Erykah Badu's Bag Lady: Analyzing Its Audio & Video Production - Essay Sample

Introduction

Erykah Badu's song "Bag Lady," tells women to move on with their lives instead of trying to cling on to their baggage. She lets her listeners understand the pain women go through. The message she conveys is that all types of women should learn to let go of all the hurt. This paper discusses the song Bag Lady by Erykah Badu and analyses its audio and video production.

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There are four women besides Erykah in the video. All women represent different 'bag ladies' dressed in different colors. The ladies are carrying many bags, which is a representation of all the baggage that exists in their lives (Bordo et al. 513). The music video production matches the song's lyrics. In some of the scenes, the ladies are in a church. They depict the religious nature of women and their escape of hope. They also read books on how they can become better and prettier (Badu). When the video comes close to the end, the ladies walk down the street without the bags. It is an implication that they have finally let go of their baggage. Erykah uses the word 'we' to connect with her audience and show that she has been through it before. The ladies are also in a soul food restaurant where a brown paper bag that has bones and a skull printed on it is on display (Badu). The printed head on the kit is symbolic of how women carry dead weight, which drags them in life.

The voice used in the audio is somewhat humorous, especially when she talks about hurting her back because of dragging the bags around. She deploys a comical and fun way of expressing the weightiness of how baggage hurts a relationship. She maintains the fun tone in video production (Bordo et al. 512). The ladies in the video wore colors that were similar to those of the bags they carried, showing that they directly connected to the bags. She also gets to nickname each lady according to her bag. Erykah uses humor through the whole song, and its video, making it fun to watch. The lyrics and video blend in perfectly to bring out the symbol of interpretation, which happens to be the bag. The weight dragged around in the bags represent the emotions of women and their experiences. The bags carry all the negativity, insecurities, and resentments that women tend to move around. Sadly, this baggage tends to hold them back from happiness and prevents them from achieving inner peace and their goals in life. She uses symbolism when she advises them to pack light, meaning they should let go of all the negativity in their life and practice self-love.

Erykah creates metaphors by using precise visuals and sympathetic lyrics. An example where she uses a metaphor is between a homeless bag lady and a woman who drags her pain wherever she goes (Badu). The song is entirely metaphorical even though it has a calm melody. While watching the video, one can bluntly see the imagery used of five women dragging around their bags (Bordo et al. 513). Each color represents the baggage one carries in the pocket. In this imagery, the baggage prevents the ladies from getting to their destinations. The metaphor in the song is the bag that represents emotional baggage, which entraps its victims. At the end of the video, the ladies pass the packets to their children, which symbolizes how parents can quickly move their issues to their young ones, therefore, creating a cycle that never ends.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Erykah lets her listeners understand the pain women go through. She does this by creating metaphors and using precise visuals accompanied by thoughtful lyrics. She advises women to move on with their lives instead of trying to cling on to their baggage.

Works Cited

Badu, Erykah. Erykah Badu - Bag Lady (Official Video). Motown Records, 2000. YouTube, uploaded by ErykahBaduVEVO, 16 June 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqN0jsSeqPo

Bordo, Susan, M. Cristina Alcalde, and Ellen Rosenman, eds. Provocations: A Transnational Reader in the History of Feminist Thought. University of California Press, 2015.