On Beyonce's Music Video of "Run The World (Girls)"

I was just thinking of my beautiful, hysteric-in-love, workaholic Beyonce, wondering when she was going to wow me with another awesome video when I stumbled on "Run the World (Girls)," and by the time I sat down to write this I have the tune in my head (in the voice of my four-year-old daughter) and the dance sequences stamped permanently over everything I see (in my daughter’s one-hand-in-the-air-another-on-the-hip interpretation).

The Setting

For someone who has been writing on dystopia since 2003, a barren landscape with burned cars, abandoned tires and bike carcasses is a dream come true. And even though we have seen this pseudo post-apocalyptic landscape in Rihanna’s "Hard" and (hints of it) in Britney’s "Till The World Ends," Francis Lawrence is filming an epic of his own, with horses, bulls, lions and hyenas for company. Smoke is in the air, the sand hits the face, the cars go up on fire. The visuals are stunning but there is a question of balance here; too many images make the eye and the mind scatter whereas in "Diva" one or two arresting shots lingered like footprints on my brain. But maybe I just have a thing for black and white.

The Fashion

Beyonce has always been good at picking outfits that are odd enough to be forward without being unappealing; there are no unintentional laughs or Project Runway arts-and-crafts-slash-hardware-store-tortured concoctions; she knows what she looks good in and she knows how to rock it. I love the Alexander McQueen red dress with her newly blonde locks. The pointy satin bra against the bearskin shoulders, the insanely smooth golden belt and mini bearskin fringe on the Alexander Wang stilettos make the most remarkable visual in recent pop-video fashion. The white Givenchy tulle gown works well with a futuristic take on a retro updo. The Gareth Pugh Agold dress reflects the exploding car behind. The black coat collars up menacingly. The Emilio Pucci yellow dress with an embroidered front and sky-high slits up Beyonce’s thighs is jaw-dropping (other body parts will move upwards). The black unitard with strategically placed cut-outs is stunning and the sequined green number is a show stopper. Should I mention the gold headpiece? I think this is Beyonce at her best dressed.

Article Author: Sviatlana Piatakova

A writer, blogger, critic and lyricist from Minsk, Belarus, bitching about music and film, going out with a toddler and working from home, pop culture, sex, feminism, female chauvinism, alter egos, single motherhood, post apocalyptic dystopia and …

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