Red Lobster spokesperson Erica Ettori.<ref>{{cite web|last=Riley|first=Charles|title=Red Lobster: Sales spike 33% after Beyoncé endorsement|date=February 9, 2016|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/02/09/investing/red-lobster-beyonce-formation/index.html|access-date=May 31, 2023|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511091131/https://money.cnn.com/2016/02/09/investing/red-lobster-beyonce-formation/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Employees also renamed popular menu items after Beyoncé and call the effect the "Beyoncé Bounce".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whitten|first=Sarah|date=February 8, 2016|title=A Beyonce mention sends Red Lobster sales higher|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/08/a-beyonce-mention-sends-red-lobster-sales-higher.html|access-date=June 18, 2019|website=CNBC|archive-date=November 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121010427/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/08/a-beyonce-mention-sends-red-lobster-sales-higher.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Fashion===
The [[Black Power|black power]] beret was given "a new lease of life" after the performance of "Formation" at the Super Bowl, according to ''The Guardian''<nowiki/>'s deputy fashion editor Priya Elan, triggering the hat's comeback as a symbol of black power.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 9, 2020|title='A sign of revolution': why the black power beret is making a comeback|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/09/a-sign-of-revolution-black-power-beret-making-a-comeback|access-date=April 7, 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref> [[Piping (sewing)|Piping]] became the defining trend of the spring/summer 2016 fashion season after Beyoncé wore a piped shirt in the "Formation" video.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 29, 2016|title=Piping hot: this season's souped-up shirt|url=http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/mar/29/piping-shirt-beyonce-gucci-prada|access-date=April 8, 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

=== Parodies and homages ===
The cover of [[Marvel Comics|Marvel's]] 2017 ''[[Miss America (America Chavez)|America]]'' comic book paid homage to the "Formation" music video, with its illustrator saying "America is a comic that is all about representation, feminism and fighting for what's right&nbsp;... I could think of no better parallel than Beyoncé."<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=This Marvel Comic Book Cover Was Inspired by Beyoncé|url=http://time.com/4649086/marvel-america-beyonce/|access-date=April 19, 2019|magazine=Time}}</ref>

''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' performed a sketch titled "The Day Beyoncé Turned Black" as a result of the release, airing Saturday, February 13. The sketch, which depicted some white people's reactions to the "unapologetically black" song, was named "the best ''SNL'' skit ever" by [[Tre'vell Anderson]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 14, 2016|title='The Day Beyoncé Turned Black' is the best 'SNL' skit ever|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-beyonce-turned-black-snl-skit-20160214-story.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Actress [[Goldie Hawn]] and comedian [[Amy Schumer]] produced a parody of "Formation", which also featured [[Wanda Sykes]] and [[Joan Cusack]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=October 21, 2016|title=Amy Schumer & Goldie Hawn Get in 'Formation' for Beyonce Parody Video|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7549944/amy-schumer-goldie-hawn-formation-beyonce-parody-video|access-date=September 23, 2020|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}{{Beyoncé}}{{Beyoncé songs}}
[[Category:Beyoncé]]
[[Category:2010s music videos]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Melina Matsoukas]]
[[Category:2010s English-language films]]

Revision as of 08:08, 14 December 2023

"Formation"
Directed byMelina Matsoukas
Starring
Music byBeyoncé
Release date
  • February 6, 2016 (2016-02-06)
(premiere)
Running time
4:47
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The music video for American singer Beyoncé's 2016 single "Formation" was directed by Melina Matsoukas. It was filmed over the span of two days in Los Angeles, California. The video premiered on February 6, 2016, alongside the song's debut exclusively on Tidal. The video was also uploaded to Beyoncé's official YouTube channel unlisted, meaning this prevented the music video from being accessed by search functionalities, with viewers needing to access the video via Beyoncé's official website.[1]

The video begins with Beyoncé crouching on top of a New Orleans police interceptor, which is partially submerged in floodwaters. As the video progresses, the car gradually sinks into the water. Another set of scenes portray Beyoncé as the mistress of an all-black household in a Southern plantation-style house, reclaiming the legacy of slavery in the South. Beyoncé and her dancers perform in an empty swimming pool in another scene. Beyoncé is later depicted standing in front of a plantation house with a black wide-brimmed hat covering her eyes. In another scene, a man can be seen holding a newspaper titled The Truth with an image of Martin Luther King Jr. on the front page. The last sequence depicts a young boy in a hoodie dancing in front of a line of police officers in riot gear. When the boy holds up his hands, the officers reciprocate the gesture. The video cuts to a wall graffitied with the phrase: "Stop shooting us", echoing the demand of the Black Lives Matter movement for reform in policing and criminal justice.[2][3]

The music video caused controversy from conservative figures, law enforcement organizations and social media users over perceived anti-police, anti-American and racist messages, including the National Sheriffs' Association, Internet Research Agency, and the Government of Canada. It won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, among various other accolades.

