Dream Vs Formation

Dream Vs Formation

Formation

Dream

The music videos for both Dream by Dizzee Rascal and Formation by Beyonce contain many similar key themes however also have different approaches in how they present their messages. Both videos share the theme of societal power however Dream is a much more of a social statement as it also covers themes of aspiration as well as racial and age representation.

Formation uses its music video to momentarily raise the issue of the governments treatment of the flooding in New Orleans. The New Orleans flood affected mostly African-American neighbourhoods and the government did very little to help people recover and instead allowed what was once peoples land to be sold on. The video shows images of destroyed New Orleans houses as well as Beyonce sitting on top of a New Orleans police car sinking in the flood.

Perhaps the preferred reading of this is that the governmental structure "sinks" and is nowhere to be seen when disaster hits. However it should be noted that the lyrics to the song itself have nothing to do with New Orleans and instead focus on usual rap topics such as sex, fame and money. Due to this a negotiated reading may be that Beyonce hasn't done enough to truly represent the issue. An opposition reader may feel that the themes of the lyrics are inappropriate and disrespectful to the nature of the disaster.

Compare this to Dream and you can see that not only does Dream carry a more positive message but it also makes sure that the message of the lyrics and video are aligned. Rather than focusing on the standard rap topics Dizzee talks about how "You can go far if you put your mind to it". The positive message links in with the video itself as they both tell a story of growing up and achieving your dreams. The video has a lot to say about several issues starting with the linking theme of societal power.

In the video Dizzee Rascal and the puppets who he shares the stage with are representative of the young working class, many of whom are represented as being black in the video. The woman on the piano represents the older middle class. She is visibly larger showing her influence. This shows that she is big and powerful enough to fix the problems in front of her yet chooses not to do so. This sends the message that those in power don't do enough to help, similarly to the video for Formation. It should also be noted that those on stage with Dizzee are puppets on strings perhaps making the social statement that the young or the working class have their lives controlled or manipulated by those in power.

Overall I prefer Dream because its lyrics are more greatly linked to its video which makes the message feel less forced and more meaningful. It is clear from Dream what the message is however Formation only presents its message within its video meaning that many people wont get that message.