The Birth of Sasha Fierce in 'Crazy in Love' Video
The video ‘Crazy in Love’ was released to MTV in May 2003. Knowles described to MTV that the video is about a woman that is at a point of a relationship where she realizes that she is in love; she start doing crazy stuff she would not normally do (Beyoncé Knowles, Wikipedia). Even though the world was introduced to Sasha Fierce during her third album, Beyoncé believes it was during this video that Sasha was formed. During an interview with People Magazine in 2008, Beyoncé states: “Sasha Fierce was born when I did ‘Crazy in Love.’ People, when they meet me, expect that all the time, but that person is strictly for the stage (Latter Days).
Even though Beyoncé believes that the main theme of this video is to act crazy when you're in love; religious spectators think otherwise. They believe that this video has religious meanings and symbolizes the death of Beyoncé's former self and the rebirth of something evil. The spectators' main argument is that during the video Knowles is consumed with wanting to be famous and more powerful while in love; therefore she sells her soul to the devil to get what she wants. In the end, her pure soul is killed off and she is reborn into Sasha; a more aggressive and sexual human being (The industry exposed). In order to prove this argument, we will go through the scenes of the music video.
Crazy in Love Music Video
Exploring Religious Themes in 'Crazy in Love'
This video tells the story of the birth of Sasha Fierce by depicting the steps towards Beyoncé’s transformation. Through symbolic scenes, we first see Beyoncé as her pure self as she is just walking toward the camera. She is all natural, wearing everyday clothing and minimal makeup. This is the start of her feeling famous and the love she has for her special someone. She starts to become a bit more erotic and goes up on a symbolic stage and mimics ritual sex for initiation.
The next scene in the video is where she is placed on top of a building being surrounded by flashing cameras and lights. She is more done up, wearing fancier clothing and having her hair and makeup done. This symbolizes her rise to fame and success. Also, it shows how her personality is starting to change.
The third scene is when Knowles is surrounded by females who are emulating her every move. Knowles is dancing more erotically and seems more out of control. This show cases that her fame and success is continually increasing and that she enjoys it.
The second last scene is known as the “death” of Beyoncé. She is stuck in the backseat of a car when Jay Z lights her car on fire, which turns into an explosion. This illustrates how religious spectators believe that the rise of fame took over her making her evil, and during this moment she sells her soul to become a bigger star.
During the last scene, Sasha appears. She is wearing sexier clothing, showing more skin and doing more exotic movements. She seems more devilish as well. In the verse of the song, Jay-Z refers to Beyoncé as “Young B” which symbolizes her rebirth.