Vogue and Beyoncé

In light of missing the discussion about Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance, I decided to write about her from Klein’s, Baurdrillard’s, and Veblen’s points of view. Instead of focusing on the half-time show, however, I chose to base my investigation on Vogue Magazine’s cover story about this chic, fiery diva.

            As I explored Vogue’s latest on Beyoncé, a link invited me to “Go behind-the-scenes of her cover shoot,” and I couldn’t resist the invitation. I rode up to the shoot in a black Cadillac SUV and stood behind the cameras watching stylists and photographers work with outfits and lighting to compile Beyoncé’s “Power Issue.” Throughout the entire behind-the-scenes video, a narrator’s voice, sometimes female and sometimes male but always a voice with a British accent, spoke about the definition of power. It’s fitting, therefore, that the title of the cover story article is “Beyoncé Knowles: The Queen B.” The photo shoot and article aim to (re)establish Beyoncé’s image as powerful and unstoppable, as a singer who doesn’t need to rely on lip-synching but rather one that can belt through songs while hip-hop dancing at the Super Bowl. The words that accompanied the backstage video promote, as Klein would say, Beyoncé’s brand of power, independence, and feminine finesse. The soothing, British narrative voice says, “Power means lots of different things. It means twists and turns and sort of has its own energy. To me there’s a power in discretion and there’s, you know, a power of intimacy, there is a sense of touch and humanity and we also catch all of that.” Analyzing this photo shoot from Klein’s perspective, it appears that Beyoncé is trying to strengthen her image as a strong, fierce music and fashion icon.

Beyoncé's Cover Photo

            Approaching the shoot through a Baudrillard lens, however, changes the picture. Baudrillard would disagree that Vogue’s photo shoot with Beyoncé captures the “sense of… humanity” that the British accent speaks about. In the chapter of The Consumer Society called “Functional Eroticism,” Baudrillard argues that the fashion model is turned into an object on which people hang signs and symbols of value. He says that the “disembodiment is ultimately encapsulated in the gaze. These fascinating/fascinated sunken eyes, this objectless gaze.” Interestingly as the narrator’s voice says the word “humanity,” Beyoncé’s cover photo flashes across the screen. This picture, however, fails to show humanity. Through the empty stare that Baudrillard writes about, it demonstrates Beyoncé’s portrayal as an object. How can Beyoncé hope that Vogue will promote her powerful, independent brand when the magazine’s cover photo objectifies her according to Baudrillard’s theory?

            Finally, signs of conspicuous consumption and leisure pepper the photo shoot. They demonstrate that even a century after Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class people still display pecuniary power to influence how others view them. First, the video whisks Beyoncé and the viewer to the photo shoot in a shiny, black Cadillac SUV, which co-brands Beyoncé with the luxury line of America’s General Motors Corporation. The fact that the car is an SUV also demonstrates the ability to pay for gas in a market where the price is steep and rising. Additionally throughout the video Beyoncé poses on plush, velvety couches and cushy lounges arranged on top of richly colored, dense carpets. These symbols point toward a life of leisure and illustrate the capability to purchase items that have no functional value. Photos with luxury furnishings suggest leisure time and an over all superior quality of life.

            Vogue takes Beyoncé’s brand of individuality and power into account in the backstage video and tries to propagate it by speaking about definitions of power. According to Baudrillard, however, Vogue actually portrays Beyoncé as an object. As in Veblen’s theory, Vogue fills the video with signs of pecuniary power to mark high status. Thus, the photo shoot demonstrates the branding and advertising theories from Klein, Baudrillard, and Veblen.

Links:

The Behind the Scenes Video

Vogue's piece on Beyoncé