Pretty Hurts

By Beyonce
Madelyn Williams
Overall Message
● The message of this video is to show the pressure and the lengths that women will go
through to obtain the look of “perfection” so that they can be considered “beautiful”
by society. But then in the end when you go through all these things they realize that
it’s not worth it if they’re not truly happy.
● The lyrics say that people shouldn’t focus only on physical beauty because that’s not
all that matters. Instead they should focus on the beauty within which is self-love.
● The overall message is to find beauty in your imperfections
Evidence
● The lyrics “TV says bigger is better...Vogue says Thinner is better” is an example of
the many different and impossible ways women are expected to look.

● This screenshot from the video symbolizes the

crazy lengths that women will go through, to
obtain physical “perfection”.

● In the music video Beyonce does everything that she can to be perfect and win the
pageant but in the end even when she does not win, she is still happy because she
found the beauty that she has within.
Symbolism
● In the music video when she throws the
trophies it symbolizes that nothing she did
to become what society wanted matters
because she isn’t happy with herself.
● In the video when Beyonce loses the
pageant it symbolizes that she is not
perfect and she also struggles to fit in to
society’s standards.
What rhetorical devices did the artist utilize?
● Allusion: “Vogue says…”
● Personification : "Plastic smiles."
● Assonance: “Crown, down”
● Metaphor: "You left a shattered mirror and the shards of a beautiful past."
Discussion Question
Do you think the message Beyonce was trying to get across is clear and can make an
impact on young girls and women?