Music Video: Old Town Road CSP

 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: 

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

The debate was about whether it should be considered as country music

2) 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

3) What is the Yeehaw agenda?

The yee haw agenda. This woman, Bri Malandro, tweeted about how a lot of black artists are getting interested in sort of the country aesthetic. And the way that Lil Nas X factored into that is, while people were picking up on the good ol’ cowboy/cowgirl aesthetic, his song was circulating on Twitter and he made it available for free on TikTok, which is this huge platform kind of akin to Vine where people can lip sync to songs and record themselves doing dance moves, and people who already were kind of feeling this kind of ironic cowboy vibe turned “Old Town Road” into the “Yee Haw Challenge.

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

Billboard removed the song from their top country chart because they said 'it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.' Billboard then issued a response to genius's question stating it has nothing to do with race and that then set off conversation because country music prevents black artists from penetrating the scene.

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

'We have to also point out how amazing it is that this thing which was a meme that was commentary on cowboy culture and black identity that became an immediate overnight thinkpiece which an aging country star then remixed. Like, this thing is entirely of our moment. This is not old country music of a rural community. This is the internet generation.'


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

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

He made a tweet telling his fans to closely listen to the song c7osure. 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.

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

It harnessed both hip hop and country sounds

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

Over the years many country artists came out to speak about the LGBT community. While Herndon’s peak popularity was definitely restricted to the '90s, he made headlines in 2014 when he became the first mainstream male country star to come out. 2014 was a big year for LGBTQ news in country music (Salon’s overview dubbed it “the year country music came out”).  At the same time, the country music industry was attempting to appeal to a younger listeners, who were more generally supportive of marriage equality

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:

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

• Equilibrium theory: riding the horses    Disequilibrium: gun shots   New equilibrium: dance in the end 
• Action code: gun, sparks under horse hooves
• Binary opposition: Urban city/ countryside, horse/car
• Resolution: cultural conviviality 

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

• country hats
• horse riding
• setting - counryside
• sheriff badge
• hay bales
• Grills and chains - rap genre 
• Tiktok dances

3) 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.

• Opening Shots: The video begins with wide shots of the countryside, establishing the setting as a traditional Western environment.
• Costumes: Lil Nas X's mix of cowboy attire with modern streetwear, and Billy Ray Cyrus’s traditional cowboy look, symbolize the merging of genres – country and rap.

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

• Race and ethnicity: entirely black people - yeehaw agenda
• Scene at the end: almost entirely white

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

• America - white picket fence (cultural conviviality)
• Stereotypical masculinity reinforced 'Marlboro Man'
• Pink suit - modern masculinity

Old Town Road Media Factsheet

Finally, read Media Factsheet #262 - Old Town Road. You'll need to log in to Google using your Greenford Google account to access this. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions: 

1) Who are the celebrities that appear in cameos in the video? 

The music video featured cameos from comedians Chris Rock and Haha Davis, rappers Vince

Staples and Rico Nasty, songwriter Jozzy, producer Youngkio, and DJ Diplo.

2) Choose three of the key terms defined on the first page of the factsheet and write the definitions here. Focus on terms you are unfamiliar with.

Archetypal:  A representation that is very typical of a person, place or thing.

Hypermasculine: An exaggerated representation of masculinity which emphasises physical

strength.

Double consciousness: The idea that conflicting racial identities can exist within an individual.

3) How did Lil Nas X use social media to boost his own popularity and the success of the video?

By trafficking in memes, viral threads, engagement bait, and Nicki Minaj stanning, he was able to create a six-digit follower base on Twitter, a process that is known a tweetdecking. This account served as a springboard to release Old Town Road.

4) Look at the video analysis on page 3. What conventions of the western can be found in the video? 

The video is a camp black western, complete with a hick hoe-down, car vs. horse showdowns and most importantly a stranger riding into town.

5) How does the video begin? 

The exposition of the video starts in media res (in the middle of action)

6) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the modern-day part of the video? 

The Wild West of the 1800s is transposed to Los Angeles to create a comic juxtaposition for the audience; from the desolate, unwelcoming outback to the suburban streets of Los Angeles

where the inhabitants are filmed in slow motion astonished at the sight of this newcomer.

7) How can the video be read as a reinforcement of capitalism and the American dream? 

The Maserati car, the dollar sign, diamonds, rhinestones, the Super Mall, flashy suits and

high-end sunglasses connote the capitalist nature of America.

8) How does the factsheet suggest the video creates a hyperreality? 

The signifiers of wealth such as clutching a money bag with a dollar sign on it, construct the

hyperreality of The American Dream, a cultural myth that states everyone should have equal access and opportunities, especially when it comes to success.

9) How is masculinity represented in the video? 

In Old Town Road Both Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus are encoded in stereotypical feminine dress codes. The typical hypermasculine garb of cowboys is feminised with pink, roses and jewels, transcoding gender signifiers markets Lil Nas X as an unconventional and this

set him apart from other rap and country stars.

10) Look at the final page. What theories are suggested for this CSP and which do you think are the most useful? 

Judith Butler’s, Paul Gilroy’s, David Gauntlett’s, Stuart Hall’s

I think Paul Gilroy's theory is very important because of the idea of double consciousness especially with Lil nas X struggling to break into the white-centric genre of country and western music.

Stuart Hall’s concept of transcoding stereotypes could be useful ad Lil Nas X subverts the aggressive black male stereotype, especially in regard to the violent, misogynistic, homophobic rap star.