Mastery of deFORMATION

In Beyonce’s Formation music video, she moves away from her mastery of the form of dance to it’s deformation. Baker explains that while the mastery of form “conceals [and] disguises,” much of the work and emotion that goes into art, the deformation of mastery ” is a go(uer)rilla action in the face of acknowledged adversaries” (Baker 50). Beyonce is known for her dancing skills; she’s been showing off her mastery of the form since her Destiny’s Child Days. But in the section of the Formation video where she dances with other women in a parking lot, she abandons the “mask” of pop singer she often wears. First of all, the dancing occurs in a parking lot, a public space in which the black dancers are now making claim to. That act itself is radical. Additionally, Beyonce’s reliance on her dancers and their linear formation resembles the lines of police officers in the later portion of the video. Her adoption of their form is an act of empowerment, as she adopts the police forces overwhelming power. Finally, the arm movements are more reminiscent of fighting than more traditional dance. The dancing demonstrating that Beyonce is no longer a black pop-star trying to succeed by being talented; rather she is using that talent to challenge dominant white powers.