An Analysis Using Burke's Dramatistic Pentad
In order to effectively analyze Beyoncé's rhetoric that is portrayed in her music videos, the "Formation" music video has been selected for this analysis. This specific music video can all be found on the media page (or embedded below). A great method used to analyze Beyoncé's rhetoric that is portrayed in her music videos is Kenneth Burke's Dramatistic Pentad.
The Dramatistic Pentad includes five parts: act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose. Each part is described in the chart on the right. This method was chosen to analyze Beyoncé's rhetoric because it not only provides a framework for analysis but also it can help a rhetor make sense of an artifact. With that in mind, the Dramatistic Pentad helps create context and understanding that is necessary to evaluate the effects and purpose
presented in the artifact. However, only part of the pentad will be focused on for this analysis rather than all five parts.
To start, the act is what is being done. What is happening in the music videos? What sort of visual rhetoric is Beyoncé using in the music videos to convey her message and persuade or teach her audience? At the beginning of the "Formation" music video, Beyoncé is singing on top of a police car that is sinking in water. A very important scene that takes place is one in which a young African-American boy is dancing in front of several police officers; when the boy raises his hands in the air, the officers all mimic his movements. Using a child establishes a pathos-based appeal because he will mostly likely be perceived as innocent. For that reason, to see him standing in front of police officers with his hands up as if he has done something wrong, triggers an emotional reaction. There is also lots of footage of New Orleans, showing how the city is recovering from Hurricane Katrina. These two scenes (amongst others) are powerful forms of visual rhetoric, which set a political tone.
In this instance, it is important to recognize that the setting or background is also important because it influences the political tone of the "Formation" music video (which is embedded above). The music video takes place in New Orleans, and Beyoncé highlights the suffering and recovery that its inhabitants are still experiencing. Knowing this information is important to analyze and understand Beyoncé's rhetorical choices; by highlighting the inequalities and injustices that still exist in New Orleans eleven years after Hurricane Katrina, Beyoncé utilizes this visual rhetoric to convince her audience to take a stand to combat these injustices in order to make a positive influence. What is being done in this music video plays a significant role in conveying the message and swaying her audience. For instance, the scene of the African-American boy and the police officers symbolizes the police brutality in America.
Throughout the "Formation" music video, Beyoncé meticulously uses the setting as powerful rhetorical device in attempts to make her audience aware of issues as well as persuade them to be proactive. While doing so, Beyoncé develops a great sense of agency. Agency is the means by which an action occurs. In this case, Beyoncé uses music—specifically music videos—as a rhetorical device. Music videos can be very powerful because it brings the words of the song to life. The agency can differ from music video to music video depending on the context. How an audience interprets the rhetoric can influence how they respond to an artifact. When examining the reactions to the "Formation" music video, a question came to mind: If music videos are in fact a rhetorical device, then how do they contribute—if any at all—to feminism and/or feminist rhetorical theory? What are other researchers saying about Beyoncé's rhetor in relation to feminism? Nathalie Weidhase's research about representations of feminism in popular music offered an intriguing understanding of Beyoncé's rhetoric. While at the University of Roehampton, Weidhase wrote a brief essay titled "Beyoncé Feminism’ and the Contestation of the Black Feminist Body" in which she analyzes how Beyoncé's rhetoric can be considered a soft, basic version of feminism. In her essay, Weidhase discusses how a lot of attention is given to Beyoncé's sexualized dancing and her body; she discusses how Beyoncé has "sexual agency" in her music videos (as well as her performances) (Weidhase).
On this note, the term "sexual agency" sparked many questions: While Beyoncé may be using music to making her claims and address social or political issues, does this mean that she is not contribute to rhetorical theory? If an artifact is considered a soft and basic version of an ideology does that make said artifact any less effective in conveying a message or persuading an audience? Like Weidhase states, Beyoncé does have agency. She uses her agency, even if it may be considered sexual agency, to contribute to making rhetorical claims in her music videos. And isn't the goal of feminist rhetorical theory simply to "account for women's experiences and perspectives" as well as give alternate ways to consider women's accomplishments in rhetoric (Foss)? In that case, a method that is considered "soft" still contributes to feminist rhetorical theory because it provides women the chance to participate in the large field of rhetoric.