Old Town Road - language

Question 1

How was the music video industry started?

Answer 1

By the launch of MTV, a 24-hour music channel that created the demand for such products through the need to fill its airtime

Question 2

How has the industry of music videos been evolved and mirrored

Answer 2

By youtube

Question 3

What four elements have been essential for the growth of the industry?

Answer 3

-development in technology (the cost of making music videos has fallen)
-ambition (special effects)
-access (the wealth of platforms or social media available as marketing outlets)
-availability (24/7; global)

Question 4

When was old town road released initially

Answer 4

December 2018

Question 5

Why and when was there a re-release of the song?

Answer 5

Popularity saw the re-release of the single in Colombia in March 2019

Question 6

What have some labelled the genre as?

Answer 6

dubbed ‘country rap’ - it was a genre that hadn’t reached the mainstream before
This is shown through the merging elements of wild west and modern America, creating a hybrid of rap and country music

Question 7

What is the cinematic style of Old Town Road?

Answer 7

-clear attempt to recall the classic Hollywood Western genre
-the shots are sweeping to create a sense of vastness in the Old West as well as isolation and freedom which is offered by such a landscape

Question 8

What is the mise-en-scene like?

Answer 8

-that of a western genre:
Wild west costumes and props, including Stetson hats
Holding money bags - story of a bank robbery
Typography used and written codes with their names is like that of a wanted poster. This is reinforced by pausing on their face: Conveys the characters as gangsters
Guns
Barrels and hay

Question 9

Besides the wild west, what is the other narrative we are offered?

Answer 9

We are quite literally, taken down a rabbit hole to modern America or even mythical America with tropes of white picket fences, fast cars and strip malls
We are also shown narratives of good vs evil as friendships are built throughout to fight xenophobia and this is shown to be overcome at the end of the video as Lil Nas X and the town hall people all dance together. The old lady hugs the rapper at the end, subverting the idea that black men are threatening. It creates a hyperreality of inclusivity and community above fear and violence.
Similarly, a popular narrative of westerns is where there is an outsider or stranger who then comes into a ‘closed society’. Eventually, the outsider’s talents are soon realized and they are seen as a hero or as someone who makes the society a better place to live in

Question 10

How does the hybrid narrative link to Postmodernism

Answer 10

-idea that in a postmodern world, there are no new ideas, simply old ones mixed together to create new ideas

Question 11

How does the hybrid narrative link to Steve Neale?

Answer 11

-Audiences who liked country music or rap music may have enjoyed seeing their favourite genre of music, but there is also some subversion offered by fusing it with something else.
This can be satisfying, new and innovative for audiences to recognize in what ways the genre is subverted and they may enjoy seeing old elements with new links - they like their ideas of a genre to be challenged

Question 12

What is the main purpose of a music video?

Answer 12

Marketing purposes

Question 13

How is Old Town Road associated with Western Values?

Answer 13

Westerns are often associated with American values of independence and freedom. They are often tales told by a lone individual standing up for what they believe to be right

Question 14

How can we apply Propp’s theory to Old Town Road?

Answer 14

Lil Nas X is the hero- he is the one sent out on the mission and who the narrative is based around
The princess could be seen as multiculturalism where Lil Nas X is accepted and a modern American society can find a love for rap and country music
Billy Ray is the helper as he is the sidekick
They landowner (daddy) could be seen as the villain as he creates the disruption
The daughter of the landowner could potentially be seen as the dispatcher as she is the one who warns her father the men are there, causing him to shoot and sending them on their quest in Modern America

Question 15

What is the equilibrium?

Answer 15

The equilibrium is the tropes of the Western genre and being in the desert as this is seen as the characters initial place of belonging, where they are comfortable. Tropes include a horse chase and cowboy hats. This is especially true when it’s believed they have found a safe house

Question 16

What element of postmodernism is seen in the equilibrium?

Answer 16

The sheriff is black, highlighting not is all as the audience expected

Question 17

What is the disruption?

