The Interpretation of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams”
Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” music video illustrates Freud’s ideas of the interpretation of dreams. According to Freud, “dreams take into account in a general way the connection which undeniably exists between all the portions of the dream-thoughts by combining the whole material into a single situation or event” (822). Many different “materials” are combined in Beyonce’s dream which come together to express a single thought – the fact that she wants her partner sexually.
Because of the symbols represented in Beyonce’s dream, condensation is able to take place. According to www.cla.purdue.edu:
“Condensation is one of the methods by which the repressed returns in hidden ways. For example, in dreams multiple dream-thoughts are often combined and amalgamated into a single element of the manifest dream (e.g. symbols). According to Freud, every situation in a dream seems to be put together out of two or more impressions or experiences. One need only think about how people and places tend to meld into composite figures in our dreams.”
Both location and symbols in Beyonce’s dream make up its meaning. Some symbols which appear in the dream are a white dove, white horse, rainbow, and multiple dancers and “Beyonces.” The dove can be representative of many meanings, including the idea that it is Beyonce herself being set “free” in her dream. The horse (also white) may be Beyonce again roaming through her dream. Both animals might be seen as displacements, or “one of the methods by which the repressed returns in hidden ways” (Felluga “Displacement”). Perhaps Beyonce longs to be free to express her unconscious or repressed feelings.
Beyonce’s sexual dance moves along with the lyrics and her small clothing can be interpreted as her longing for her significant other. Freud states “The restoration of the connections which the dream-work has destroyed is a task which has to be performed by the interpretative process” (821). It is the superego which drives her sexual and violent nature in this dream. Her unconscious is responsible for her desires and drives. At one point in the video, Beyonce violently thrusts her hips while singing the lyrics “My guilty pleasure,” referring to the person she is lusting (“Beyonce”).
The lyrics themselves demonstrate Freud’s opinion on language within dreams. He states that “all spoken sentences which occur in dreams are specifically described as such are unmodified or slightly modified reproductions of speeches which are also to be found among the dream-thoughts” (822). The lyrical language is very close to the way we speak in conversation. To illustrate, here are several lines:
“I mention you when I say my prayers
I wrap you around all of my thoughts
Boy you’re my temporary high
I wish that when I wake up you’re there
To wrap your arms around me for real
And tell me you’ll stay by my side”
Freud goes on to say “the meaning of the dream may be a totally different one” (822). For the most part, Beyonce is directly talking about her desires, but the play on words as her lover being a “beautiful nightmare” may suggest just the opposite.
A particular part of the video I find interesting is at about 2 minutes and 20 seconds in. Beyonce is looking in the mirror at herself with multiple images of her reflection. The mirror scene stems back to Freud’s ideas about the self in the way that we realize we are an individual when we see our own reflection. This usually takes place in early childhood. The mirror breaking symbolizes Beyonce feeling as though she is not whole without her lover. In this scene, she is dressed what we would call “normally,” but when the shrouds of glass float into another scene, Beyonce is dressed in robotic clothes, appealing more to a dreamlike state. During this part of the video, Beyonce questions “What kind of dream is this?” emphasizing that she is, in fact, dreaming.
Although it may just appear to be a music video about a dream, there are many underlying aspects which have previously been explored by Freud. Freud’s take on dreams is that “[they] carry this method of reproduction down to the details. Whenever they show us two elements close together, this guarantees that there is some specially intimate connection between what correspond to them among the dream-thoughts” (822).
Works Cited
"Beyonce – ‘Sweet Dreams.’” YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 28 July 2010.
Felluga, Dino. "Definition: Condensation."
Felluga, Dino. "Definition: Displacement."
Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed.
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