Music Video: Postcolonial theory

There are a range of important postcolonial theories we need to learn as part of our A Level Media course.

We studied an introduction to postcolonial terminology earlier in the course and now can add some significant theories and ideas from postcolonialism. 

Paul Gilroy: The Black Atlantic

Paul Gilroy is a key theorist in A Level Media and has written about race in both the UK and USA.

In The Black Atlantic (1993), Gilroy explores influences on black culture. One review states: “Gilroy’s ‘black Atlantic’ delineates a distinctively modern, cultural-political space that is not specifically African, American, Caribbean, or British, but is, rather, a hybrid mix of all of these at once.”

Gilroy is particularly interested in the idea of black diasporic identity – the feeling of never quite belonging or being accepted in western societies even to this day.

For example, Gilroy points to the slave trade as having a significant cultural influence on modern America.

Diaspora: A term that originates from the Greek word meaning “dispersion,” diaspora refers to the community of people that migrated from their homeland. 

Watch the opening to this Tate gallery video on the Black Atlantic: 

Gilroy on black music

Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture. 

When writing about British diasporic identities, Gilroy discusses how black Britons may feel they do not fully belong in Britain but are regarded as ‘English’ when they return to the country of their parents’ birth e.g. the Caribbean or Africa. This can create a sense of never truly belonging anywhere.

Gilroy: “double consciousness”

Gilroy has also discussed the concept of “double consciousness”. This develops the idea of not feeling a sense of belonging and suggests that black people have to view themselves through the eyes of others – often a white-dominated media.

This means that black audiences experience representations in the media that do not accurately reflect their actual lives. 

Additional postcolonial theories

Stuart Hall: race representations in media

Stuart Hall (1995) suggested that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes.

He argued that western cultures are still white-dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. Indeed, non-white people are often represented as ‘the other’.

Hall outlined three black characterisations in American media:

• The Slave figure: “the faithful fieldhand… attached and devoted to ‘his’ master.” (Hall 1995)
• The Native: primitive, cheating, savage, barbarian, criminal.
• The Clown/Entertainer: a performer – “implying an ‘innate’ humour in the black man.” (Hall 1995)

Alvarado: Black stereotypes in media

Manuel Alvarado (1987) suggested there are four key themes in black representations in the media:

• Exotic: models/costume, music artists, food etc.
• Dangerous: crime, gangs, socially dysfunctional etc.
• Humorous: comedians, film sidekicks etc.
• Pitied: poverty, charity adverts etc.

He suggested these stereotypes were an example of ‘otherness’ and were drawn from other media texts rather than reality.

bell hooks: intersectionality

hooks suggests that social classifications (e.g. race, gender, class, sexuality) are interconnected. She argues that the convergence of sexism and racism meant that black women have a low status in American society.

The concept of intersectionality can be applied to the Old Town Road music video by focusing on race, gender and sexuality.

Representations of ethnicity in Old Town Road

Representations of race and ethnicity in Old Town Road deliberately play with stereotypes - both reinforcing and subverting them. The landowner and his daughter in the opening scene suggests a fear of 'the other' and Lil Nas is an outlaw. Yet there is a black sheriff which subverts traditional stereotypes. 

In the modern day part of the video, Lil Nas emerges into a world of black Americans going about their daily lives behind the white picket fence of the American Dream. Similarly, after initial shock, the white line dancers all seem to admire and accept Lil Nas, resulting in a positive narrative resolution. This positive view of multiculturalism could be viewed as an example of cultural conviviality. 

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? 

2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.  

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

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

A/A* extension task: 

Media Magazine - This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest
Read This Is America: Music, Politics and Protest in MM65 (p14). You can find this in our Media Magazine archive. This is a great article on the power of music video in American culture. 

This excellent Berkeley Political Review article on the Yeehaw Agenda is worth a read, expanding on the issues discussed in the W deep dive above.

Due date on Satchel One

Music Video: Old Town Road CSP

Our first Music Video CSP is Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus - Old Town Road.

This is a culturally significant song and video that allows us to explore everything from narrative and genre to race representations and postmodernism.

