Music Video Analysis Pt. 2

At first, I was thinking, how the hell am I going to explain the narrative of this Beyonce video? It might as well be a 2 Chainz video. But now I think I understand how the message of the song ties in with the music video.

The music video opens with a head shot of Beyonce. Here, she looks very soft and innocent, she even batters her eyelashes to add to the effect.

Time plays a big part in this song; I mean, it is called countdown. The ticking in the beat is parallel to Beyonce moving her hands like a clock in this shot. Essentially, she is saying that her time with her husband won't run out. She even says, "I will always be with you" in the song.

All of a sudden, she makes this face and says, "If you leave me, you're out of your mind," almost as a threat.

The colors of the background, Beyonce's makeup, and her outfit in this particular scene are constantly changing, showing that she has several different sides to her personality. She admits, "There's ups and downs in this love," and she's "got a lot to learn in this love," so this scene also indicates her mutability in the sense that she is ever changing and ever adapting to make her marriage work. Relationships are give and take.

In this scene, Beyonce is absolutely gushing over her hubby and assuming the "perfect wife" role. She is pictured in the same outfit, updo, and makeup as the first shot when she appeared sweet and innocent. Look at her posture and the way her toes are pointed; it practically screams submissive. The lyrics scream submissive, too: "I'm all up under him like it's cold–winter time. All up in the kitchen in my heels–dinner time." The all black outfit almost makes her look like she should be cleaning houses.

Ten Beyonces are shown here, all of them doing different dances, which says that she can pretty much do it all. She's that woman who has a third arm, eyes in the back of her head, etc.

Here, the "perfect wife" role is more evident. Beyonce shows that not only can she cook and clean, but she can... um... please her man. She's wearing a man's button-down shirt but still has her hair pulled back in that bun and her make up is still very soft and innocent looking. She's submissive.

This shot shows the "real" Beyonce. She has on natural looking makeup and an unflattering outfit. The bra strap shows a hint of sex appeal, but nonetheless, this, in a sense, is how Beyonce would look at her worst. She is baring her true self without all of the superficial stuff.

Just as we see the "real" Beyonce, we're hit with this Dream Girls, glammed-up version of her. I mean, she is a celebrity, so it only makes sense that she is showing this side of her too.

In this scene, it's literally black and white. All of the different shades of Beyonce still make up the one person that she is. Basically, she says "take it or leave it," but "leave it" isn't really an option, as mentioned earlier.

Finally, the video concludes similar to the way that it started: with a smile and battering of the eyelashes.

Overall, Beyonce is selling herself in this video. She admits to her imperfections and is willing to change them with a little bit of work. Although she has imperfections, her good qualities significantly outweigh them. You'd be crazy to not want a woman like her. She can do everything.