I think the X dance formation was an important detail as it speaks directly to Malcom X, but the most haunting images were that of the sinking New Orleans, the dance stand down of a hoodied black child confronting an all-white police force, and this formation that looks all too much like the British slave ship Brookes depicting the stowage of African slaves.

The symbolism of water throughout the video should not be ignored. In many cultures, water represents purity, cleansing, or rebirth. In Formation, Knowles-Carter dances in an empty pool and drowns on top of a New Orleans Police car. This destroys the cultural associations folks have with water — an element all humans need to survive, but in the Black experience has been used against them. (Also see Flint, Michigan and other communities who have unsafe water).