Postcolonial theory: blog tasks

 Postcolonial theory: blog tasks

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?

The article identifies visual signifiers such as cowboy hats, cow print, rhinestones and fringed suede jackets as key codes of the western genre. These act as recognisable media language conventions that audiences immediately associate with cowboy culture and Americana. They function as symbolic shorthand for ideas of freedom, rebellion and frontier identity. This reflects how genres rely on repeated visual iconography to construct meaning for audiences.  

2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about? 

The Yeehaw Agenda emerged in 2018 when Bri Malandro created the term and launched an Instagram archive celebrating black cowboy aesthetics in popular culture. It developed as a response to the under-representation of black cowboys in mainstream media and aimed to document their cultural significance. Social media helped spread the movement rapidly, allowing audiences to engage with and share these representations. This shows how digital media platforms can challenge dominant cultural narratives.

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

The black cowboy has been described as erased because mainstream representations of the American West have historically centred whiteness, despite around a quarter of real cowboys being black. Hollywood westerns and popular media have largely excluded these histories, creating a distorted cultural memory. This reflects Stuart Hall’s idea that representation shapes how groups are understood in society. The omission reinforces dominant ideologies by privileging white narratives of American identity. 

4) How has the black cowboy aesthetic been reflected by the fashion industry?

The fashion industry has embraced the black cowboy aesthetic through designers such as Pyer Moss and Telfar, who incorporated western-inspired looks into runway collections. These brands used black models and references to black cowboy culture to challenge traditional fashion norms. This reflects postmodern media’s tendency to remix historical imagery in new cultural contexts. It also reclaims western symbolism as part of black cultural identity rather than exclusively white Americana. 

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

The article suggests that race continues to shape who is accepted within the country music community. The removal of Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road from the country charts implied that black artists may face exclusion even when their work includes recognised country conventions. This highlights how genre boundaries can be policed in ways that reflect racial bias. It suggests the industry still privileges white artists as the default representatives of country music. 

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

The article argues that the song contains authentic country features such as banjo instrumentation and Lil Nas X’s Southern vocal twang. The music video also uses western iconography, including horseback riding and cowboy imagery inspired by the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. These conventions align with audience expectations of the genre. This suggests the rejection of the song was less about form and more about cultural gate-keeping. 

7) What genres of music does the article suggest have been shaped by black influences? 

The article states that black artists have significantly shaped genres including rock and roll, punk, riot grrrl, electronic music and country. This challenges dominant narratives that often credit white artists as the central innovators of these forms. It highlights how black cultural contributions are frequently marginalised or overlooked in mainstream histories. This supports Gilroy’s argument about the historical erasure of black cultural influence.

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

I think the main driving force behind the Yeehaw movement is cultural reclamation. Black creators are using media, music and fashion to reclaim a history that has been excluded from dominant representations of America. Social media has accelerated this by allowing alternative narratives to circulate outside traditional gatekeepers. The movement reflects a wider demand for more inclusive and historically accurate representation in contemporary media.

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 Old Town Road video reinforces some familiar Black media stereotypes through its use of humour, performance, and exaggerated entertainment, which can align with stereotypical representations of Black people as comedic or primarily associated with spectacle. However, it challenges these stereotypes by placing Lil Nas X in the traditionally white, masculine space of the cowboy/western genre, disrupting traditional expectations about race and cultural ownership.

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

Paul Gilroy’s theory of double consciousness suggests Black individuals may feel tension between different cultural identities. Old Town Road challenges this because Lil Nas X confidently blends hip-hop and country influences without appearing conflicted, presenting identity as fluid and hybrid rather than divided and the video promotes multiculturalism at the end when he is partnered with an elderly white lady posing for a photo.

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.  

This supports Stuart Hall’s theory that race is represented through shifting cultural meanings rather than fixed truths. Lil Nas X reconstructs racial representation by reworking the cowboy image, showing how media can challenge dominant stereotypes and create new meanings around Black identity.

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

Alvarado identified stereotypes such as Black people being represented as humorous, dangerous, exotic, or pitied. While Old Town Road uses humour through its playful cowboy story line, it does not strongly fit these stereotypes because Lil Nas X is shown as confident, successful, and fully in control of the narrative. This challenges traditional racial expectations because the cowboy/western genre has historically centred white masculinity, so placing a Black artist at the centre of that space redefines who can occupy positions of power and representation within that genre.

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

bell hooks’s intersectionality highlights how overlapping identities shape experience. Lil Nas X is a strong example because as a young Black artist who is also openly queer, he challenges expectations around race, masculinity, and sexuality within both hip-hop and country music, showing how multiple identities intersect in media representation.