Beyonce Run the world

Beyoncé’s run the world

Beyoncé’s song “Run the world (girls)” from her album “4” was released in 2011 along with it a controversial music video.

In the opening of the video we see an obliterated wasteland almost as if a war has been taken place. The war conveyed throughout the video can be justified as the war between men and women this may be symbolic of the fight for gender equality. An example of this is the wide shot of Beyoncé on the horse in front of the sunset. This single shot conveys female power with her white clothing (white is associated with light, goodness, innocence and purity) and the heroic pose, a shot typically adopted by men in the old western movies.

Throughout the video we see Beyoncé and her armada of women dressed in a feminine appearance yet retain a masculine personality, the aggression, anger (mostly presented in the numerous red clothing) and hate. This is in line with Beyoncé’s branch of women who should embrace their sexuality but not fall for the domination of man.

Female independence is a huge message throughout. The mise en scene shows women standing tall and strong on their own, this conveys the message that women can be independent and ruling of the world as shown in both the video and the lyrics “Who run the world? Girls! Girls!” I believe what Beyoncé’s message is that women do not need men as much as men need women and with that they are seen to be stronger than men. The line “Strong enough to bear the children (children)” is a message reminding us that having a baby is the most physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding thing a person could do, and yet the fact that only women can do it suggests that women may be the stronger sex. The line proceeding that “Then get back to business” adds onto the facts that women can have kids and get back to taking over the world, just like millions and millions of women do daily. One final example of female independence shown in the video are the two chained hyenas, they are physically stronger than her yet she has control over them, the hyenas may symbolise animalistic men who too are physically stronger than women but can also be overthrown by women.

Beyoncé also tackles social issues countless women face every day. The line “I work my 9 to 5 and I cut my check” is a reference to working women who work just as hard and spend as much time (9am to 5pm to be exact) who earn less than men who do the same job. This statement is proceeded with “F U Pay me” demanding for the money they deserve. Jewellery is the social accessory categorised towards women so the phrase “41' Rollie to let you know what time it is, check” is referring to Rolex watches a vintage item more geared towards men, here she’s saying she doesn’t just have jewellery, she wears vintage Rolexes opposing the social norms women face. Another example of this is a shot with Beyoncé in a Mohawk hair style, a choice of hair commonly espoused by men but here she is breaking tradition and doing what she likes without the jurisdiction of men influencing what she’s meant to look like.

Vishanth Ragunathan