I’ve finally got around to watching the first two parts of ‘Everything is a Remix‘, (h/t Rubbishcorp and Only Dead Fish), and it’s a really good series of realtively short videos looking at the pervasive remix culture which has become more explicitly acknowledged in the digital era:
It’s very well-made and crafted, and Kirby Ferguson does a great job of pulling together a huge number of sources and insights. And oddly enough in the spirit of remixing, it reminds me a lot of another great film about remix culture, RIP! A Remix Manifesto, written and directed by Brett Gaylor.
What’s particularly interesting is that Kirby lists RIP! in his references section, alongside another film, ‘Good Copy Bad Copy‘, which begins which features DJ and remixer Girl Talk from the start – who also plays a big part in RIP.
All three are worth watching, and it’s interesting to see the similarities, differences and shared influences. And if anyone goes on about how bad remix and mash-up culture is for artistic endeavours, or consumers, it gives me a lot of hope that talented filmakers around the world are creating great documantary remixes on the topic of remixes.
If you’d prefer to examine the written word when it comes to remix culture, copyright, and the legal issues involved, then you can do no better than to start with Lawrence Lessig. Code 2.0 and Remix are highly recommended and the also excellent Free Culture is available as a free download under a Creative Commons licence, from here.