Category: S6 Visual Guides

Ch 2 – Denial (Hold Up)

“INTUITION” RECAP

Beyoncé in Chapter 1, with her hair covered: left, a hoodie in reference to Trayvon Martin and systemic injustice; right, a headwrap alluding to the the tignon laws of Louisiana, each implying her repressed state.

Fort Macomb: A Symbol of “the Curse” of Slavery

Fort Macomb, from Chapter 1, an actual relic of the American Civil War and a visual allusion to the West African castles of the slave trade. Left, a canted angle to create a sense of stress or disorientation; right, a wide landscape shot.

Left, Beyoncé tepidly approaching those ruins, which are again shot wide in landscape juxtaposed with a vast sky (right).

Beyoncé’s Leap of Faith

Beyoncé’s leap of faith is the destruction of the current self that’s required to resurrect into something new. Left, rack focus is used to only slightly obscure what looks like tears in her eyes, after which she symbolically removes her hood (center) and leaps (right). Notice her Christ-like pose as she falls.

CH. 2 – DENIAL

Left, Beyoncé doesn’t hit the ground, but rather falls into a large body of water, introducing the next chapter “Denial.” Right, Beyoncé sheds her clothes, revealing nude undergarment. Water is traditionally symbolic of life, rebirth, fertility, and spiritual cleansing.

Left, Beyoncé submerged in water is in direct contrast with her in a bathtub without water on “Intuition” (right).

The Flooded Bedroom

Left, Beyoncé swims into a bedroom furnished with New Orleans “Creole Style” furniture and finds herself sleeping in bed alone, seeming to represent her current role in her relationship: silent, still, and as she described, “less awake” (right).

Beyoncé opens her eyes, looks at her surroundings, and lets out a huge breath; she’s awake now, or, perhaps more accurately, she’s been reborn.

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Ch. 1 – Intuition (Pray You Catch Me)

THE ELEVATOR TAPE & ITS AFTERMATH

The infamous surveillance video, leaked by TMZ.

Saturday Night Live’s cold open sketch a week later, parodying JAY-Z (Jay Pharoah), Beyoncé (Maya Rudolph) and Solange (Sasheer Zamata) with their bodyguard (Kenan Thompson).

“We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.”

Exclusive statement to the Associated Press, released by the Knowles and Carter families

Tabloid speculation that persisted even after the couple’s press release attempting to dismiss the rumors.

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#LEMONADE 4.23 9PM ET | 6PM PT | HBO

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Beyoncé’s April 16th, 2016 Instagram post. In it, we hear Beyoncé ask, ¨What am I gonna do, love?¨ before the title card announcing its forthcoming HBO release.

LEMONADE’S OPENING MOMENTS: A PROLOGUE

“She wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love, and what it has done to the black family.”

Melina Matsoukas, one of Lemonade’s directors and Beyoncé’s longtime friend and collaborator

The opening shot of the film is followed by this black and white image of a chain filmed at a slave plantation in Louisiana, the first of many images that transport us back to America’s history of tortuous slavery. Low angle shots are used to emphasize power dynamics, and the extremity of the angle depicts the chain looming over the viewer, as if we’re the ones chained to the wall.

Fort Macomb, an intimidating Civil War era brick fortress that serves as a symbol throughout the film.

Left, a wide shot that demonstrates the fortress’s size and expanse; right, a canted angle gives viewers an implication of stress, intimidation, or uneasiness.

Beyoncé in front of the curtain on stage, which mimics a director addressing an audience before a performance. Like the fortress, behind the curtain is some truth to her story, and she is preparing us, and herself, for its reveal.

Continue reading “Ch. 1 – Intuition (Pray You Catch Me)”