Notes from AQA

AQA introduces this text as: "Old Town Road explores the relationship between genre and race, specifically in the country music industry but also, through the use of film genre conventions, the media more widely. The exclusion of some tracks from the US’s country Billboard charts has been controversial and Old Town Road crystallises those concerns. Lil Nas X, known as a media influencer before his music career, came out as gay in 2019, which has also affected the way in which the music video has been understood.

"The music video reflects aspects of society and contemporary cultural issues in its discourse on race, gender and musical categorisation. An interesting area of discussion might be to what extent the music video as a form can transmit political messages. The economic context would include the ways in which artists make money from music videos, in this case the different iterations of video and song can be seen as a strategy to maximise the audience and profit."

Source: AQA Close Study Product booklet.

Introduction

Old Town Road is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X and was first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity on TikTok, it was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019 followed by the music video ('Official Movie') in May 2019 featuring country legend Billy Ray Cyrus.

The song has been classified as 'country rap' - a hybrid genre not usually seen in the mainstream. The Billboard magazine country chart disqualified in on the grounds it was not country, sparking debate about genre-bending records. The song eventually peaked at number 1 in the US charts and is one of the highest selling songs of all time. 

Social and cultural contexts: Yeehaw movement

Lil Nas X and Old Town Road are seen as a significant moment in the Yeehaw Agenda. This is a social movement started by online pop culture archivist Bri Malandro. She created an Instagram account to celebrate black cowboy aesthetics in popular culture and reclaim black identity in a predominantly white genre. 

The movement is an attempt to highlight how the black cowboy had been marginalised from American culture. Despite the fact around 25% of cowboys were black in the 1800s, historic media representations depicted cowboys as typically white. 

Lil Nas X: Old Town Road Official Movie

Lil Nas X - Old Town Road: Blog tasks

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?

2) What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript?

3) What is the Yeehaw agenda?

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

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


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?

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

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

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 are narrative features used in the music video? Apply narrative theory here.

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

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.

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

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

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? 

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.

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

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

5) How does the video begin? 

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

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

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

9) How is masculinity represented in the video? 

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

A/A* extension tasks

Read this W magazine feature on how the social media world (including Miley Cyrus) reacted to the video. What does this suggest about how digital media is impacting on traditional media products like songs and music videos?  

Magazines: Front cover practical project

The best way to learn the conventions of a media product is to create one. Your first task for the Magazines unit is to create an original front cover for an existing magazine.

This will also help to prepare you for the cross-media coursework starting with your coursework teacher in July.

Task: Choose an existing magazine and create a front cover for a new, original edition of your chosen publication.

Previous year examples: 

Magazine practical production: tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Magazine practical task research and planning' and complete the following tasks:

Research

1) Use Google to research potential magazines that you could use as your brand/design for this project. Create a shortlist of three potential magazines and upload an example front cover from each one. We recommend looking at lifestyle magazines or a similar genre as these are more achievable to re-create.

2) Choose one of the three magazine brands to use for your project e.g GQ, Vogue or The Gentlewoman. Then find three different front covers for your chosen magazine and embed them in your blogpost. Analyse the fonts, colours and typical design. What is the language or writing style? How are the cover lines written? What camera shot is generally used for the cover image? You need to become an expert in the design and construction of this magazine and its branding.

Planning

1) In your blogpost, write your main cover line (also called the 'main flash') - this is the main cover story that links to your central image. It must be 100% original - all your own words.

2) Briefly plan the image you will need for the cover - model, costume, make-up, lighting etc. At this point, simply describe the image you need to capture.

3) Write the cover lines and any additional text you need for your magazine cover.

4) Sketch out your cover on plain A4 paper using your written planning. Take a photo of your sketch and upload it to your blogpost.

Photoshoot

We will do a photoshoot in class next week with lighting and backdrop. However, if you prefer you can arrange your own photoshoot for the cover image in your own time - you can use your phone or your own camera to take an image. If you don't have a phone or camera that is suitable, you can sign out a camera from Mr Ray.

