Analysis of "If I Were A Boy" By Beyonce

“If I were a boy” by Beyoncé Knowles, was released on the 12th of October 2008. The songs main plot is the difficulties of relationships, and the inequality between the sexes. The music video reinforces this idea, through a narrative of a male and female role reversal. For the majority of the video, Beyoncé is shown going to work and ignoring her supportive husband. Her behaviour is striking to the audience, who see her as ignorant and selfish. Midway through the video the roles switch, revealing the couples reality.  This reveals that she was showing how life is for her. The audience then feels sympathy for the female, and questions the accepted behaviour of both genders.

One main scene is the role switch, in which the implied reversal is fully revealed. Beyonce is seen flirting with another man, and when confronted she states he is “so jealous”. The roles then change, and the scene is shown reversed. The dialogue in this scene helps emphasize the feeling of inequality whilst helping the audience relate.

  

Genre

Beyonce's music is typically of the pop and rnb genre, although she has also produced some hip hop songs. Her mainstream music has changed gradually throughout her music career. If I were a boy is a slow pop song. Typical of many slow pop songs "If I were a boy" is a love song.

Audience

Through her music career beyonce has built a large audience, because of her range of songs. Most of her music is targeted at a younger audience, but is also widely popular. Aimed at a majorly young female demographic, “If I were a boy” like much of Beyoncé’s music; has a strong feminist perspective. Many of her lyrics describe independant women, and go against the typical conventions of pop music in that area.

Context

The song was successful worldwide, selling over 2 million copies and reaching to number one in the worlds singles top 40. http://acharts.us/song/38420. The song was also nominated for “Video of the year” at the BET awards 2009.

Style

The video opens with a short dialogue of the woman and man, describing the important factors of relationships. This scene adds impact to the message of the video.The film is shown in narrative form, although there are short performance scenes at the end. This is after the audience understands the full meaning of the song. The whole video is shown in black and white, showing the opposite nature of men and women.