1. Beyoncé – Dance For You
In thisvideo,the R&Bcharacteristicsare shownbyBeyoncé’sdancing,andherbeautiful starimage
whichportraysan expensive,wealthylifestyle.The firstscene isalongshotof Beyoncé depictingher
typical star image throughherexpensive lookingsilkdress,large diamondearringsandattire in
general.She alsohason a trenchcoat, whichsymbolisesadesirable female andisaniconiclook
presentedinmanyportrayalsof the 1940's.
Her costume doesn'tchange throughoutthe videowhichgivesthe audience asense thatwhatthey
are watchingishappeningatthe presenttime.The 2ndshottype usedisa close upof the male love
interest,alsoinatypical 1940’s ‘gangster’style suitsimilartosomethinglikeAl Pacino,gazingatthe
artistas she entersthe room;the expressiononhisface isone of desire andsexual tension.

2. Voyeurismislargelydisplayedinthismusicvideobecauseof how personal Beyoncé makesitby
dancingwithhermale interest. Voyeurismisbestdefinedasthe practise of observingsexual
gratificationbylookingatsexual objectsoracts. Inthisvideothere are manyexamplesof ‘looking’
by the use of close upsandextreme close ups.Typicallythe close-upsare of Beyoncé andherlove
interest,there are noclose up’sonthe dancersonly longshots.Thisvideoalsoshowsthe male gaze
as the leadingmandoesnothingbutstare at the artist,whichhighlightsthe view thatmenmaysee
womenasa sexual objectalthoughinthisvideoshe isasexual objectasthe dance she is performing
inpurposelyprovocative.
Thisis a videocapturedinfilm-noir,depictingthe 40's style of women,menandworking
relationships.The videoconnotesfemininitydue tothe stereotypical imageof womeninsuspenders
beingsomethingautomaticallytiedtofeminine women.Beyoncé isportrayedasa femme fatale,
because of the dominance she isshowingthroughherdancingandmovement.It’sasif the
choreographyhasbeenusedtomake her appearpredatoryandin complete control of whatisgoing
on aroundher althoughtypicallythe stereotype of womenisthattheyhave littlecontrol of the
environmentthey’reinandthat mencontrol,fundandrun the world.I feel thatalthoughthisvideo
still representsfemalesassexualobjectsitempowerswomendue tothe genre of musicit’sbased
on and the narrative of the videoitself.
The videodoeshave a narrative althoughnota veryclearone.It isobviousitpresentsthe
stereotype of the male as"the boss"and Beyoncé asthe "secretary"connotinganoffice based
affair/relationship.The whole videotakesplace inthe office andbythe endof the videoitisclear
that theyare goingtoengage insome sort of sexual activity,lefttothe viewer’simagination.The
entire videoisblackandwhite withlittle editingthroughout.There isnouse of fade in’s,dissolvesor
wipes.Itappearsthe videoisone seamlesstake fromdifferentcamerasindifferentpositionsaround
the room. The one apparentuse of editingisthe use of cutswhere the image changesfromBeyoncé
to the male love interestdemonstratingjuxtaposition.
One of the codesof R&B musicvideosistohave a dance routine,TypicallyinR&Bvideosthere are
dance routinestohelppromote the artistand draw in more viewersmakingthe targetaudience
broader..The video,whichwasdirectedbyBeyoncé herself alongwithSolange’sboyfrienddirector
AlanFerguson,isaboutlosingcontrol andgivingyourselffullytoone man.Thisisreflectedinthe
dance movesas theyare seductive andcontrolled,asif she isstating thatshe is ina positionof
powerbutwillingtogive herself uptothe rightperson.By wideningthe targetaudience the artistis
creatingmore opportunityforself-promotion,salesandcreatingawayof enablingmore listenersto
be drawn to the particulargenre of music.Overall,asviewers,Ifeel thatthisvideofitsthe codesand
conventionsof itsgenre.