After Beyonce released her newest music video at the Superbowl in America, a class discussion was inevitable. I had seen the music video before the class (how could I not, she’s Beyonce) and I had recognised a few references to moments and eras in Black History, but it was great to go through it and learn from everyone else references that I had missed, like the empty swimming pool referring to the current water crisis in Flint.

‘Formation’ is unapologetically black and unapologetically political, even more so when it was performed live and the dancers costumed payed tribute to the Black Panthers. It’s a great example of how music and music videos can be a medium for political and moral outrage, a call out for society. The message of the video is often a reflection of the message in the song, Beyonce is singing about black issues and racism, and her video reflects that, but sometimes a song can take its undertones of pain and attribute them to a certain cause, like Hosiers ‘Take Me To Church’, which is fairly unspecific in its lyrics, but whose music video illuminated the struggle of a gay couple in a small town being discriminated against violently.

The discourse surrounding music videos can hit hard, if the song gets popular then suddenly there are reminders of it everywhere and the topics can be picked up by major media outlets. Beyonce’s video sparked a lot of discussion about the appropriateness of her propagating her political views into her music, which in turn sparked a hilarious SNL skit.

The discussion was an enlightening way of thinking about how politics and equal rights fit into the entertainment landscape, and how important it is to normalise and discuss these issues.