Postcolonial theory

 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, 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? 

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. Her Instagram account, also called @theyeehawagenda, functions as both an archive and celebration of black cowboy aesthetics in popular culture. It’s a treasure trove: You can find anyone from Beyoncé in her Destiny’s Child days wearing a cowboy hat to Bernie Mac in a bolo tie.

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

the “moment” black cowboys are having in pop culture right now has actually persisted for quite some time. That’s why an Instagram archive like Malandro’s is so important to the preservation of black influence on the Americana aesthetic. The imagery associated with Americana has been overwhelmingly white, so much so that the Studio Museum in Harlem even held a “Black Cowboy” exhibition two years ago, featuring photographic works from Kahlil Joseph, Deanna Lawson, and Chandra McCormick that aimed to bring the black cowboy to the forefront of western history.

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. During the Civil War, Texas slaveowners left cattle wrangling up to the black slaves they purchased while the slaveowners fought in battle. After the war ended, many slaves had become expert cowhands, and roughly 25 percent of cowboys were black.

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. For Telfar, the “runway” at the fall 2019 New York Fashion Week happened to be a stage, where Ho99o9 and other musicians donned in their finest western accoutrements—including cowboy hats and chaps—and performed while models stage dove into the crowd turned moshpit. The show was appropriately titled “Country.”

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

When Billboard decided to remove the song, insisting that it “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music” for it to be considered part of the genre, the Internet revolted, with many contending that the erasure of the song from the country charts reveals a problem with race in the country music community. But really, what about the musical composition of “Old Town Road” disqualifies it from being a country song? 

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

Its singer’s Southern twang is, after all, reminiscent of the twang in the voices of popular country musicians, 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, the ways in which black artists have shaped the sounds of contemporary country music have historically been overshadowed by the emphasis placed on white artists.

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

I think that the yeehaw agenda is being driven by the desire for the black community to reclaim their culture but to also push for awareness, acceptance and growth of black culture through their historical past such as the cowboy aesthetic.

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 features typical hip-hop culture elements, such as flashy jewellery, luxury cars, and stylish clothing. These elements can be seen as reinforcing the stereotype that black success is often measured by materialism

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

The idea that black people are caught up between two different cultures is challenged by the very inclusive nature of the music video in that by the end lil Nas and billy ray Cyrus are preforming together Infront of predominantly white people and while performing a country song showing that he in that position is embracing that country culture through his own black culture at the same time.

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.

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

The idea that Chris rock is a jokester or that the after the car race lil Nas x is presented to be a cheater for winning the race.

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

Lil Nas X, a black artist, breaking into the country music scene with "Old Town Road" disrupts the mainly white space of country music. His success highlights how racial boundaries in music genres can be crossed