Chapter 4 Response
I remember years ago hearing the word remix and thinking it was strange…why would someone “remix” a song? I didn’t realize how much the concept has taken off. It is an interesting argument that Lanskshear and Knobel make, when they say on page 97, that remix is a necessary condition for culture. They go on to say, “Cultures have been made – created – and they are made by mixing ‘new’ elements with ‘pre-existing’ elements in the manner of ‘conversations’ (p. 97). I guess it makes sense when you think about our culture and how it has changed overtime. Documentary and independent films have become very popular, as well as Photoshop and memes (just learned that’s what they are called) and apparently there is a whole other world out there with anime.
There was one sections that worried me a little. Being a third grade teacher, where we spend a lot of time learning to write, grammar, spelling, etc., I didn’t love the section
The status of digital remixing as a new form of writing (p. 99). I realize they aren’t suggesting we replace writing with digital remixing, but I don’t want to lose the importance of the written word and have it replaced with remixes…maybe that is just my belief!
This chapter has expanded my ideas of digital storytelling. Before and throughout this course, my thoughts of digital storytelling have changed about 4 times. Originally, I thought of digital storytelling as mostly serious and about real things. Now, after reading this chapter, I’ve realized there are plenty of ways to tell a story in a lighthearted funny way. In fact I have spent the last 2 hours searching different remixing websites and laughing at what people have created.
There was one remix I had not heard of before, the mashup. The one that stood out, not sure how useful it is, but it’s cool, is the Wikipedia one that tracks the changes being made via Google Maps,
Wikipediavision. I am not sure why people need to know that, but it is definitely interesting to watch the map…kind of creepy! Some of the mashups I looked at on
programmable seem unnecessary or complicated, but it just goes to show how anyone can become a creator or inventor.
One question I have after reading this chapter is where does it all end? Is this sort or remixing (music, fan fiction, mashups, etc.) sustainable for years to come? Lankshear and Knobel make the case, along with others, that we have been remixing since the beginning of time and everything today is a remix of something pre-existing. So what will the future hold? How much more remixing can we handle? I have written in my teacher manifesto that I am preparing my students for jobs that don’t yet exist, what will their jobs look like??
