Textual Analysis 3 (Notes)

"If I Were A Boy" - Beyonce

Media Representations
Against white wall. Hair straight and down. No make-up. Beyonce portrayed as an independent woman in a hard relationship. Police officer with male partner. Flirtatious with work partner. Busy woman. Not stereotypical female. Male represented as caring and thoughtful. Both have colleagues who are interested in them. Beyonce very strong willed. Good gun handler. Teaches her male colleague. Ignoring phone calls. Male makes excuses to stay at work and not go out. Beyonce seen wrestling suspect instead of male officer. Her male partner looks at her in a sexual way. She drives the car. Male seen in less dominant role. Speech scene. Roles switch. Laughter acts as a way of switching the roles. Woman now in less dominant position. Male police officer with female partner. Only see her mime when roles are switched.

Media Language and Forms
Opening shot in med close up. Black and white. Cut to med close up of male character. Close up as she says 'me'. Cut to med shot from behind against window getting dressed. Two shot as he sets breakfast. Colourless = no hope in the relationship, no spark. Med CU show disappointment on his face. Iconography of uniform of police officer. Sunglasses connotate 'cool'. Slow motion as she comes out of the door. Iconography of police car. Not made obvious but lights on top connotate. Shot through window of driver seat to see her come in the car. Cut to med shot through window of the pair. Partners face is covered by reflection but Beyonce is clear. Shaky shots connotate hectic situations. Shows her work life. Full of events. Long shot of desk shows emptiness around him. Two contrasting lives. POV of her partner through window. CU as she fires gun. Scene in dressing room shows femininity. Blur through window of her at meal. Cross cut to him trying to call her. Low shot show her dominance when struggling with suspect. At club she is in light he in dark. Fade out to speech scene. SRS in scene like a film scene. Roles switch. Fade to black. Song resumes. Matching actions at start but different roles.

Narrative
Ordinary couple having an ordinary day. Role reversal supported by lyrics of song. Role reversal revealed at the end. What would women do if they were men. How women are sometimes treated in relationships dominated by men. First half is not ordinary iconography of the relationships and the occupation they have.

Genre
Music video, pop song by R&B artist. Music is mix of guitar drums and backing vocals.

Media Institutions
To sell record and artist. To show her acting ability. Video distributed to music channels across the world.

Media Values and Ideology
First half of video woman takes charge in relationship. Independent and strong willed in job. Has a action packed and riskier job than male. Female not treating male right. Flirtatious female. Roles twist and ideology of male are shown. he has strong wills and riskier job. Has a flirtatious relationship with police partner.

Media Audiences
Most successful female pop artist. Beyonce fans. Females. Fans of destiny's child. 16 - 24 yr old. Females in tough relationships. Music channel audiences.