Is everything a remix ?
I have a problem with this phrase. To me it has a negative connotation, particularly when referring to the creation of art.
In our lecture it was postulated that there are three forms of remix culture (Lessig):
1) Post-Modernism - the use of previous cultural contents and forms to create something new
2) Globalization - The intermingling of national cultural traditions in a new global style
3) Technological - The remix between culture and computers
If the use of previous cultural content in the creation of art is classified as a remix, could one then argue that J S Bach was just remixing the diatonic scale invented by Pythagorus ? I don't think so. Which means post-modernism has been around for a very long time.
Is the use of previous cultural content and form, when used to create something new, not just the using of ingredients, the materials used, in the creation of that new something. I would argue yes, but what distinguishes that creation as art rather than ordinary, mundane or mediocre is extremely subjective and an argument for another day.
Likewise globalization is the natural development of cultures in an exponential curve, gathering influences from all around the world to create new forms and content. Admittedly, like all human endeavors, this intermingling of cultures is open to misuse and abuse, where certain elements of a culture are appropriated in an exhibition of pure crassness. But this intermingling of national cultures can also be done with thought and beauty, engendering in its constituent cultures a reverence and pride in the created new form.
The advances in technology in recent years which has led to a read/write culture is, in my opinion, the most dangerous form of remix culture. The ease in which todays generation can not only access information, but re-write it, is a scary thought and one which calls into question the veracity of any and all content so easily available in this digital age. This age of instant access, instant entertainment and instant validation, where everyone has an opinion, and a voice that demands to be heard, is leading to a dilution of creativity, where it is becoming increasingly more difficult to separate the ordinary from the sublime.
So, if everything is a remix, then it always has been.
