MUSIC VIDEO: Post colonial 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? 

Of course, the visual cues associated with what could be classified as western—cowboy hats, cow prints, rhinestones, and fringed suede jackets, to name a few—are certainly not limited to the likes of Kacey Musgraves or John Wayne.

2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about? 

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

 Being a cowboy is mainly a white-dominated area. Given this information, the particular reason for the black cowboy being erased from American culture is because its not seen as American. 

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

Of course, the Yeehaw Agenda is sprawling, meaning it extends beyond the zones of Fashion Week. Solange, a Houston native, dropped her anticipated fourth studio album, When I Get Home, in early 2019, and the accompanying visuals were decidedly western.

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

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

The horse-riding and the guns.

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

pop

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

Revolution. This is because black people are becoming more individual and white people don't like it.

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?

Reinforces: the drag racing, the community.

subverts: Horse-riding. the cowboys and the country songs.

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

Old Town Road challenges Gilroy's theory of double consciousness because Lil Nas X is a cowboy. Being a western singer is a usually white dominated area.

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.  

You could say that where the music video was set is referred to the hood. The hood is usually associated with lower class, however you can see when they are drag racing they are betting a large sum of money,

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

There are examples like the cooking with the family outside their house on the bbq, the drag racing.

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