Music Video: Postcolonial theory

 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, 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? 

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'? 

Wrangling cattle and the riding, training, and keeping of horses are practices that have been mastered by black Americans since the 1800s, but the impact that African American men and women have had on cowboy culture is not well known.

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

Telfar, another label determined to shake up the homogenous couture landscape, has emphasized 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?

When the charts decided to remove it as it wasnt considered country enough, people were not happy and complained until i was allowed to return.

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

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? 

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? 

I think he driving force has been the current rise in popularity when i comes to film and television, many older western films are gaining popularity and many new ones are being made.

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?

There are elements of rap which is a typical black stereotype and then theres country which isnt.

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

The idea of black people being stuck in different cultures is countered by the music videos inclusivity.

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.  

By mixing country and rap, Lil Nas X subverts the typical representation of black artists being trapped to specific genres like hip-hop, R&B and subverts expectations that they will forever continue to do so.