Starter 5mins

How Global is
Beyonce?
Analyse poster
Links to genre?
Representation?

Global Beyonce

Tour
Announced in February 2013
It began inBelgrade, Serbiaon April 15, 2013,
and concluded inLisbon, Portugalon March
27, 2014
the tour's total gross revenue to $229.7
million. This made The Mrs. Carter Show
World Tour the highest grossing female
and solo tour of 2013, Beyonc's highest
grossing tour to date and one of the
highest grossing tours of the decade

Global
American popular culture has become global popular culture
Run The World (Girls) at the Billboard Music Awards,
she is introduced by such pop culture luminaries as Stevie
Wonder, Lady Gaga, Barbara Streisand, Bono, and (not
insignificantly) First Lady Michelle Obama.
re-creating in live performance the music video to Run The World
(Girls), which weaves together an array of dazzling digital
images 4D, including lion and elephant heads (continuing in
animal form the theme of third world inspired imagery).
striking images was with the line Endless Power, where
Beyonc literally holds (an image of) the world in the palm
of her hand. This serves as a powerful visual representation not
only of the influence of superstars such as Beyonc, but also of

American cultural hegemony as a whole.

More Global
Beyonce re-enacts the Tofo Tofo dance
sequence sans Tofo Tofo (replaced instead
by a legion of digitally replicated
Beyonces), she does include a sequence
with Les Twins, a French dance duo made
up of brothers Larry and Laurent Bourgeois.
Tofo Tofo swapped out as Beyonces male
backup dancers with Les Twins, two other
dancers representing global hip hop
culture.

Opening with the words Power is

ever present

Power of Beyonce?
Female empowerment?
Record industry (Grammys)?
power between first world artists and
third world culture.
Pon De Floor: Major Lazer and
the Representation of Black
Bodies

Regulation- copyright
Beyonce Billboard Awards 2011
Performance VS Lorella Cuccarini 2010
performance
MTV's La La Vazquez called the visual effects
"unbelievable." Missy Elliott described
Beyonc as a "true entertainer." Singer
Omarion said he was "speechless."
Pink tweeted, "Beyonce just KILLED it at the
Billboard awards. So original, so rad."
But videos spreading on the Internet suggest it
might not have been original at all.

 Lorellas influence can be seen when

watching the shows side-by-side. It feels
as though Beyoncs team used Lorellas
show as a template and personalized it
by changing out some of the details. Not
only does Beyonc use some of the
same scenes Lorella used, but they fall
in the same sequence.

 Beyonc clarified speculation about the motivation

for her cutting-edge show when she explained that
seeing Lorellas interactive video performance
made her want to make her own version.
My makeup artist showed me the
performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago,
and it inspired me so much, Beyonce told AOL
Music.
I then met with the talented people who worked
on it. The technology and concept were so genius.
Thank God for YouTube (tofo tofo too) or I would
have never been exposed to something so
inspiring. I never worked so hard on anything in my
life as that performance for the Billboard Awards.
Postmodernism=bricologe/hybrid/high&low culture

BLP: Making Links

What could Run the World (Girls)

mean?

LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the

messages encoded in the song?

BLP: Making Links

Song Lyrics
Bands and artists encode a variety of
messages to reflect their ideologies
(thoughts/beliefs)
By doing this they encourage their
fans to follow their beliefs and share
them with others (audience
Cultivation theory)
LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the
messages encoded in the song?

BLP: Making Links

Song Lyrics
What meanings could Beyonc be
expressing in her lyrics?
Look at the lyrics and annotate any
meanings you can find

LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the

messages encoded in the song?

BLP: Making Links

Song Lyrics
41 rollin' to let you know what time it is, check
You can't hold me (you can't hold me)
I work my 9 to 5, better cut my check
This goes out to all the women getting it in,
You're on your grind
To other men that respect what I do
Please accept my shine
Boy I know you love it
How we're smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bear the children
Then get back to business
See, you better not play me
Oh, come here baby
Hope you still like me
hate me

LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the

messages encoded in the song?

