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Making Something Old New Again
Posted on March 10, 2005
Copyright laws and infringments are at the fore of public debate and media policy. Remix artists are being scrutinized by the film and music industry because eventhough they are ultimately creating new art, they are utilizing someone else's creative media.
A recent article titled "This Song Is My Song" published on AlterNet details the arguments for and against the Remix culture. As the debate ensues, some argue that remixing culture is a vibrant new movement and that any cultural product neccessarily builds upon past culture regardless of copyright law or threats of lawsuits. The latest examples of remix culture are part of a tradition that builds upon previous culture the same way that folk music, gospel music, and storytelling does. "Remixing is not destroying the original," says DJ Spooky. It is like Lego blocks, [allowing us] to build upon and reinterpret. "Another world is possible, remixing helps us see it."
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