External videos
video icon Formation (Explicit) (4:52)

Development

The Fenyes Estate was used as a filming location due to its resemblance to a New Orleans plantation house

Beyoncé approached Melina Matsoukas to direct the accompanying music video for "Formation" a few weeks before its release. After Matsoukas agreed to direct the video, Beyoncé invited Matsoukas to her house in Los Angeles and explained the concept behind Lemonade. They also discussed Beyoncé's family history, the South, and New Orleans. Matsoukas explained how she treats the videos she directs "like a thesis project", spending hours browsing art books, magazines, and websites. For the "Formation" video, she found ideas in the work of Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Octavia Butler. Matsoukas conceived scenes featuring events from throughout black history, including slavery, Mardi Gras parades and the Rodney King protests. Matsoukas told The New Yorker: "I wanted to show — this is black people. We triumph, we suffer, we're drowning, we're being beaten, we're dancing, we're eating, and we're still here".[4] She wrote out a treatment at 2 am and sent it to Beyoncé at 5 or 6 am, thinking that Beyoncé would reply later in the day. However, Beyoncé responded immediately and asked to discuss it further.[5]

One set for the video was the Fenyes Estate, which was used due to its resemblance to New Orleans plantation houses. To evoke a Southern Gothic aesthetic, production designer Ethan Tobman and his crew decorated rooms with vintage plantation-era rugs and furniture, while adding storm shutters, Spanish moss, ivy, and wisteria to the building's exterior. Matsoukas wanted to include French Renaissance-style portraits of black subjects in the house, with the aim of subverting traditional power dynamics by portraying a plantation house where the black people are the masters and not the slaves. The crew looked for such portraits but found that none existed, so they painted black people over other portraits and hung them on the walls.[4][6]

The music video for "Formation" was shot in Los Angeles, California over two days. Arthur Jafa was hired as camera operator; Jafa had been the cinematographer of Daughters of the Dust, a 1991 film about Gullah women in South Carolina whose focus on black sisterhood is echoed throughout the "Formation" video. Matsoukas wanted to create a sense of verisimilitude in the video, shooting some scenes with a camcorder and others with a Bolex camera, the latter giving the scenes a grainy look resembling documentary footage.[4] Matsoukas also used footage from That B.E.A.T., a 2014 documentary about bounce culture in New Orleans. The filmmakers of the documentary were alternately pleased with its inclusion and frustrated by their work being used as "just b-roll by someone else". A representative for Beyoncé told Entertainment Weekly that the documentary footage was used with permission and licensed from the owner of the footage, and that they were correctly compensated and credited.[7][8]

Some scenes in the video depict flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina

Matsoukas devised a scene of Beyoncé performing on top of a police car that slowly sinks into the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. This scene represented how the police "hadn't really shown up for us, and that we were still here on top, and that she was one with the people who had suffered".[4] The scene was filmed on a soundstage with an artificial lake backed by a blue screen, with oak trees, rooftops and cast iron gates added to the lake to provide realism. A series of pulleys and cables connected to a winch and a crane allowed Beyoncé and the police car to be repeatedly sunk into the water with controlled speed.[6] The scene was filmed using one camera suspended by a crane on a barge and another camera that Matsoukas operated from a speedboat. Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles-Lawson was scared because the water was cold and called Matsoukas saying "You're going to give her pneumonia, and she has to perform at the Super Bowl", however Beyoncé did not complain. Instead of ending the video with Beyoncé sinking into the water, Matsoukas wanted to use a more uplifting image. Looking through the footage, she found a shot of Beyoncé sitting in the plantation house making the "black-girl air grab". She placed this clip at the end of the video as an emphatic last gesture.[4]

Synopsis and analysis

The music video is set in New Orleans, exploring interpretations of the city's past, present and future in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, in turn forming a celebration of black pride and resilience. It features rapidly edited scenes that depict the variety and heterogeneity of black Southern culture.[9] This includes Mardi Gras, black cowboys, stepping, wig shops, crawfish, cotillions,[10] grills, black preachers,[11] second lines, marching bands, bounce dancers,[12] and traditional courtship and burial rituals.[citation needed] Beyoncé is seen embodying several archetypal Southern black women that span time, class, and space,[13] which Ryann Donnelly viewed as being nine distinct personas that recur throughout the video.[14] The video modifies the song to include spoken interpolations from the New Orleans artist Big Freedia and the YouTube personality Messy Mya, who was murdered in New Orleans in 2010.[15] Dance routines are performed throughout the video by Beyoncé accompanied by back-up dancers. Her daughter Blue Ivy Carter makes a cameo appearance,[16][17] sporting a natural afro.