Feminism
LO: What is feminism? How can we
apply it to music videos?
BLP: Making Links

BLP: Making Links

Song Lyrics

How does the song Run the World

(Girls) represent men/women?

LO: What is feminism? How can we apply it to music

BLP: Making Links

Feminism
Feminism was the response to
societys assumptions that women
should be passive to men
Until the emergence of feminism
women were treated almost as
objects, passive in a male world

LO: What is feminism? How can we apply it to music

BLP: Making Links

Feminism
In the early 1970s activists battled
for Womens Liberation and equal
opportunities.
The sex equality act was passed in
1975

LO: What is feminism? How can we apply it to music

BLP: Making Links

Patriarchy

Is a form of society ruled by men

The father figure (the patriarch) is
the leader to whom all others were
subordinate
Within the media, a patriarchal
society suggests that the media is
constructed for men
How does this link to feminism?
LO: What is feminism? How can we apply it to music

BLP: Making Links

Post - Feminism
In the 1980s views changed even more
Feminists dont aim for equality. They
assume men are the best and so strive to
surpass male achievements
Women began to assert their right to dress
and be sexually attractive.

LO: What is feminism? How can we apply it to music

BLP: Making Links

Feminism
In the 1980s views changed even more
Feminists dont aim for equality. They assume men are
the best and so strive to surpass male achievements
The female gaze discussed. Where men are activity
desired by females
Women began to assert their right to dress and be
sexually attractive.

LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the

messages encoded in the song?

BLP: Making Links

LO: What do the lyrics of the song tell us about the

messages encoded in the song?

Run the world

Female
empowerment or a
return to
patriarchy?

 Beyonce's music videos often sit

uncomfortably on this issue of
empowerment. She often appears to
be promoting empowerment through
her lyrics, whilst simultaneously
(and, some would say,
paradoxically) reinforcing the
notions of beauty (Wolf/ Greer)and
objectification (Mulvey) that have
disempowered women throughout

Representation- Feminist?
In an interview published by Vogue in April 2013,
Beyonc was asked if she considers herself a feminist, to
which she said, "that word can be very extreme... But I
guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in
equality.
She would later align herself more publicly with the
movement, sampling "We should all be feminists", a
speech delivered by Nigerian author
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at a TEDxEuston conference in
April 2013, in her song "Flawless", released later that year.
She has also contributed to the Ban Bossy campaign,
which uses television and social media to encourage
leadership in girls.

 Ban Bossy campaign (Watch the Advert and

analyse)

Respond
Beyonce's Run the World (Girls) video has three
potential readings;
The preferred reading appears to be that
women are confident and empowered through
their sexuality and that men are like boys, to be
toyed with and commanded. In some transitions,
the video seems to suggest that women have
thrown off the shackles of the past. Because the
video is set a post-apocalyptic world, it is
perhaps acknowledging that this is not reflected
by reality, but it is something that is happening
'behind the scenes'. (Post feminist view/
female audience)

 Negotiated?
may be that by setting the video up as a fantasy
(an alternative reality), it bears no resemblance to
reality and therefore carries no political message
about female empowerment at all. It is 'a bit of fun'
that toys with the idea of women being in control.
Oppositional (Feminist view)?
may be that women are objectified and sexualised
on the video for male pleasure, which disempowers
women. As the video seems to suggest that women
can only gain power through teasing men and
subjecting themselves to the male gaze, it supports
a patriarchal view of women.

