MUSIC VIDEO: OLD TOWN ROAD CSP!

 

 MUSIC VIDEO: OLD TOWN ROAD CSP:

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Background and cultural contexts

Read this Vox feature and podcast transcript on Lil Nas X and Old Town Road. Make sure you read the whole thing - including the podcast transcript - then answer the following questions: 

What is the big debate regarding Old Town Road and genre?

The big debate is whether old town road should be classified as country music.

What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript?

He is a 20-year-old rapper from Atlanta. Technically his birth name is Montero Hill, but he has been calling himself “Lil Nas X” for several years now. And last year he joined SoundCloud, as many people do. And by the end of the year in December he released a song called “Old Town Road.”

What is the Yeehaw agenda?

This is a social movement started by online pop culture archivist Bri Malandro. She created an instagram account to celebrate black cowboy aesthetics in popular culture and reclaim black identity in a notoriously white genre.

How did the story become a debate about race in America?

Black artist in America who’s charting in a very white music space and his song gets quietly removed by a very powerful, influential organization. Genius reached out and of course Billboard said, “Oh no, it has nothing to do with his race, it has everything to do with the song and the lack of country elements in it.” It immediately set off conversation, especially in the black Twitter community. Country has often been very much protected. 

How does Charlie Harding sum up the whole thing in the final part of the podcast transcript?

I think that today people listen as much by mood as they do by genre, upending an entire way of thinking about the importance of these generic categories. “Pump-Up” and “Chill” are equally as important as country or hip hop and how people might approach going to listen to music. It is changing the way things chart, where they end up. And there is some uneasy cultural negotiation that needs to be done in order to decide who gets to claim what kind of music they’re making.

Now read this Salon feature on Lil Nas X and LGBTQ+ identity. Answer the following questions:

How did Lil Nas X announce his sexuality on social media?

He punctuated the tweet with a rainbow emoji, then posted the artwork from his new EP “7,” which features an illustration of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse towards a building glowing with rainbow lights. 

Why does the article describe Old Town Road as 'genre-blurring'? 

As a genre-blurring artist whose breakthrough hit harnessed both hip hop and country sounds and fans, Lil Nas X's public declaration of his sexuality touches both genres. 

How has country music demonstrated the social change taking place in American culture and society? 

2014 was a big year for LGBTQ news in country music. The trend in growing acceptance and support followed a nationwide social and political shift. By 2014, the states that had legalized same-sex marriage cumulatively contained 70 percent of the U.S. population. Then, in 2015,  U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans, making marriage equality the law of the land. 

Old Town Road textual analysis

Watch the video again and answer the following questions. Use your notes from our in-class analysis to help you:

How is the narrative features used in the music video? Apply narrative theory here.

• binary opposition: 
• western vs modern, country music vs rap music
• enigma code: 
• tunnel; time travel
• action code: 
• gun, shooting, crack of the whip (sound)
• propp: 
• hero, villain (protagonist)

What examples of genre conventions and intertextuality can you find in the video?

• Celebrity cameos: 
• Chris Rock; humour
• "black man on a horse"
• Music genre: 
• hybridity: postmodern text
• Intertextuality: 
• name check brands which is significant to rap
• hip hop culture
• Line dancing; bingo hall; country genre vs hip hop dancing; hood; rap genre
• Cultural conviviality

How are technical codes used to create meanings in the video? Analyse camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene and make specific reference to moments in the video.

• Costume: 
• cowboy outfit used to create meaning of the western
• modern clothing used to represent current fashion.
• Lighting:
• high key
• Props: 
• cars and horse used to create old vs new meaning
• Camerawork 
• is fast paced in order to appeal to the digital culture and keep interest.
• Editing: 
• uses fades and many cuts.  

How are representations of race and ethnicity constructed in the video?

While Lil Nas X is singing, there are no white extras present, which connects to the reality that rap and hip hop are often associated with Black rappers. Similarly, when Billy Ray Cyrus was singing, there were white people line dancing in a bingo hall, which links to the stereotype that country music is made by white musicians.

What other representations can you find in the video? You may wish to comment on gender, sexuality or America/American culture. 

Lil Nas Xs sexuality and the fact that he is gay may make the audience view old town road in a different meaning.