by James Harwell:
I think it is safe to say that 2021 is a year of interesting conversations. To start, we had royal family drama, vaccination drama and inauguration drama. It makes you wonder what the next topic is going to be.
Well, on March 26, Montero Lamar Hill, best known as Lil Nas X, released a song and music video titled MONTERO “Call Me by Your Name.” In the music video, references to different mythologies and religious stories were depicted. The end of the video, which got more media coverage than the rest of the video, showed Lil Nas X pole dancing down to hell and giving the devil a lap dance.
Waves of different reactions ran through the media, ranging from people loving the video to people deciding to be homophobic to people liking the concept of the video but disagreeing with how it was presented. Bellarmine students also expressed a wide range of opinions about who the video affected them.
“Honestly, I didn’t really care,” first-year student Esha Khan said. “The man used the song to express himself. I believe we should let him express himself. At the end of the day, we all have to stick to our own individuality.”
Aniseya White said: “I like the song and the message that Lil Nas X is trying to give, but I didn’t like the video. I don’t like that the video is going to be everywhere and that kids are going to see it. I do not think kids need to see someone giving the devil a lap dance and then killing him. If it did not have that then I think I would like it.”
Senior Taryn Tramill said who students who identify as LGBTQ+ like the video, “It’s another song we can play as a queer anthem,” Tramill said.
As a Christian man and a member of the alphabet mafia (LGBTQ+ community), I found the video very empowering. I don’t believe the video was intentionally attacking Christianity but making fun of the idea of how some people who identify as a “Christian” believe gay people will go to hell. The video was a statement to encourage other LGBTQ+ members to live their lives outside the social norms.
“The video was trying to say that you can’t tell anyone what they can and can’t believe,” Tramill said. “The video has such an impact that my friends and I watch the video occasionally. I also caught people listening to the song as they go on their day.”