Music Video: Postcolonial theory

 

Postcolonial theory: blog tasks

Wider reading on race and Old Town Road

Read this W Magazine deep dive on the Yeehaw agenda and answer the following questions: 

1) What are the visual cues the article lists as linked to the western genre? 

cowboy hats, cow prints, rhinestones, and fringed suede jackets

2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about? 

1 in 4 cowboys was black. But in 2019, this uniformity was challenged by a new generation of black artists in a movement that has come to be known as the Yeehaw Agenda. As expressed in fashion, film and pop music, the Yeehaw Agenda reflects a moment of transition in which the very idea of American identity is being contested.

3) Why has it been suggested that the black cowboy has been 'erased from American culture'? 

"The imagery associated with Americana has been overwhelmingly white."

4) How has the black cowboy aesthetic been reflected by the fashion industry?

The fashion industry  has emphasised "the importance of the black cowboy figure by employing this aesthetic on the runway".

5) Read the section on Lil Nas X and Old Town Road. What does it suggest about race and the country music community?

The racial undertone of 'old town road' not qualifying to be a country song despite having all the aspects. America is deeply rooted in racism and descrimination.

6) What elements of the song and music video are suggested to be authentically country and western?

The southern twang in the singers voice is conventionally country.

7) What genres of music does the article suggest have been shaped by black influences? 

rock and roll, punk, riot grrrl, and electronic music, jazz and blues.

8) In your opinion, what do you think has been the driving force behind the Yeehaw movement? 

I think that the driving force behind the yeehaw movement is the black community being fed up of being underrepresented and replaced with an image of a white man.

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?

2) How could you argue that the Old Town Road video challenges Gilroy's theory of double consciousness?

I think that old town road exudes  a sense of belonging. This is because they all sing and dance together at the end, promoting racial harmony.

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.  

black people living in diaspora are constantly reinventing themselves and their identities by mixing and hybridising. I think this is the case in The old town road as he travels far and wide in search for something and, conveniently, at the end he is seen hugging a white women. This is a clear notion to the racial dispute and disparity in contemporary America.

4) Are there any examples of Alvarado's theory of black stereotypes in the Old Town Road video? Why/why not?

Humorous: Chris rock- comedic relief

Dangerous- Lil nas x is the opposite as he is friendly and quite extroverted in the MV.

5) How does Lil Nas X provide a compelling case study for bell hooks's theory of intersectionality?

He is a gay black man.- social classifications are interconnected.

A/A* extension task: 

Media Magazine - This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest
Read This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest in MM65 (p14). You can find this in our Media Magazine archive. This is an excellent article on the power of music video in American culture. 

This excellent Berkeley Political Review article on the Yeehaw Agenda is worth a read, expanding on the issues discussed in the W deep dive above.