Beyoncé's song "Bow Down" received mostly negative feedback for portraying a different, more arrogant side of her persona. The music video for "Bow Down" takes a humorous approach, depicting Beyoncé and another woman dressed as royalty dancing around London in an over-the-top manner that seems to parody the song's cocky lyrics. Though simplistic compared to more concept-driven rock music videos, it succeeds as a pop music video by incorporating dancing, flashy costumes, fast editing and engaging the audience.

1. When Beyoncé released her first single ‘Bow Down’, in promotion of her upcoming
fifth solo album, she certainly managed to generate buzz, regardless of the fact that
the majority of it was negative. The song ‘Bow Down’ reveals a different side to the
humble, well-spoken and respectful women Beyoncé has managed to portray within
the industry, and after stating to have gotten rid of her alter ego ‘Sasha Fierce’
(Beyoncé’s on stage persona created in 2003), Beyoncé had no persona to blame for
this arrogant, tacky, indolent and laughable track. Nevertheless, Beyoncé’s
embarrassing track just might have been saved by an even more laughable music
video.The music video to bow down seem to cleverly turn the joke around back to the
audience, as it aims to almost parody the lyrical content of the song. The video
follows two women, dressed up as royalty, dancing and strutting around central
London (home of the royals), this seems to match the over confident lyrics of the
song, and the dance routines match the codes and conventions of the typical Beyoncé
music video, however, this music video does not seem to take the cockiness level of
the lyrics too seriously, as the royal theme of the video is cleverly done modestly and
humorously.
Similar to other pop music
videos such as ‘Macklemore-
thrift shop’, and the YouTube
sensation ‘PSY- Gangnam
Style’, this music video aims to
get the audience dancing
along and laughing (having
fun), and it does it successfully
by consisting of all the
characteristics of its pop
genre, these include, the
dance routine, the flashy and
trendy costume, the fast pace
and song matching editing
and the simple narrative. This
is what makes this music
video a successful pop music video.
BOW DOWN

2. In comparison to other music videos of a different genre, such as ‘Kings of Leon-Use
somebody’ and ‘M.I.A- Born Free’ (Both from the rock genre), this music video lacks
a sense of thought and creativity of the narrative that most Rock/Indie genre music
videos have (like most pop music videos), unlike ‘Kings Of Leon and ‘M.I.A’, this
music video doesn’t seem to aim for a unique, thought-provoking or political
response (as most videos of a rock or indie genre do), thus lacking a clever narrative,
or any original or unique content.
That being said, it would be
unfair to compare these genres
as the purpose and audience
expectations are completely
different. This music video
delivers exactly what the target
audience expect from it. As the
music video is pop, the audience
is represented to be young,
active and eager individuals,
who look for music videos that
make them want to dance along,
laugh and actively engage with
the music video, on the other
hand, music videos of different
genres such as ‘Greenday- American Idiot’, aim to an audience that expects a music
video to be more thought-provoking and consist of its typical genre characteristics
such as dark and mysterious imagery, footage of the band playing and a well though-
out narrative.
In ‘M.I.A- Born Free’, the individuals in the video, and the subject matter, both
appeal and relate to audiences of both members, as the content doesn’t seem to
consists of anything different genders can oppose to, such as music videos like ‘Jay-z-
Big Pimping’, which is clearly aimed at a male audience, as a majority of females
would be offended by the derogatory use of females and references to cars. Within
this music video for bow down, the use of gender is fairly accurate and predictable, as
it’s a Beyoncé song, the music video must continue to aim to empower and promote
females and dedicate its appeal to a female audience, however, that being said, the
song is known for completely contradicting Beyoncé’s ‘Female empowering attitude’,
and the use of females in this production then adds humorous irony to the video.
Picture of ‘M.I.A - Born Free’ Music Video

3. The characters within the video most defiantly represent and appeal to the age of the
target audience. Due to the characters being teenagers and doing things that they
find entertaining and funny, allows them to engage with the video, as their able to
relate to the video. This is different for such videos as M.I.A- Born Free, as the
narrative of the video tells a story and touches or moral and political issues within
our society, this allows for an open discussion between any individuals of any age
who understand it.
Overall I think on a critics point of view, the ‘Bow Down’ music video is a cheap and
tacky looking music video, for a cheap and tacky song, but as someone reviewing it as
an audience member, I think this music videos fulfils its intended purpose
successfully, as it has managed to take one of Beyoncé’s flop and embarrassing, over
confident and laughable songs, and make it seem almost intentionally and cleverly
terrible. For the reason that I actually find myself entertained with this video, as
appose to irritated by the song, I would call the music video a triumph.