The video begins with Beyoncé crouching on top of a New Orleans police interceptor, which is partially submerged in floodwaters. As the video progresses, the car gradually sinks into the water.[18] The scene forms a criticism of the police response to Hurricane Katrina, which disproportionately affected people of color, while also acting as a symbol of rebirth.[19][2] An additional interpretation of this scene is that Beyoncé is invoking Mami Wata, harnessing water as a force of life and destruction.[20] Jennifer Sweeney-Risko believes Beyoncé's outfit in this scene to be a reference to the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, who traveled through the South to plan freedom rides, sit-ins and voter registration drives while wearing jeans and simple dresses to replicate the clothes of the black working class.[21] Another set of scenes portray Beyoncé as the mistress of an all-black household in a Southern plantation-style house, reclaiming the legacy of slavery in the South.[22] Beyoncé and her dancers perform in an empty swimming pool in another scene, referencing the story of a recently-desegregated public swimming pool in the 1950s being drained after Dorothy Dandridge dipped her toe in it.[23] Beyoncé is later depicted standing in front of a plantation house with a black wide-brimmed hat covering her eyes, which Janell Hobson interprets as an invocation of the Vodou death loa Maman Brigitte.[citation needed] In another scene, a man can be seen holding a newspaper titled The Truth with an image of Martin Luther King Jr. on the front page. Headlined "More Than A Dreamer", the image contains the caption: "What is the real legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and why was a revolutionary recast as an acceptable Negro leader?" Laura Visser-Maessen wrote that with this scene, Beyoncé is bringing awareness to the whitewashing of King's legacy as a non-radical figure, which is being used to undermine the current movement for racial equality.[24] The last sequence depicts a young boy in a hoodie dancing in front of a line of police officers in riot gear. When the boy holds up his hands, the officers reciprocate the gesture. The video cuts to a wall graffitied with the phrase: "Stop shooting us", echoing the demand of the Black Lives Matter movement for reform in policing and criminal justice.[2][3]

Reception

Syreeta McFadden for The Guardian noted that the video depicts archetypal southern black women "in ways that we haven't seen frequently represented in popular art or culture".[10] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described the video as "high-level, visuallystriking, Black Lives Matter-era allegory".[7] In an interview for NPR, Dream Hampton described the video as a "visual anthem" that feels like "an Oscar-worthy feature". Hampton also praised how Beyoncé centers both black women and queer people in the video.[25]

In 2021, Rolling Stone named "Formation" the greatest music video of all time.[26] In 2019, Billboard named "Formation" the best music video of the 2010s, stating that it "served as an active reminder that black people could not be silenced".[27] The video was included in E! News' "The Most Memorable Music Videos Ever" list, describing it as "a gorgeous paean to the Black experience in America, both a love letter and a rally cry."[28]

Accolades

Year Ceremony Award Result Ref.
2016 AICE Awards Best Music Video Won [29]
BET Awards Video of the Year Won [30]
Camerimage Awards Best Music Video Nominated [31]
Best Cinematography in a Music Video Nominated
Cannes Lions Awards Excellence in Music Video – Grand Prix Won [32]
Clio Awards Best Video of the Year Won [33]
London International Awards Best Music Video Won [34]
Best Direction Won
MTV Europe Music Awards Best Video Nominated [35]
MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year Won [36]
Best Direction Won
Best Pop Video Won
Best Cinematography Won
Best Editing Won
Best Choreography Won
MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Female Video Nominated [37]
Q Awards Best Video Nominated [38]
Soul Train Music Awards Video of the Year Won [39]
Best Dance Performance Nominated
UK Music Video Awards Best Urban Video Nominated [40]
Best Styling in a Music Video Won
WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards Best International Video Won [41]
2017 Grammy Awards Best Music Video Won [42]
iHeartRadio Music Awards Best Music Video Nominated [43]
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Music Video Won [44]
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Music Video Nominated [45]
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Brazil Best Music Clip Nominated [46]
NME Awards Best Music Video Nominated [47]
One Show Awards Cultural Diver Award Won [48]
Best Music Video Won
Webby Awards Best Music Video Won [49]

