Kenian Media Coursework Blog

Postmodernism 1) How does the article define postmodernism in the first page of the article? -  Postmodernism  takes this concept of questioning  traditional structures, representations  and expectations and pushes things  a step further. 2) What did media theorist and Semiotician Roland Barthes suggest in his essay ' The Death of the Author '? - In it, he challenged tradition when he said that a writer’s opinions, intentions or interpretation of their own work are no more valid than anyone else’s. 3) What is metatextuality? - Metatextuality is where a text draws attention to the fact that it is a text. 4) What is the repeated phrase on the cartoon on postmodernism on page 28? -postmodernism is a cultural movement that distrusts all establsihed philosophies. 5) How does postmodernism link to media representations and reality? - hyperreality as the distinction between media and reality has blurred in recent years as we spend more time online. Music video CSPs and...

Background and historical contexts 1)  Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition? - It  reflects and engenders anxiety. 2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s? -  2 Tone had emerged stylistically from the Mod and Punk subcultures  and its musical roots and the people in it, audiences and bands, were both black and white. 3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981? -  England was hit by recession and away from rural Skinhead nights,  riots  were breaking out across its urban areas. Deprived, forgotten, run down and angry, these were places where young people, black and white, erupted. In these neglected parts of London, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool the young, the unemployed, and the disaffected fought pitch battles with the police. 4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video? - There is no...

Wider reading on race and Old Town Road 1) What are the visual cues the article lists as linked to the western genre?  - Western   cowboy hats, cow prints, rhinestones, and fringed suede jackets 2) How did the Yeehaw agenda come about?  -  In September 2018, the trend of black pop-culture figures wearing cowboy garb was dubbed the “Yeehaw Agenda” by Bri Malandro  a Texas-based pop-culture archivist. 3) Why has it been suggested that the black cowboy has been 'erased from American culture'?  -  The imagery associated with Americana has been overwhelmingly white, so much so that the  Studio Museum in Harlem even held a Black Cowboy exhibition two years ago, featuring photographic works from Kahlil Joseph, Deanna Lawson, and Chandra McCormick that aimed to bring the black cowboy to the forefront of western history. 4) How has the black cowboy aesthetic been reflected by the fashion industry? -  Over the past few years, their popularity has surge...

Background and cultural contexts 1) What is the big debate regarding Old Town Road and genre? - I t was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts, 2) What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript? -  He bought a beat that had this sort of country-sounding instrumental to it. And he said he was living at home feeling very lonely, feeling like a lonely cowboy, and he decided to pair that feeling with this sort of twangy beat that he bought. So “Old Town Road” starts off very much as this deep-voiced ode to the simple life on the dirt road path with your horse. And then it breaks into what he calls “country trap.” 3) What is the Yeehaw agenda? - I t refers to a resurgence in country style, music and culture, particularly among African Americans. 4) How did the story become a debate about race in America?   -  When we look at the history of where genre in po...

1) What is the purpose of a music video? - To sell products, the most obvious  of which is the song featured in the video. 2) How has the digital age changed the production and distribution of music videos? - However, music videos are an unusual form of marketing as they allow the audience full access to the product they are selling. When a music video is shown, the audience is able to hear the song the video is for so they are ‘getting’ the product that is being promoted. When other products are advertised, such as a brand of coffee or an item of clothing, the advert suggests the product is desirable but the audience does not get to taste the coffee or wear the clothes. 3) Which three major record labels are behind VEVO? What is VEVO and why was it created? - In America, three major record companies, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media (along with content licensed by EMI), have also launched Vevo, 4) What are the key conventions of a music video? - ...