Analysis of Video 3- Beyonce 'If I Were A Boy'

Beyonce- If I Were A Boy

The sultry makeup in the music video that Beyonce wears makes her appear as very attractive which helps to interact with the audience.  Beyonce's look supports Laura Mulvey's idea of the male gaze in the way that her skin as been oiled up and her eyeshadow is smudged out to make her appear 'sexy' and therefore attract a male audience.  The simple skin makeup shows how Beyonce is a natural beauty.

The black and white filter put over the whole video makes the audience focus on the lyrics.  Due to the lack of colour on the visuals, the audience is more likely to engage with the lyrics instead of being distracted by things going on in the video.  It also suggests that the song is stripped back and raw which mimics the lyrics in the sense that Beyonce is singing about her struggles in a relationship.

The direct address showcased in the video helps the audience to stay engaged.  The audience feel connected with the singer when they give direct address because it feels as though the artist is looking right at the person watching the video, not just into the camera lens.  This helps to keep the audience engaged as she doesn't break eye contact.

The lyrics in the video speak about a difficult relationship which contrasts with the romance between Beyonce and the other police officer in the video.  This really helps to engage the audience as the audience like to see other people feel pleasure and like to see romance as Steve Neale talks about in his theory.

Slow motion shots paired with dip to black on a lot of the clips in the video help to show upset and feelings through editing.  The slow motion edit on some of the shots suggests that things are going slow with Beyonce and her relationship and that things feel as though they are never ending.  The dip to black suggests she has given up.