Dennis Media Coursework

  Background and historical contexts Read  this excellent analysis from The Conversation website of the impact Ghost Town had both musically and visually . Answer the following questions 1)  Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition? The writer links the two as ghost town is very dramatic and 'moody' which makes it perfect for a cinematic soundtrack.  2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s? The 2 tone genre emerged from the Mod and Punk subcultures. 3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981? The song refers to the riots taking place during the recession which left many people struggling and had young people unable to find employment. 4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video? I believe the eeriness of the video comes from the setting and the lighting; the video is set in the deserted London streets and throu...

  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?  Visual Cues: Cow print Cowboy hats  Rhinestones Fringed suede jackets  2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about?  Started in 2018 by Bri Malandro who created an instagram account ‘@theyeehawagenda’ which posts about black cowboy aesthetics in pop culture. 3) Why has it been suggested that the black cowboy has been 'erased from American culture'?  Despite black cowboys accounting for 25% of the cowboy population, their role in cowboy culture has not been widely acknowledged. Representation in media has been mainly focused on white cowboys. 4) How has the black cowboy aesthetic been reflected by the fashion industry? Pyer Moss and Telfar both incorporate western inspired looks into their runway shows. These outfits mainly consist of cowb...

  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 around genre and Old Town Road is whether it should be classified as Country or Rap or a hybrid of both.This debate came to be when Billboard removed Old Town Road from the country charts claiming it wasn’t country enough.  2) What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript? Lil Nas X is a young black rapper from Atlanta  he bought the beat online and first recorded the song in 2018 Song was uploaded to soundcloud and went viral on tiktok as a meme challenge Lil Nas X claims the song is not a parody and is genuine despite being a meme 3) What is the Yeehaw agenda? The Yeehaw agenda is a trend where black artists embrac...