Answer 17

This is when the landowner shoots at Lil Nas X, forcing him to dive into a mine, which transports him into a Modern America

Question 18

What is the recognition?

Answer 18

When the residents of the neighborhood start to look at Lil Nas X in a shocked and confused way. The shock becomes a primary casual agent. It shows that they are becoming aware that they are characters from two different sets of worlds. This is emphasized by binary oppositions as the cultures are very different: modern clothes v cowboy outfit, car v horse

Question 19

What is the attempt to repair?

Answer 19

This is seen as when the two men from the western world are using the modern day cars instead of horses and when the horse scrapes his hooves and sparks come out the back of it. It highlights the fusion of the two cultures as the horse and the cars become one and just as powerful as each other; the horse is just as faster than the car in the race. The cowboys start using the car while the capitalist modern day society start paying to use the horse. Similarly, it can be seen as when they strip mall has Lil Nas X’s grafitti on

Question 20

What is the new equilibrium?

Answer 20

This is in the bingo hall at the end when a modern American culture is dressed in cowboy outfits and are line dancing. It also shows a fusion between races and ages, which highlights all audiences can love this genre and emphasizes inclusion in a multicultural society

Question 21

What highlights Lil Nas X’s transfiguration?

Answer 21

After Lil Nas X wins the street race against rapper Vince staples, he elects to use his winnings to buy a flamboyant country outfit.
In the research of folk tales, Propp found that heroes were often rewarded by gifts of new clothes. This gift, which Propp called transfiguration, recognizes the triumph over evil as well as the change of the hero’s status in society.
In this way, the story arc has been ordered to admire Lil Nas X. We are now invited to see him as the hero rather than a criminal outlaw

Question 22

Why are Westerns so popular

Answer 22

-Box office success
-The genre focuses on stories that show audiences the benefits of being courageous in dealing with their own conflicts and dilemmas in the same way that the heroes battle the forces opposing them.

Question 23

What are the tropes of country music seen in the music video?
This shows conformity for Steve Neale’s genre theory

Answer 23

-use of a solitary banjo
-inevitable reference in country songs to a broken relationship - “cheated on my baby”
-themes of loss and the importance of liberty are typical themes of country music. The chasing of desires is shown through ‘I’m gonna ride till I can’t no more’
-masculine defiance and independence
‘old town’ ‘valleys’
horse riding
cowboy hats and jeans

Question 24

What is a trope of the American dream that black Americans are shown to live behind?

Answer 24

The white picket fence when they do their day to day tasks such as tinkering with the garden

Question 25

What are the different types of music videos?

Answer 25

Performance
Linear narrative
Meaningful symbolic
Artistic aspirations
Hybrid

Question 26

What is a performance music video?

Answer 26

Live concert footage or the artist presented performing in a location or wandering around locations deemed to be meaningful or add pathetic fallacy to the mood/tone/lyrics

Question 27

What is a linear narrative music video?

Answer 27

the song comes with a video portraying a story with a plot that mirrors the lyrics of the song or is empathetic to the story and mood of the song. The narrative has a resolution- often pop or romance songs

Question 28

What is a meaningful symbolic music video?

Answer 28

A mix of images that offer at some hinted meaning, yet with no perceptible narrative to glue it together. They create enigmas with no resolution, but it creates discussion

Question 29

What is an artistic aspirations music video?

Answer 29

The video attempts to create a deeper link to the ideas of the song

Question 30

How can the video show subversion under Neale’s theory?

Answer 30

While the narrative of the outsider coming in, good v evil and western tropes all show conformity, the subversion can be seen in the hybridity of the two genres and the representation of race and masculinity in a postmodern product. There may be some audiences who have never seen themselves reflected in a western before, but gay, black people now do.

Question 31

How does cinematography reinforce the western theme at the beginning?

