Ash, fan

1: An early shot in 'Formation' is a panoramic view of the flooded New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The stranded state of the police cruiser with Beyoncé on it connotes irreconcilability, namely between modern African American experience and police brutality.pic.twitter.com/i3ibPV7Aus

The backdrop of the devastated New Orleans identifies a landscape of social and structural turmoil in which the impoverished African American population is more severely afflicted, which has roots in the way they face institutionalised racism from governmental bodies.pic.twitter.com/1UEoDGo8HB

Beyoncé's attire is demure, her shoes subtly militaristic, and her natural facial features are exposed, which finds suitability with the position of unashamed martyrdom she represents with her place on the sinking police cruiser.pic.twitter.com/bfQtk3sIqh

2: The use of a public pool as a historical microcosm for the operation of systemic racism in which African Americans faced segregation from the rest of the American population is clear. The pool's empty state evokes that historical sense of time and place.pic.twitter.com/RnW8gf3NGu

This not only allows Beyoncé to resurrect a scene in which abject denial of African American rights occurred but also allows her to stand unapologetically and publicly 'in-formation' with her dancers in a space which once forbade this type of participation from African Americans.pic.twitter.com/34uukAMOne

3: The shot of a boy dancing before SWAT personnel. The juxtaposition here is deliberate, and points to a salient civil issue - the necessity to think before one resorts to violence, which has become increasingly engendered in the way American law enforcement operates.pic.twitter.com/0mIMBGYGfb

The use of the child imbues a strongly generational and familial quality to black experiences tied in with police brutality, and reflects on the genealogical disruptions caused as a result of this violence, which stems from the abuse of power by police officers.pic.twitter.com/2W1xyFF2TT

5: The inclusion of the boy stands alongside the representation of many other southern voices and characters in 'Formation', which provide strong democratic imagery throughout the video. In this way, black experiences are highlighted as extremely non-linear.pic.twitter.com/QPbFTw7Q5J

6: The relationship between the state and body. This concept in the mimetic exchange between the boy and SWAT team. Beyoncé suggests by the 'hands up' gesture of the personnel that the trigger for social change lies in centering less-heard voices and protecting their interests.pic.twitter.com/FZieIYuucp

The appearance of a graffitied message: 'STOP SHOOTING US' carries on with this theme of communication between the state and the body through less appraised voices, and is a clear parallel to the Black Lives Matter movement.pic.twitter.com/z2Y0YFzrIV

7: The aristocratic ensemble Beyoncé wears. These are part of a running theme on 'Lemonade'. Beyoncé adorns typical outfits of plantation owners and in this way subverts the racially derived subjugation they represent. This also carries on the theme of affirming one's blackness.pic.twitter.com/x6D5xNO4oQ

8: Of interest is the low 16mm film and VHS footage that characterises the resolution of the video. This is a subtle allusion to the idea of being under the surveillance of the state, and identifies the scrutiny and damaging quotidian stereotypes African Americans confront.pic.twitter.com/EZ7BlKwnCd

9: There is the varied use of colour to highlight the vibrancy and eclectic nature of the New Orleans life and culture. The persistence of this imagery alongside an experience fraught with discrimination makes 'Formation' a holistic and authentic portrayal.pic.twitter.com/RK4zCqHXpP

This variedness extends to texture as well - of metallic surfaces, fur and braids. The deliberateness of this aspect complements the lyrics of ‘Formation’ with regard to the unapologetic way in which Beyoncé takes ownership of her identity.pic.twitter.com/2xme8hLUtv

10: Backtracking to the police cruiser. It is specifically a symbol of white androcentric power. It’s position early in the video identifies ‘Formation’ as a visual that directly challenges the racist dominant ideology kept alive through this form of power.pic.twitter.com/SwMt0T2d7Q

11: ‘Formation’ also positions Beyoncé as a crossroad between life & death. Early in the video, the voice of the late Messy Mya provides a ghostly influence. The summoning of significant, intersectional black voices reflects Beyoncé’s bending of time throughout ‘Lemonade’.pic.twitter.com/h9okQMfQhB

12: Fashion. Tableaus of historical figures involving Beyoncé and her dancers display the spectrum of fashion - from the upper class to the grassroot.pic.twitter.com/d8kBJ35rA3

The extreme heterogeny in the portrayal of the black American south - through circumstance, textures, power relations and fashion and hair identify Beyoncé’s agenda with ‘Formation’ to have horizontal unity between diverse black voices in trying to address systemic racism.pic.twitter.com/0TuHBRVELm

13: Setting in ‘Formation’ is key to the all-encompassing nature of Beyoncé’s message: parking lots, corner shops, street scenes and residential areas amplify the quotidian fragmented state of black experience. However, the heterogenous portrayal enables their consolidation.pic.twitter.com/mjM1WOVTav

14: As if to come full circle, the sinking of the police cruiser signifies the metaphorical weight of all the diverse voices that lie under the umbrella of Beyoncé’s pro-black call to arms. Flooding of the vehicle signifies the envisioned dismantling of racist power systems.pic.twitter.com/9EpFkvXBKy

As Beyoncé sinks with the vehicle, there is a clear sentiment that present-day social justice requires solidarity between African Americans based on remembering shared experience, which Beyoncé undertakes by submergence in the waters which residents affected by Katrina endured.pic.twitter.com/DA9d3skUOk