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? 

Cowboys, prints, rhinestones

2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about? 

(2018) Bri Malandro who created an instagram account ‘@theyeehawagenda’ posted about black cowboy aesthetics in pop culture.

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

That is because media represents mainly on white cowboys, despite the existence of  25% of black cowboys.

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

outfits such as cowboy hats and other stereotypical cowboy outfits that are seen in western media.

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

Many people were raging after this song was removed from the billboard, there were debates about the racial -bias that exists.

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

The setting of the music video represents an authentic countryside and there is also the use of a banjo which is usually associated with western/ country.

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

Rock and roll and electronic music

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

I believe that the main motive for the the Yeehaw movement is so that people pay tribute to black cowboys and the role they had in the cowboy community.

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 video presents Lil Nas X in a comedic role, playing into the "entertainer" stereotype.

The video reclaims the cowboy image, challenging the whitewashing of American history. It reintroduces the black cowboy into a space from which they have been erased.

Lil Nas X merges the music showing that Black culture is diverse and hybrid , not limited to stereotypical genres.

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

Gilroy’s theory suggests that Black people experience a "double consciousness" – a fractured identity caused by being both African and Western, often resulting in internal conflict.

Rather than being torn between cultures, the video celebrates cultural hybridity

This confident representation challenges Gilroy’s notion of fractured diasporic identity, suggesting that young Black creators today can rewrite cultural narratives with pride.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   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.  

Stuart Hall identified that Black people are often reduced to stereotypes in media (e.g. slave, native, clown/entertainer) and "othered" through oppositional binaries.

• Initially, Lil Nas X may appear as the “clown/entertainer” due to the humour in the video. However, this subverts the stereotype rather than reinforcing it.

• He challenges the binary between "Black = urban" and "white = rural" by placing a Black character at the centre of the country-western genre.

• This offers an oppositional reading to dominant racial representations and expands the idea of what Black identity can look like in media.

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

Humorous: Some humour is present, but it is controlled by Lil Nas X, which avoids exploitation and instead shows humour as empowerment.

 He is not portrayed as dangerous or pitied.

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

bell hooks argues that race, gender, class, and sexuality are interconnected.

Lil Nas X is not only Black but also openly queer, making him a marginalised  figure within both country music and hip-hop cultures, which have traditionally been conservative.

His use of digital platforms (e.g., TikTok) to rise to fame also shows how intersectional voices can still achieve mainstream success.

A/A Extension Task 

 While This Is America uses violence and symbolism to critique racism and gun culture, Old Town Road takes a more playful and subversive approach, disrupting genre expectations and humor and hybrid identity.