Visual Activism

When Beyonce dropped the music video for her song “Formation,” white America was appalled with her blatant call out of police violence and government ignorance in relation to New Orleans.  Suburban moms ran to their iPads with the intent to log onto their Facebook apps and assert how they, or their kids, will no longer be supporting Beyonce.  It was not the song itself which upset white suburbia and sent moms to blog about the reasons why Beyonce is an enemy to the white public, rather it is the video itself.  Beyonce used visuals to showcase her message of black power, police brutality, and protest and then linked such visuals to her music, so that when one listens to her song on the radio, they are reminded of the video and what it had to offer.

            Sitting amongst a table of Rhodes students, professors, and faculty for a luncheon, Shana Redmond, a professor of Musicology and Africana Studies at UCLA, grappled with the idea of Beyonce and her music.  For Redmond, the power of a song rests in what a song inspires and what the song itself says.  The song “Formation” does not contain a specific or explicit call to activism, yet it is used as an anthem for such activities.  Redmond relates this to the new stage in which music may be presented.  Music is no longer simply just an act of listening, it is also an act of viewing.  The song “Formation” has the tempo and easy to follow lyrics that make it perfect for to be a hit in pop culture, thus by linking such a song to a message of activism, Beyonce is still able to spread a message.  When an angry white woman living in suburbia Mississippi hears “Formation” play on the radio, she focuses not on the lyrics, but on the article she read about the anti-white music video Beyonce released.  Beyonce’s message is not one grounded solely in the music, but in the visual realm as well.  She puts a face to her message, allowing it to be distinguishable and clear to all who view.