Cultural Politics of Remixing
Explain the cultural politics of remixing, whether in vidding, mash-ups, or any other similar form. How do these forms work as art, entertainment, and/or cultural criticism? How has digital media and online networking affected how these works are made, distributed, and consumed? Analyze at least two examples of such work in your response.
Remixing is a trend that has really come into its own in the past 5 years. There were definitely some innovators prior to 2003, or 2002, but I don’t think these forms of medai had really caught on until around 2005. That’s my experience, at least. I grew up with the first Napster generation, and I can remember thinking how cool it was, but also wondering how it could be legal. I thought that if you could do it on popular software, then it must be okay. I was wrong, and a couple of years later, or less, all of the media lawsuits started happening. People still steal media, probably as much as ever. But the dynamics have sort of changed between the big media companies and the individual. Some companies still fight it tooth and nail, but others are letting it slide. It will be a very interesting next couple of years to see how most media conglomerates continue to deal or not deal with this kind of activity.
Remixing, Vidding, and Mash-ups are generally centered around a fan-based culture that like to be “involved” more in their particular show, movie, music, etc. These media mixes allow individuals to make their own stuff, collaborate with artists they love (who don’t even know it), build on already creative ideas, and just use another outlet to have fun. I particularly enjoy videos that totally change the mood of a film or tv show to be funny, such as the Shining Trailer with a happy mood. I don’t enjoy random mash-ups of different media, nor do I really like fan videos that re-edit clips of different “cult-like” tv shows–probably because I am not personally invested in the culture of that show.
These forms of media certainly can be art, entertainment, or cultural criticisms. I think that videos such as DJ Earworm’s United State of Pop 2008 really are art. What he does is not just fooling around with video. Something like that takes a lot of creative thinking and skill. This was really impressive to me. I think videos like the Colbert Report Remix serve as great entertainment. I also commend Stephen Colbert for being in touch with an audience that loves this sort of thing, and I think he is innovative for actually referencing stuff like this in his show. He knows that his audience is primarily a younger, Web 2.0 generation, who love to create and feel an involvement in the media they choose to intake. I also really enjoy the cultural criticism piece of the vidding equation. Videos like Paul Harvey Oswald’s “Let’s Do Something Girlie,” is a perfect example of mashing up media to illustrate a cultural criticism. In this case, he was criticizing the representation of women, especially the role of women in media. I think he did this really well. His clip was entertaining, but also very effective in illustrating a point.
Digital media and online networking has more than affected the way these works are made, distributed, and consumed–it has made it possible. Before digital media, this kind of culture really could not exist, in my opinion. In a world 10 years ago, most of this was not possible, or at least not easy to do. People who edited videos were mostly video-editing professionals. In today’s world, millions of people have access to a computer powerful enough, and software like iMovie that anyone can easily use and even edit in HD! This is a completely different world of media that allows for the culture of remixing, vidding, or mashing up. People now have the tools to find almost any video or audio clips they want, either from the internet sites like YouTube and Hulu, or from software like iTunes-the most important media database. Not only do people have access to all of the media they could want, but people also have the online communities and networks to share their creations like never before. We now live in a world where people can be connected to more people than ever before, and share media more quickly than ever before. What an exciting time!
I am excited to see what the next generation will do with these types of hyper-connectivity and media sharing abilities. What will it be like when the kids who are toddlers now, growing up not knowing a world that isn’t like this, start becoming the creators and the innovators? Time will tell. I just hope I can keep up.