Advert Loreal
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz
/article-2959064/Unretouched-photosBeyonce-s-L-Oreal-advert-leak-online
-fans-mixed-reactionsTwitter.html

Homework
How is Beyonce represented? Is she a feminist? Pick 3
different platforms (600 words)
Analyse Flawless or Pretty Hurts
Read handbook Diet Feminism
Music video (not Run the World)
Magazine
CD
Advert
Live performance
Campaign
Use sheet what to include

Beyonce
Marketing, internet, digital
technology

Buzzfeed

The "Unflattering" Photos Beyoncs Publicist Doesnt Want You

ToSee
Intenet - The Streisand effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to
hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the
unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually
facilitated by the Internet.
It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose 2003 attempt
to suppress photographs of her residence in Malibu, California inadvertently
drew further public attention to it.
Brand (didnt fit)
Marketing team
Synergy (not anymore!)
Audience response widget & http://deadspin.com/5982561/photoshopcontest-unflattering-beyonce-pictures
http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedceleb/the-unflattering-photos-beyonces-publ
icist-doesnt-want-you-t#.hhmr6K6jg
BuzzFeed is the social news and entertainment company. BuzzFeed is
redefining online advertising with its social, content-driven publishing
technology. BuzzFeed provides the most shareable breaking news, original
reporting, entertainment, and video across the social web to its global
audience of more than 200M.

Breaking Down Beyonce's

Record-Breaking AlbumLaunch

the Beyonce album was released on the

unsuspecting public without any advance
marketing fanfare whatsoever, which caused a
bit of a commotion as that fact was trumpeted
far and wide by bloggers and news organizations.
The album was released as a digital-only product,
with a one week exclusive going to iTunes. This
didnt sit well with retail giant Target who refused
to sell the CD when it was released as a result. A
few days later, Amazon joined the boycott on the
CD as well (although it still sells the download).

None before Plenty after

Even though Beyonce set smashed an iTunes record for the fast
selling album ever with over 600,000 digital album downloads,
having the number 2 and 3 retailers boycotting your physical
product could put a crimp in your long term sales. So what did
Beyonce do? She went on a shopping trip to a Tewsbury,
Massachusetts Walmart on Friday night, announced to everyone
over the stores loudspeaker system that she was there to buy her
album, then gave out approximately 37 grand worth of $50 Walmart
gift cards (santa) to everyone she saw in the store. And kissed a
baby! (politition)
Press coverage Positive
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2527431/Beyonce-sur
prises-fans-going-Christmas-shopping-Walmart-album.html
What better way to stick two fingers up at those who have
snubbed you than with a cosy shopping session with their
nearest competitor?

 Still, the message sent by Amazon and Target might not actually be
directed at Beyonce after all; its meant for any other artist that might
try the same maneuver in the future. Beyonce is at the top of the
music industry food chain at the moment, and she can get
away with such a scheme without it costing her too much in
sales (or so we think well find out soon enough). Not so for the vast
majority of artists though, none of which can afford to alienate one of
the retail giants. For them, the message was received loud and clear.
Give a digital exclusive, and pay for it with a physical boycott, at least
until such time when the CD is not longer a sales factor (it still is, by
the way much more than you think).
Of course, now Beyonces talking up a storm about how difficult it was
to keep the album a secret, how she was nervous about dropping the
album with no promotion, and how she wants to follow in Madonnas
footsteps, so the hype and promo that we were spared on the front
end of her release has just been transferred to the back end.

Fans
The fact that nearly 900,000
customers were willing to pay full
price to buy this album is testament
to the passionate dedication of
Beyoncs legions of fans, says one
veteran entertainment lawyer who
declined to be named. Most artists
have to pre-sell or hype albums by
giving away singles on various
websites, or streaming the album.

Topshop
http://nypost.com/2014/10/27/beyonc
e-to-design-workout-wear-line-withtopshop/
H&M
http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketsh
are/2013/05/03/love-it-hate-it-beyon
ce-does-hm/2/

Too Bootylicious?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
ticle-2333226/Beyonce-row-H-M-disc
overing-wanted-downsize-curves-swi
mwear-campaign.html

Pepsi and grown woman

Pretty Hurts

Run the world

7/11

xo