Textual Analysis of Single Ladies by Beyonce

Analysis of Single Ladies by Beyoncé

The video is 3.19 seconds long and was directed by Christopher Stewart and Beyoncé Knowles herself. The music is R&B genre with a little bit of Hip Hop in it.

It has a very up- beat tempo and is accompanied with a very lively and fast paced dance routine. The lyrics speak of love.

Mise- en- scene

The video for Single Ladies is a stereotypical dance video. The video shows sexy girls wearing very skimpy, tight clothes, dancing. The girls are young and very attractive, and young teenage girls watching the video would aspire to be just like them – they would hold them up as role models. They are energetic and fit and we would admire their physical abilities. 
As there is nothing else within the set, all attention is focused on the dancers.

Beyoncé is the central and most important character throughout the video. She dances from the opening moment to the end of the video. She wears a lot of make-up which connotes the R&B genre. All the dancers including Beyonce wear the same outfit with the same hairstyle, this gives connotations that they are all apart of the same person.

The upbeat tempo is consistent throughout the song and as such the pace of the video remains constant throughout the video.

Many of the lyrics are repeated throughout the song. The phrase – “If you like it then you should have put a ring on it “is an example of this. Throughout at this phrase the dancers point to their ring finger. This sticks in the mind of the audience and we relate the words to the visual image, helping us to remember. It’s a song that cannot be forgotten because of its repetition. The visuals constantly reinforce what we hear. Another example of this is where the lyrics say “Put your hands up”. Beyoncé does put her hands up which reinforces the lyrics and shows a happy, carefree attitude.

The costumes are very simple and have sexual overtones as they do not cover much of the dancers’ bodies. The dance movements are quite revealing and explicit which fits well with the lyrics of the song.

Sound

As the final shot of Beyoncé is held on the screen, the sound becomes diegetic sound as you can hear Beyoncé breathing and laughing. This makes her a natural, real person and restores reality for the viewer.
Throughout the diegetic music there is a robotic tone to it which links to the movements made by the dancers which are very jumpy and interrupted which gives a robotic feel to it. 
There is lip synching throughout.

Camera

The video is shot inside a studio. This concentrates the audience’s attention on the singer and her dancers without it being diverted by exterior influences.

Artificial light is used within the studio. The lighting is simple and dramatic, full of high contrasts. It is shot in black and white which makes it simple and effective. The black and white background makes the legs of the dancers stand out. The focus is very much on their bodies. This follows the male gaze theory where the camera is the males’ eyes.

There are many close ups of Beyoncé throughout the video. This is a very important factor of the video as the record company wants to promote their artist and get as much publicity as possible for her. They want her image to remain with the viewer. Through the repetition of lyrics and images, the record company hopes the song will appeal to their target audience and they will sell a lot of copies of the track. By using close ups we get an insight into the artist’s face and we can relate with her more.

The final shot is a close up of Beyoncé, again holding her ring finger. This stressed the importance of how much the ring would have meant to her if he had proposed.

Narrative

There is very little narrative in the video however the video is telling a story of how her partner and her drifted apart and now he wants her back but she doesn’t want him back so is telling him what he should have done ‘Put a ring on it’.

Titling

There are no titles used throughout the video.