If I Were a Boy- Beyonce
Written by: BC Jean and Toby Gad
Produced by: Toby Gad and Beyonce Knowles
Directed by: Jake Nava
Narrative based
- It is a pop and folk rock ballad, you can tell this by the use of instruments like acoustic guitars, drums and strings.
- The characteristic of the genre is emotive vocal singing that is meant to express an emotion through the performance.
Relationship between lyrics and visuals
- In the video the artist is talking about how she would treat her wife if she were in a man's shoes "I'd listen to her, 'Cause I know how it hurts"
- She says if she were a boy she would "roll out of bed in the morning and throw on what I wanted" in the video you can see her dressing as if preparing for work and just throwing on her police uniform with out thought, the lyrics link in with the video very well here.
- Later on in the video she says she would "turn off my phone, tell everyone it was broken, so they'd think that I was sleeping alone" and again she is seen turning off her phone so her husband won't call her while she's out. Both these matches with the lyrics emphasise the importance of the lyrics and relate the story back to the video.
Relationship between music and visuals
- The video changes with the tempo of the music many times. For example at the beginning the tempo and the artist voice rises as she sings into the 2nd verse and at this moment the artists is seen opening the door and walking to the car, seeming to travel more quickly and with more emphasis than when she's in the house.
- Another time is when she begins to sing the chorus for the first time. The mood of the video changes, the two police officers are seen driving trying to catch someone, you can hear sirens and they look more distressed. This mood change in the video is meant to emphasise a mood change in the song.
Star image motifs
- The image the artist wanted to portray was a role reversal of the husband and wife and how the husband will affect their relationship through out his normal work day. Beyonce wanted people to understand how men treat women in relationships.
- The relation of 'If I Were a Boy' to her other single she released at the same time 'Single Ladies' is that both songs represent Beyonce's persona of a strong independent woman who is okay with being single and will not stand being treated wrongly by anyone.
Reference of notion of looking
- There are many close-ups of the artist in the video mostly from a male gaze, sexualising the artist as a woman to be desired by men. This in effect emphasises the narrative of the video because both the husband and wife are sexualised by their work colleagues.
- There are many times the artist is on sexual display but is explained through the story as to why she is sexualised. For example a long shot of the artist is seen arresting a criminal and taking him over to the car, during this time her male partner is watching her sexually, as well as the camera which does a pan down of her whole body. Both these shots are meant to show how women are sexualised by their colleagues, also how they act upon those emotions.
Intertexual references
- The video is said to relate to the film Freaky Friday (1976) because the main theme is role reversal so the two characters can understand how they live their lives and how they respond to certain emotions.
- The video may also relate to police shows from America such as NCIS or Law and Order simply because of the similar shots used when arresting criminals and working at the precinct.
