1) The music video for Beyoncé's song "If I Were a Boy" depicts a failing relationship between a heterosexual couple through role reversal. 2) In the first half, the couple's gender roles are swapped, with the wife behaving selfishly and the husband loyally. However, it is then revealed the husband was actually the one flirting. 3) This role reversal causes viewers to reconsider gender stereotypes and how infidelity is more accepted from men, reinforcing Beyoncé's message of female independence.

1. A2 Media Studies: Advanced Portfolio
The music video for ‘If I were a boy’ filmed in New York in 2009 is taken from Beyoncé’s
album ‘I am... Sasha Fierce’. The video is created in black and white and the narrative
follows an elliptical/enigmatic structure with themes of gender representation and role
reversal. The videos storyline depicts a failing relationship between a heterosexual couple
and for the first half of the video shows their roles in the relationship swapped which
creates confusion for the audience. The female character is played by Beyoncé, at the
beginning of the video she portrayed as being confident and ungrateful of her partner when
she skips breakfast made by her husband, flirts with a colleague and subsequently gets
caught dancing with him at a party. Her husband is represented as loyal and loving when he
buys his wife presents and refuses to flirt with an attractive girl from work. When the wife is
caught cheatingthe non-diegetic sound stops and dialogue is used, as this happen the
couples roles are reversed to how they should be and we realise that it was in fact the
husband who was flirting with his colleague and his wife who was being faithful. The
audience originally find the idea of the female character cheating quite abnormal however
when they realise it’s the husband it becomes the all too familiar stereotypical image of a
loyal wife and ungrateful husband who’s taken her for granted. This then causes the
consumer to consider how their opinions change and how it has become more acceptable
for men to cheat in a relationship. This role
reversal idea was used by Beyoncé to reinforce her idea of independent women and creates
the idea that she feels women are vulnerable in relationships.
In terms of Binary opposites, the video has been filmed in black and white creating the idea
of good vs evil. The colour black usually gives negative connotations of death and mystery of
the unknown whereas white has connotations of goodness, purity and innocence. This idea
can be reflected in the characters views towards their relationship;the husband is behaving
in a way that is considered wrong whereas his wife is being loyal to him. Strauss theory of
Binary Opposition can also be seen in the attitudes they have towards other colleagues and
also their difference in job, the wife has a stereotypical slightly dull office job whereas her
husband has an exciting fast-paced job as a police officer, this shows that their lives away
from each other couldn’t be more different. Iconographydepicting a failing relationship is
used in the music video when the husband tries to ring his wife and we see her look at

2. herphone and ignore it while she is in a bar with colleagues. This scenario seems slightly
abnormal for a woman to be doing this however when the roles are reversed it becomes the
conventional image of a man ignoring his partners phone calls. Iconography has been used
in the video to make it relatable for Beyoncé demographic of females aged 16-30 as they
may have experienced a similar situation in their relationships. This idea of independent
women that Beyoncé creates in this video and has done throughout her career will then
empower her female audience.
In terms of mise-en-scene the video is set in several different conventional pop video
locations, the first is in the couple’surban style apartment, which is used to juxtapose the
characters roles. This is done by similar shots being used of each character so that the
audience are able to compare their roles, it also allows them to see how different genders
are represented.Other settings such as a bar, an office and a party are seen ion the music
video, these ordinary locations are used so that familiar to its audience and therefore will
suggest that this is a common situation that they can relate to therefore making them feel
more sympathy for the singer. It will also make them questions why it is viewed in the
media for it to be more acceptable for men to behave unfaithful in relationships, which will
in turn reinforce Beyoncé’s theme of independent women.
Close up shots are frequently used on the husband in the first half of the video and when
the roles are reversed in the second half close ups are then used on the female character
when we realise she is the one who has in fact been hurt. This shot is successful in
enablingthe consumer to see her pain therefore making the video more emotional and
appear more intimate;subsequently this makes the audience feel empathy towards her. In
the latter half of the video another setting is introduced and it is the first time we see
Beyoncé use performance elements in the video.