1) On your planning document blogpost, state the date, time and location of your photoshoot and the name of the model or photographer you will use (you can choose anyone to be your cover model or you can be the cover model yourself).

Photoshop or InDesign?

You will have one Media lesson to create your magazine cover on Adobe Photoshop or InDesign but you will probably need more time than this. In order to complete this work, you will need to work in DF06 when you don't have other lessons or use Photoshop/InDesign at home. You already have access to Adobe at home via our fantastic Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (worth around £25/month!) as long as you have a PC or laptop that can run it.

Online tutorials

The best way to learn Photoshop is simply to start creating your magazine cover and learn as you go. There are thousands of tutorials on YouTube to help you - here are just a couple of examples of Photoshop tutorials: 

You can find an excellent InDesign tutorial here or alternatively try this: 

Publication to blog and evaluation

1) Once you have completed your design you need to save or export a copy as a JPEG image. Then, upload it to your blogpost. 

2) Upload two genuine covers of the magazine you have used and put them next to your front cover. This is a brilliant way to check how professional your work looks alongside the real thing.

3) Write a short evaluation of your work: have you succeeded in your brief to create a new, original edition of an existing magazine? Does your cover stand up alongside the genuine covers of your chosen magazine? How professional is your work alongside those genuine examples?

4) Finally, what would you do differently if you completed this assignment again?

Deadline: see Satchel One

Music Video: Introduction

Our next topic is Music Video - with two contrasting Close-Study Products.

Music video is a targeted CSP which means we need to focus on media language and representation - Paper 1 Section A. The CSPs are Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, and Ghost Town by The Specials. We'll be looking at a range of representations across the videos including race, ethnicity, social class and also incorporating post-colonial theory.

An introduction to Music Video: notes

Music videos typically feature movement – often fast paced either in terms of actors, camerawork or editing. Many contain a performance element or narrative. Music videos can also feature visual effects and intertextuality.

Music videos were originally designed as a promotional device to sell the band or artist’s music but have developed over time to become a recognised artform or product in their own right. Modern music videos no longer have the huge budgets of the 1980s and 1990s but digital media means they are now more accessible than ever. Videos such as Psy’s Gangnam Style have received over 3 billion views on YouTube.

Andrew Goodwin's conventions of music video

Andrew Goodwin's theory of music video is a useful one to learn when analysing music videos. His theory states that music videos contain some or all of the following elements:

• A link between the visuals & lyrics (complement, contradict or amplify)
• Genre characteristics (heavy metal in industrialised settings; rap music in urban street contexts etc.)
• Contain intertextual references (references to popular culture)
• Contain notions of looking (e.g. screens within screens)
• Include objectification of females (e.g. male gaze)
• Include demands of the record label (close ups of lead singer, symbols or motifs associated with the band / performer etc.)
• Video will be performance, narrative or concept based.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when one media text references another media text – through genre, conventions, mise-en-scene or specific cultural references.

Music videos often use intertextual references – often to classic films but also to television, popular culture, news, videogames or even other music videos.

Notable examples of intertextual music videos:

Music Video introduction blog task

This week's work requires Media Factsheet #69: Music Video. You'll need to log in to Google using your Greenford Google account to access this. Read the factsheet and answer the following 10 questions:

1) What is the purpose of a music video?

2) How has the digital age changed the production and distribution of music videos?

3) Which three major record labels are behind VEVO? What is VEVO and why was it created?

4) What are the key conventions of a music video?

5) How can narrative be used in music video? Give an example of a music video that uses a narrative.

6) What examples are provided in the factsheet for intertextuality in music videos?

7) Why do audiences enjoy intertextual references in media products?

8) Read the music video example analysis on page 3 of the factsheet. Select a music video of your own choice for each of the following headings and explain how each one links to the heading:

• Conventions (movement/narrative/artist)
• Intertextuality
• Representation
• Audience

9) Watch the video for Ice Cube's It Was A Good Day (1993). How did this video set the conventions for later hip-hop music videos?



10) How important do you think music videos are in the marketing and promotion of music artists today? Are music videos still essential to a band or artist's success? You need to form your own opinion here.

Due date on Satchel One