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The wait is finally over! After numerous teasers, Beyonce has dropped the long awaited video for her Diplo- produced “Rule The World (Girls)” single. 

Shot by Francis Lawrence, the director behind Destiny’s Child “Independent Women,” the video reads as a post-apocalyptic Cold Gender War, if gender wars included dance-offs and posturing with formerly wild animals. It also reads as an around the world tour book, referencing Jamaica, Ireland, South Africa and Nigeria.

We’re not knocking Beyonce and Lawrence’s efforts, we’re just saying that if Michael Jackson teamed up with Mel Gibson in 1979, the result would have been “Thriller Max,” a mash up of road warriors meets dancing zombies.

“Rule The World (Girls)” accomplishes many things and is a visual feast. It also made us ponder some things. Things like: why is Beyonce flipping the bird in Gareth Pugh fingers? Why is Beyonce holding hyenas in a couture dress? Why is Beyonce dancing like Lady Gaga who was dancing like Uma Thurman’s character in “Pulp Fiction”? We may never know the answer, but we can definitely break down some of the video’s looks and references including the Irish jig, South African Gumboot dancing, Jamaican dancehall moves and Gadawann Kura, the Hyena men of Nigera.

Check ’em out after the break.

Above: Beyonce with some hyenas. The reference: South African photographer Pieter Hugo’s Hyena men. See it on the next page. 

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Pieter Hugo’s photograph of a Hyena Man in Nigera, a traveling circus. 

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You can always find dancing in a Beyonce video and “Rule The World (Girls)” delivers plenty of it. One of the styles we recognized was the South African Gumboot dance, which came out of several traditional African dances.

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In the video’s group dancing, we also recognized Irish Line Dancing.

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In the video, Beyonce is flanked by two Jamaican guys who look like they’re ready to bust into serious dance moves. They are however, relegated to column-supporting Beyonce. 

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