Country music star Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” has drawn criticism from The Hollywood Reporter (THR), which quoted academics accusing it of promoting division and racism.
The music video featured authentic footage of riots, looting, and violence that occurred in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, and Aldean warned that such behavior would not be tolerated in rural America.
CMT, in response, decided to pull the music video from its network circulation.
THR’s recent article, titled “How Jason Aldean Cynically Built ‘Small Town’ to Appeal to Trump Country,” highlights some critics’ views of the song as a “pro-lynching anthem and anti-Black.”
Hunter College music theory professor Philip Ewell, quoted by THR, contends that the song perpetuates subtle yet unmistakable “anti-Blackness” amid America’s cultural divide.
Ewell believes that certain lyrics, like “pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store,” carry implicit racial undertones.
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He argues that in the American psyche, the person depicted in such scenarios is often perceived as Black, reinforcing racial stereotypes.
Country music historian and Belmont University professor Don Cusic suggests that the video contains “coded” racial messages, regardless of the rioters’ races shown.
He emphasizes that people of different backgrounds interpret the video’s implications differently, further deepening the divide.
In response to these critiques, culture commentator Christian Toto rejects the notion of racist coding in the song or video.
He believes that “Try That in a Small Town” reflects the frustrations of many Americans concerning the perceived decline of law and order, citing the Defund the Police movement and lenient prosecutors in large cities.
Toto also points out that the protests in question were multicultural in nature, with Antifa’s membership reportedly being primarily White, and many White Americans participating in both peaceful and violent Black Lives Matter protests.
He criticizes THR and similar outlets for allegedly biased reporting, suggesting that they disregard the violent aspects of certain progressive protests while unfairly targeting Aldean for broaching the subject in his song.
In conclusion, Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” has become a subject of controversy, with some academics and media outlets alleging divisive messaging and racist undertones, while others defend it as an expression of legitimate concerns about law and order in America.
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