Postcolonial theory: Music Video

 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? 

In September 2018, the trend of black pop-culture figures wearing cowboy garb was dubbed the “Yeehaw Agenda” by Bri Malandro, a Texas-based pop-culture archivist. 

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

There has been an emphasis on white cowboys more than the influence of black cowboys

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

Compton Cowboys(based in California) are preserving the legacy of the black cowboy, with thier surge in popularity Pyer Moss - a label that typically presented wqestern inspired loks in it 2018 fall/winter runway show - featured Copton Cowboys in there look book for their fall 2018 collab with Reebok.

Telfar also took the agenda on, reprsenting it on its runways.

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

Black artists contribution to the country music scene has always tried to be erased in history; from Ray Charles to Lil Nas X, it's all about race. If Billy Ray didn't get on that remix with him, black artists contribution to the country scene would ultimately be forgotten again. For them it is all about race and conserving country for the white man.

 

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

The banjo and the twang of his southern accent

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

Country, blues and soul

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

Cultural consciousness, if society(specifically the black diaspora) didn't point out the patterns on social media and band together to make their own community out of it, there would be no Yeehaw movement. 

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?

Black men are presented in a position of power(sheriff team) - subverting the stereotype of black men as criminals

Black man as a criminal(Lil Nas X) - reinforcing that stereotype

Gun pointed at Lil Nas by white man - legacy of slavery, the systematic oppression of black men under the white mans thumb

"You're with me now"(Billy Ray) - White saviour complex

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

Lil Nas X is able to merge both country and black American culture together, without one overpowering the other. He uses hip-hop and country conventions so therefore is not in that state of limbo that solidifies Gilory's theory, he is able to balance both quite well. 

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.  

Slave figure - "the faithful field- hand... attached and devoted to 'his master' "(Hall 1995, 'Black characterisation in American media') - Billy Ray and Lil Nas, even in the modern world they come together and never leave each others side.

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

Humorous(Hall 1995, 'Black characterisation in American media') - "You have a good day, get off my car." - The need for black men to be funny, overcompensating for the fact they actually have no substance in themselves therefore degrading anyone and everyone else to hide their inadequacy 

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

He is a black gay man, an excellent example of intersectionality. In her theory black men are most likely the 2nd lowest status in society(with black women being the 1st due to the fact they are women). 

Since black men are systematically discriminated against as well as gay men, he falls into the two categories; making a compelling case for bell hooks's intersectionality theory.

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 a great 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.