Music Video: Post-colonial Theory
Wider reading on race and Old Town Road
Answer the following questions:
1) What are the visual cues the article lists as linked to the western genre?
Visual clues and/or denotations include cowboy hats, cow prints, rhinestones, and fringed suede jackets.
2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about?
In 2018, black pop-culture figures started to dress in cowboy/western outfits. In September of that year, it was dubbed the "Yeehaw Agenda" by Bri Malandro, who's a pop-culture archivist from Texas.
3) Why has it been suggested that the black cowboy has been 'erased from American culture'?
That's because the imagery and representation of cowboys has been predominantly white for a while. Historically, audiences never saw much of black cowboys - nowadays, you see much more of them, and the representation nowadays is much more ensemble/diverse.
4) How has the black cowboy aesthetic been reflected by the fashion industry?
It's been represented heavily in the fashion industry. A fashion label, Telfar, decided to have their runway be a stage where artists donned cowboy-themed costumes.
5) Read the section on Lil Nas X and Old Town Road. What does it suggest about race and the country music community?
Many contended that the erasure of the song from the country charts revealed a problem with race in the country music community. Audiences argued that the song fit country conventions perfectly.
6) What elements of the song and music video are suggested to be authentically country and western?
Its singer is Southern, the track incorporates a banjo, and the video backdrop appropriately matched the aesthetics associated with country music.
7) What genres of music does the article suggest have been shaped by black influences?
Black artists have had a hand in the invention and popularization of genres including, but not limited to, rock and roll, punk, riot grrrl, and electronic music.
8) In your opinion, what do you think has been the driving force behind the Yeehaw movement?
In my opinion, I think the main drive for the Yeehaw movement is the abundance of proper representation within certain communities. As said before, for example, the country/western genre has long been stereotypically associated with predominantly white actors. The people who preach the Yeehaw movement just advocate for proper representation of artists that get overshadowed easily.
Applying postcolonial theory to Old Town Road
Revise the postcolonial theories we have studied and apply them to the Old Town Road music video:
1) How does the Old Town Road music video both reinforce and challenge black stereotypes in the media?
The Old Town Road music video both reinforces and challenges black stereotypes in the media - in the start of the music video, Lil Nas X is being chased and shot at, which was a stereotype of black people at the time; they were seen as "barbaric" or "savage". However, this is subverted in the latter part of the music video when he travels to the future, as he's shown to be friendly and kind to the modern day town that he's in. Instead of being shown as violent, he's portrayed to audiences as a friend and safe character to be around.
2) How could you argue that the Old Town Road video challenges Gilroy's theory of double consciousness?
The video challenges Gilroy's theory as it first reinforces then directly challenges it moments later. You could argue that the first part of the music video reinforces his theory; Lil Nas X is shown to be "dangerous" and the characters in the town he's in attack him. However, in the future, not only is he welcomed in the town, it's almost as if he belongs there. Not to mention the amount of black characters seen in the town that are being themselves, which directly challenges Gilroy's theory aswell seeing as black people do not have to experience themselves through white actors/characters at all.
3) How does Lil Nas X and Old Town Road provide an example of Hall's theory of race representations? Alternatively, you could argue against this if you prefer.
I'd argue that like before, the music video first reinforces the theory but then later challenges it. What I mean by that is that in the start, Lil Nas X's character is portrayed as the "Native" if we're going by Hall's theory of race representations. This however is subverted when we get to the main setting of the music video, where it's shown he's actually quite friendly. Additionally, we also see some uses of the "Clown"/"Entertainer", with Chris Rock's character, the horse race person and the girl dancing on Lil Nas X's horse.
4) Are there any examples of Alvarado's theory of black stereotypes in the Old Town Road video? Why/why not?
I think there are some examples of Alvarado's theory in Old Town Road. Specifically, Lil Nas X's character is portrayed as the "dangerous" archetype in the start of the music video. Additionally, the duo of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus later on become the "exotic" archetype, with their bright colourful costumes and the fact that they're both music artists. Furthermore, there are examples of the "humorous" archetype, with of course, Chris Rock's character.
5) How does Lil Nas X provide a compelling case study for bell hooks's theory of intersectionality?
The concept of bell hook's theory of intersectionality can be applied to Old Town Road. bell hooks suggests that social classes are all interconnected (e.g. race, gender, class and identity). Representations of race + ethnicity in Old Town Road, like the rest of what it communicates to the audience, deliberately play on both reinforcing and subverting stereotypes. The man with a gun and his daughter play a classic racial trope of them being scared of them. However, black sherrifs and cowboys are shown, which subvert racial stereotypes.
A/A* extension task:
how do i prove this 💔
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