Old Town road

• Context:

  -Explores the relationship between genre and race

  -reflects aspects of society and contemporary cultural issues

  -Artists make money from music videos

  -To what extent does the music video as a form transmit political messages

  -Maximise audience and profit
• How does this music video challenge the idea is of genre?

  -It appropriates stylistic elements, themes, and imagery from both genres, creating a hybrid sound that challenges traditional genre boundaries

  -Melodically

  -Pop influence- accessibility towards audience

  -Subver is stereotype 'white man in country hat and guitar'
• Compton:


  -Low socioeconomic status

  -Town in California

  -Populated with people of colour

  -A very dangerous town
• Ghetto:


  -Very poor area

  -Black community

  -No education
• Further context- Genre controversy

  -Old Town Road achieved a rare feat in Billboard history when it simultaneously charted on the Billboard hot 100, hot country songs and hot R&B/hip-hop songs charts in March 2019

  -Exclusion of Old Town Road bought criticism of evaluation of the work of non-white artists in the country genre, referring to Beyonce (another black artist) - after her song failed to be considered a country song by The Recording Academy

  -Cross music genre

  -Predominately white artists
• Country music elements:

  -Illustration

  -Amplification

  -Disjuncture
• Andrew Goodwin- Amplification


  Containing some aspects of a link between the lyrics/narrative and the images present
• Illustration


  This is commonly used. The imaged illustrate the song lyrics both directly and indirectly
• Disjuncture


  Intentionally ignore the content of the song. No realtion to images used
• Old Town Road- Andrew Goodwin

  Amplification, episodic
• Linear:

  A linear narrative is on that follows a 'line' from beginning to end
• Circular:


  A circular narrative is one that follows a 'circle'. The story finishes where it started
• Episodic:

  An episodic narrative follows a 'line' from beginning to end, but is broken up into smaller episodes or sections
• Context on music video:

  -Trying to show audience that it does have country music connotations- prove others wrong

  -Including people of all race and age to show that this song is for everyone

  -Bingo- showing off retired white people as Lil Nas X is going into an all white music industry

  -Wearing country clothes to prove it is a country song

  -going through different times and era to represent that people can listen at any age, and past because he feels as if he is in the past due to people being discriminated due to the colour of their skin