Controversy

The music video, as well as the song in general and its performance at the Super Bowl halftime show received criticism from conservative figures, law enforcement organizations and social media users over perceived anti-police, anti-American and racist messages.[50][51][52] Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani called the performance "outrageous", adding: "I don't know what the heck it was. A bunch of people bouncing around and all strange things. It was terrible."[53] Congressman Peter King condemned the "Formation" video, saying that "no one should really care what she thinks about any serious issue confronting our nation".[54] Canadian politician Jim Karygiannis said that the Canadian government should investigate Beyoncé and consider banning her from the country.[55] Conservative TV host Tomi Lahren directed a rant towards Beyoncé, accusing her of "ramrodding an aggressive agenda down our throats" and concluding: "Your husband was a drug dealer. For fourteen years, he sold crack cocaine. Talk about protecting black neighborhoods? Start at home".[56][57] Beyoncé requested to use thirty seconds of Lahren's rant for the Formation World Tour, but Lahren denied the request.[58] An anti-Beyoncé campaign was started on social media titled #BoycottBeyoncé, which was met with a competing #IStandWithBeyoncé hashtag.[50][59]

Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold blamed shots being fired outside his home on the "Formation" video.[60] Police unions across the US encouraged a boycott of the Formation World Tour.[61] Outside Beyoncé's concert at NRG Stadium on May 7, 2016, the Coalition of Police and Sheriffs held a demonstration over the Black Lives Matter themes in "Formation". The protesters wore "Police Lives Matter" T-shirts, held a printout of Jay Z's mugshot, and shone a blue light toward the stadium.[62] President of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association Vinny Gericitano urged a boycott of Beyoncé's music and tour, however ensured that her concert in Tampa would be properly policed.[63] Other law enforcement organizations did not join the boycott, such as those in Houston and Raleigh, the latter of which voted unanimously not to boycott the tour.[64][62]

Legacy

Academic study

In 2016, the University of Texas at San Antonio offered a class focusing on the "Formation" video. The video was used as a basis to examine the sociocultural issues affecting black women through the study of black feminist theory, film, music, and literature.[65] In 2021, Boston University offered a course that studied the "Formation" video as part of their exploration of how the South has been depicted in American fiction.[66] The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing analyzed the concepts and issues in "Formation" to explore topics such as intersections of black history, black femininity and body politics, and how the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted health and health outcomes.[67] Beyoncé's shoutout to the Chevrolet El Camino car in the song and its feature in the music video "did more in 5 seconds for the El Camino than General Motors marketing did for years", according to Hannah Elliott of Bloomberg.[68] One of the hairstyles that Beyoncé wore in the music video, with long cornrows with a deep side part, has since been termed "Lemonade braids" after the album and remains a popular hairstyle for black women.[69]

Brands

Beyoncé's use and references to various brands have resulted in sales spikes for their respective products. The mention of the American restaurant chain Red Lobster in "Formation" increased sales at its restaurants by 33%, and upon the song's release, the chain was tweeted about over 42,000 times during the first hour and trended for the first time in its history according to Red Lobster spokesperson Erica Ettori.[70] Employees also renamed popular menu items after Beyoncé and call the effect the "Beyoncé Bounce".[71]

Fashion

The black power beret was given "a new lease of life" after the performance of "Formation" at the Super Bowl, according to The Guardian's deputy fashion editor Priya Elan, triggering the hat's comeback as a symbol of black power.[72] Piping became the defining trend of the spring/summer 2016 fashion season after Beyoncé wore a piped shirt in the "Formation" video.[73]

Parodies and homages

The cover of Marvel's 2017 America comic book paid homage to the "Formation" music video, with its illustrator saying "America is a comic that is all about representation, feminism and fighting for what's right ... I could think of no better parallel than Beyoncé."[74]

Saturday Night Live performed a sketch titled "The Day Beyoncé Turned Black" as a result of the release, airing Saturday, February 13. The sketch, which depicted some white people's reactions to the "unapologetically black" song, was named "the best SNL skit ever" by Tre'vell Anderson of the Los Angeles Times.[75] Actress Goldie Hawn and comedian Amy Schumer produced a parody of "Formation", which also featured Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack.[76]

References

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