Answer 31

Bright lighting to show hot sun in the desert, with little shade. This comes alongside high key lighting with dark shadows to emphasize how exposed they are to the sun in the desert.
Wide sweeping shots of the desert to highlight its desolate and they are isolated
Whip noises: a typical western trope- whipping of horses

Question 32

What is a thematic way of looking at a narrative?

Answer 32

Concerned with the formalization of sequences and the order in which actions are told

Question 33

What is a modal way of looking at a narrative?

Answer 33

Examines the manner of storytelling, stressing authorial voice and point of view

Question 34

Why is rodeo used as a theme in the video?

Answer 34

For a modern audience, it carries connotations of wealth and the assumption of referring to the luxury life epitomized by Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills rather than just a traditional horse race

Question 35

Which video game was referred to in the footage of the music video and how does this show Shirky’s concept of mass amateurisation?

Answer 35

Red Dead Redemption - you have to rob, fight and steal your way across the rugged heart of America to survive
Shirky’s concept of mass amateurisation refers to our ability to use technology to compete with professional media producers. Lil Nas X simply recorded the gameplay on his console for his original video and then created a really engaging montage to match his song. This shows a more bottom-up approach and has a grassroots feel, rather than a system of gatekeeping.

Question 36

Where did Lil Nas X first get the track and for how much?

Answer 36

From BeatStars for $30

Question 37

What star power is used in the video?

Answer 37

Chris Rock as the sheriff, Haha Davis as his deputy and Young Kio as the stunned mechanic

Question 38

How can we apply Shirky’s mass amateurisation theory to the video?

Answer 38

Use of Red Dead redemption in the initial video
Gained fame through Tik-Tok
Independent production: Lil Nas X used independent production where he bought the track and then made it into his own
Collaboration remix culture: : The remix culture surrounding “Old Town Road,” including the collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus, exemplifies how digital technologies facilitate collaboration and remixing among amateurs and established artists.

Question 39

How can Jenkin’s textual poaching be applied to the video?

Answer 39

Genre Mixing: blend of hip-hop and country music = textual poaching.
Lyricism: The lyrics poach from traditional country music themes of rural life, cowboy culture, and personal empowerment, while also incorporating hip-hop’s emphasis on individuality, resilience, and urban experiences.
Visual Aesthetics: it features imagery that poaches from both hip-hop and country music visual aesthetics. It includes scenes of Lil Nas X riding a horse through rural landscapes, as well as imagery associated with hip-hop culture, such as flashy cars and urban settings.
Collaboration: featuring Billy Ray Cyrus can also be seen as a form of textual poaching. It appropriates Cyrus’s status as a country music icon to add authenticity to the song’s country elements, while also introducing his fanbase to Lil Nas X’s music.

Question 40

Which lyrics reference cowboy themes?

Answer 40

“Hat is matte black, got the boots that’s black to match”:
“Gonna take my horse to the old town road”
“Cowboy hat from Gucci, Wrangler on my booty”

Question 41

Which lyric reinforces the hybridity of the two genres?

Answer 41

“Ridin’ on a tractor, lean all in my bladder” - This lyric references rural imagery commonly associated with country music, such as riding a tractor, while incorporating modern hip-hop slang (“lean”). Reinforces country music themes of rural life and travel.

Question 42

How is in media res and intertextuality used?

Answer 42

The start of the video starts in the middle of the action of a bank robbery. This uses intertextuality to refer to western tropes as bank robberies are a common theme

Question 43

Why did the song gain popularity so quickly?

Answer 43

-song was listed as country rather than rap. This manipulates the algorithm so it doesn’t compete with more popular genres
-he utilized search engine optimization
-element of luck as the release coincided with the Yeehaw agenda
-Gained traction on Tik Tok
-Use of intertextuality from Red Dead Redemption meant there was a pre-sold audience

Question 44

How can Hall be applied?

Answer 44

Concept of transcoding stereotypes - Lil Nas X subverts the aggressive black male stereotype