Beyonce Research Paper

Beyonce knowles: a psychobiograpy offering a comparative view of freud, jung, and maslow | Beyonce Knowles | By | Yolandia Brackens | Florida Institute of Technology | 4/15/2013 |

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Introduction In an attempt to explain the phenomenon of a female superstar, I will use the theories of Freud, and Maslow. By understanding the inner workings and mindset of Beyonce, it is my hope that you will gain insight as to who she is as a human being. Beyonce was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas to a caring mother (Tina Knowles) and doting father (Matthew Knowles). Beyonce was a shy little girl and didn’t have any friends. Because her mother knew this, she enrolled Beyonce in dance class. This is where she discovered
her passion for singing. Beyonce went on to establish a female vocal group and performed on Star Search. Although they didn’t win, that was not enough to stop her. She later formed another girl group by the name of Destiny’s Child. Destiny’s Child was one of the most famous girl groups of all time. They sold million dollar records and became multi-platinum artists. But, because of who Beyonce was and her solo stardom, she decided to embark upon her own career. The first theorist that I’m going to discuss in my attempt to unveil the mind of Beyonce is Sigmund Freud. Freud developed his theory based on psychoanalysis. “He postulated three levels of consciousness: the conscious, preconscious, and the unconscious” (Clonginger, 2013). You might be wondering how this relates to Beyonce and her role as a dynamic superstar. The conscious mind deals with those things that we are not aware of. Beyonce is, most certainly, aware of her talent and gift as a singer and entertainer. She capitalizes on that. The preconscious is based on things that are not at the forefront of our brains, but can be brought to the forefront through exterior influences. Beyonce has a way of captivating and holding the attention of her audiences without knowing the power that she holds. With crowd reactions and standing ovations, it becomes clear that she has a gift and that gift becomes transparent for the world to see. Although Beyonce has this incredible talent, she cannot, possibly, understand the depths of that power. In a nutshell, Beyonce is a world-wide superstar and I’m sure she could not have imagined this type of success. She is recognized all over the world as a music icon. Everything she has ever dreamed has become and is part of her reality. According to Freud, a dream usually disguises a repressed wish (Cloninger, 2013). This did not happen in the case of Beyonce. Her dreams have all been made a reality. She does not have to repress any wish or thought concerning her career. As we take a look further, we can delve deeper into Beyonce the person. When observing her behavior, she appears to be an introvert. Her demeanor is very quiet, shy, and reserved. According to sources, Beyonce’s personality is complex, adverse to change, sensitive, and highly determined. She is, also, described as one who holds back emotion and never gives too much information (Webster, 2005). This is an aspect of Jung’s psychological type. Jung mentions that one’s personality is determined by whether he or she is oriented by the inner world or the outer world. While performing, it would appear that Beyonce is geared toward the outer world. When she performs, it is quite a show. She dances all around the stage and engages the audience to participate. Her persona becomes overtly sexual and expressive. But behind the confident exterior lies her alter ego. This alter ego has become very infamous. She has named her “Sasha Fierce”, claiming that Sasha overtakes her and she doesn’t know what’s happening (New York Times, 2013). “Sasha Fierce” is called upon to protect her during uncomfortable situations. Although “Sasha Fierce” is extroverted, which we can see through Beyonce’s music, Beyonce would not do those things if her alter ego did not take over. So, in actuality, Beyonce would be considered an introvert based on the shy nature mentioned earlier. How can a person go from one extreme to the other? This must be part of the unconscious mind that we retreat to when some type of threat arises. Jung refers to this as paranormal experiences. It is an escape from what’s real into the unreal. This would be some sort of coping mechanism to take the person away from his or her comfort zone. It’s amazing to see such a huge superstar have insecurities and personality traits that might not be considered normal. Yet, it exists and is a real way of escape. Even in her love life with her husband, Jay-Z (a superstar in his own right), Beyonce is very quiet and apprehensive about discussing that relationship. When she is asked questions or speaks about him, her answers are very calculated and deliberate. She only gives bits and pieces of information that she would have others to know. But, this could be an attempt to hide information or her perfectionist nature, in not wanting people to use the information against her. Everything in her life appears to be well-controlled and planned. This does not make it easy to know her well. This brings me to my final theorist by the name of Abraham Maslow.
Maslow believed that people develop through various levels toward their full potential (Cloninger, 2013). He argued that few reach their full potential. This is, certainly, not the case with Beyonce. She has reached star power and beyond. She has put in the hard work and dedication to fulfill her dreams. Another source indicates that Beyonce has a high level of intelligence and creativity. This is so indicative of her work. Nothing she does is mediocre. Everything that she has attempted has been done with excellence. She puts in long hours and will not stop until it’s perfect. All of her efforts have paid off. A handwriting expert examined a letter that she penned to the first lady. According to the expert, she approaches things in a logical way and she has very healthy self-esteem (Abraham, 2012). I would imagine these healthy attitudes have helped her achieve high levels of success. Since she has already achieved mass success, her next venture would be to attain the respect of others. It appears that she has accomplished that as well. According to Maslow, esteem should be stable and firmly based. I think Beyonce has that covered. Beyonce has reached periods of peak success, which Maslow describes feelings of limitless horizons (Cloninger, 2013). She has broken out of the mold of being mediocre. She has explored every avenue of her creativity and has become spontaneous in operating at full capacity. It is understood what Maslow meant when he said that capacity lies within all of us, but is often lost in many. This is known as displaced
creativity. By examining all of these theories as we explore the life of Beyonce, we can see how relevant each theory is. While no one theory is absolute, it gives great insight into the person being observed. Beyonce is a mega superstar, but there are still areas in her life that might need improving. Or, perhaps those personality traits have helped her become the person she is today. Had she not been extremely private and guarded, her career would, probably, have turned out different. It is very interesting to see how theories of personality has an effect on us all. The parts of our personalities that may appear weak are often the catalyst to guide us along our path. Despite any flaw in Beyonce’s personality, she remains to be a world-wide superstar.

References
Abraham, T. (2012). Nurturing, Creative, and Obsessive: Expert reveals what Handwriting tells us about her personality. Retrieved April 12, 2012, from http://www.dailymail.com.uk/femail/article-2129
Cloninger, S. (2013). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons. (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearsons.
New York Times. (2013). Beyonce Knowles. http://toopics.nytimes.com/top/ refined
Webster, C. (2005). Beyonce Knowles. New York, New York: Weigl.