1. For my music video analysis I have decided to analyze
the video ‘Run the world’ by Beyoncé. The reasoning
behind this is due to the fact it fits the genre I will be
researching. Run the world is an R&B pop song, this
would suggest Beyoncé would follow certain
elements such as dance routines, lots of props, which
the ‘Run the world’ video follows. The song is a
female empowerment type of song like many of
Beyoncé’s previous songs such as ‘Independent
Women’ and ‘Single Ladies’.
The songs begins with what seems to be diegetic
wind, this is where we get the first glimpse of the
artist. Beyoncé is riding a black horse over an open,
deserted plain with her back towards the camera. As
the horse lifts off the ground, scenes of Knowles
standing atop a ruined vehicle are shown, as she leads
a large army of women. This is when the main beat
kicks in.
The mise-en-scene and
colors used in this
particular video are black,

2. browns, reds and creams this complements the
setting of a dusty deserted desert.
Additional scenery includes a large bull in the middle
of the battleground and a large banner featuring an
African themed drawing of Beyoncé. A lot of the props
used are dirty and grimy. There is a contrast with the
male and females costumes, the girls seem to be in the
reds, oranges and yellows these colours are very
bright and strong which links in with the lyrics that
girls and strong and ‘run the world’. Beyoncé the lead
artist is not dressed to perfection like she is in most of
her other video’s. Her hair is messy and her make-up
is dark, which complements the hard beats of the
song and her surroundings of dirty cars, walls ect. At
around 1:56 Beyoncé is presented in the dessert
holding chained hyenas suggesting she is a strong
female. Beyoncé has many costume changes during
the video, all of which present her as a strong female.
Although many of her costumes are provocative
Laura Mulvey suggests this is the ‘male gaze’ also
Andrew Goodwin suggests music videos need to have
voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
There are many dance routines featured in this video,
which is expected from the audience from a Beyoncé
video. Beyoncé hired a dance duo from France. She
also hired an Mozambican kwaito dance group who
taught Beyoncé their traditional dancers which fits
perfectly with the beats of the song and the setting
which has a African feel to it. In most of the dancing
Beyoncé uses the minimalistic approach. Many of the
dances she uses focus on her legs, which Beyoncé is

3. well known for again this could be used for the male
gaze. Beyoncé dances seductively towards the men.
The run the world video has major influences from
Tina Turners 1979 film Mad Max and Janet Jacksons
music video for ‘Rhythm Nation’.
The narrative of the video is pretty clear due to the
name of the song Stuart Hall would suggest it is a
Dominant or Preferred meaning. Beyoncé is known as
a strong female role model. In many of her songs she
follows this and creates songs and videos, which
represents strong independent women. Run the
world is a good example of this. When Beyoncé takes
the males badge and places it on her self suggests she
is strong. He movements and lyrics also suggest this.
Armies of women are used to show that women
should unite and become strong and independent and
‘Run the world’. Young girls can relate to this video
and look up to the artist.
There are a lot of close ups on Beyoncé’s face creating
her as the star image. This is expected in a Beyoncé
video as she is a
well-known artist.
The close ups on her
face reveal her
strong facial
expressions, which
again tie in with the
song and lyrics. The
increasing number of female army represents what
Beyoncé is trying to get across in her video.

4. The video would be aimed teenage girls. Many girls
look up to Beyoncé as strong independent women.
Due to these expectations Beyoncé creates videos that
will portray her as this icon girls look up to. Although
this is the case many males would look and indulge in
Beyoncé’s videos as she is a attractive female she
reveals a lot of her body in the video this links to
Laura Mulveys ‘Male Gaze Theory’.
Beyoncé is representing all girls in this particular
video. The males in this particular video look
intimidated by the females they look pretty weak, as
when Beyoncé jumps on them they fall feebly, due to
the title of the song this is what the director would
want to portray.