I’ve been a fan of Beyonce since Destiny’s Child became mainstream when I was a kid.  I think this video is really great for two reasons.  First, the retro aesthetic is really cute.  

Secondly, it points the finger back at the viewer for objectifying human beings as objects and/or parts separate from a greater and valuable whole.  I do realize that this is also a song and video about a romance gone awry.  However, while she sensually displays herself, she asks “Why don’t you love me […] when I make me so damn easy to love?” and states “I got beauty, I got heart […] but you don’t care to know I’m smart.”  In doing so, she calls attention to a society of film and music video viewers who chronically devour images of people reduced to nothing but their bodies and often only body parts.  It’s what people seem to think they want, but as Beyonce observes, there’s a lack of love. 

(for further reading: “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” by Laura Mulvey)