Old Town Road

• Paul Gilroy- post colonialism,
• colonialism- when a country takes over another usually to exploit it,
• paul gilroy believes colonialism has had a negative effect in which we can see in media, bame are represented as othered.
• othered- a person is represented as exotic/abnormal,
• lil nas x 'othered' perhaps
• Lil Nas X plays with the conventions in the video to create his own vision- while old town road incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music.
• hybrid genre of country and rap music, may draw in fans from both fandoms,
• performs some direct address to the audience, looking straight at the cam in some shots
• Lil Nas X's dress codes are associated with a masculine identity, - the cowboy,
• After Montero wins the street race against Vince Staples, he spends his earnings on a flamboyant new outfit, Propp suggested that the heroes were often given new clothes to recognise their triumph over evil and their new status in society.
• Race- 'they weren't too welcoming to outsiders'- lil nas to Billy. Billy then states 'you're with me this time', implies audiences will more likely be accepting of the song as a less-criticised artist who is loved in country music genre is collaborating with him (Lil Nas X)
• Mass amateurisation= clay shirky came up with the concept of mass amatuerisation, refers to our ability to use technology to compete with pro media producers. Lil Nas X had not been signed with any media producers so he used footage of rdr2 and created a montage to match his song.
• steve neale- montero uses direct mode of address in the video as an example of Steve Neale's genre theory with repetition in the music video genre, traditional convention. also there are unique differences such as the sci fi elements of time travel.
• not too welcoming to outsiders- paul gilroy- lil nas x being othered as a black african american man in a white american dominant country music genre,
• 'country rap' hybrid genre
• 18 million sales
• the song initially gained its popularity on the social media video sharing app tiktok and eventually entered the billboard charts in march 2019.the song reached no19 on the billboard hot country songs chart before the magazine disqualified it from the chart on the grounds that it did not fit the genre.
• the exclusion of 'old town road' from the country charts brought criticism of the evaluation of the work of non-white artists in the country music genre.
• the song became a triumph for a new generation where genres can collide and spark new sounds (black atlantic culture) and where tacit racial segregation is left in the past
• Gender perormative- Lil nas x in the video is depicted as a masculine cowboy with his uniform and confidence- 'cheated on my baby'- suggests that he is playing into the role of a man, judith butler would say that he performs as a man solely,
• mentioning of the 'marlboro man' from billy ray cyrus is representative of masculinity, smoking brand icon
• intertextuality of spaghetti western films such as the good the bad and the ugly with the overall vibe of the video, furthermore the shared codes and conventions of the western genre such as horses, guns etc
• presented as hypermasculine in the video- 'cheated on my baby you can go and ask her'
• reached 15 on the US billboard and eventually no 1 on the country charts but before it was moved off for 'not being country enough',
• black atlantic culture- post colonial- we can never escape our colonisation, but other part says the emergence of a black atlantic culture has created something new, going beyond ethnicity and nationality
• creates something new, black atlantic culture, old town road is something new with country trap, american and black culture, came together to create it,
• impossible to escape the fact that it is about ethnicity and nationality bc of the way lil nas x has made the video, history behind the country charts as it was previously banned from the charts, at the end of the video both the white and black people all come together however at the start he states that last time he was there 'wasn't too welcoming to outsiders' - othered due to race/ reference to kicked off the charts the first time around,
• black people living in the suburbs- segregated from white
• music genre- lil nas x defined the song as a country trap - a fusion country music and rap. he also said it should have appeared on the rap and country charts
• LGBTQ hip hop star in Lil Nas X
• Genre controversy- first greeted with criticism from certain corners of the country music press and was eventually removed. while old town road incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version.
• political message- there is a sequence in the video where a message about racism in the country charts is connoted when Lil Nas X tells Billy he had been here before, 'last time i was here'(eg the country charts) and he was treated like an 'outsider', (eg black man in the country charts), billy replies with 'you're with me this time' referencing the remix of the song where it will be more appreciated due to Billy Ray Cyrus being a well-loved country music artist, diehard country fans will appreciate it more due to his presence in the video
• No 1 hit worldwide- though is was not re-entered onto the overall country charts, both versions of the song collectively peaked at no 1 on the general Billboard Hot 100,
• Tiktok- song initially gained popularity on the social video sharing app of Tiktok and eventually entered the billboard charts in march 2019.
• breaking down barriers- the song became a triumph for a new generation where genres can collide and spark new sounds (black atlantic culture) and where tacit racial segregation is left in the past
• double consciousness- video encourages the audience to make connections between the message of the video and the experiences many members of the black community. double consciousness- lil nas x
• the seemingly odd combo of artists may have drawn in audiences and added to the humorous nature of the song
• the subtle wide angle track out reveals the white father sneaking up on them with a gun and adds comedy and irony
• whip pan by hand held tracking towards tunnel adds drama and excitement
• child calling out for his mother, in contrast to the original 'daddy' in the western setting provides a sense of a change now in the modern context- women being able to protect their family