Is Everything a Remix?: A Critic's Review

Everything is a Remix (2023 Edition)

Director: Kirby Ferguson 

Synopsis: Kirby Ferguson asserts the claim where everyone can and does remix. Through a voice-over, Fergusion beautifully mashes together media to provide the audience with visual proof where remixing can be evident. Subsequently, the audience can see how similar pieces of video, music, and art are copies of each other. By inserting clips from well-known music and movies, Ferguson encourages his audience to re-examine their own belief and answer the question: is everything a remix?

Review: 

In the video, Everything is a Remix, the creator Kirby Ferguson dives into the history of remixing and why we tend to use the practice often. The video did a great job at using various examples of remixing to support Ferguson’s claim. By providing examples to analyze, such as Spiderman Into the Spiderverse, the audience could see what parts of the movie were remixed from hip-hop and comic sources. 

I believe the video was effective because it made me reconsider my answer to this question. Initially, I did not believe everything was a remix. But after watching the video, I see remix as a form of copying where artist’s can find their own voice and art. However, remixing depends on what genre an individual's wishes to create their composition under. When a genre is created, there is a set of expectations set out by a discourse community which govern writing. 

These rules or expectations of genres are foundational to the idea of remixing. Once we gravitate to a genre, we tend to copy ideas or concepts from it because we prefer things that are familiar to us. I find this concept relatable as I enjoy action/thriller movies, but dislike romantic ones. Thrillers tend to have similar plots, where the movie elicits emotions such as suspense and excitement from the audience. However, I continue to watch thriller movies to see what creative ‘spin’ the director puts in the movie, making their film have a different trademark than others. 

As an avid music lover, the artist Two Friends is a great example of remixing in a positive manner. Known for their popular 1 hour songs, called ‘Big Bootie Remixes’, the artists utilize songs from different genres of music and mash them together to create dance party music. Although some may claim Two Friends are not original artists, I would disagree. Despite the lyrics and songs not being their own, Two Friends are DJs who mix music according to their own style. The transitions from one song to another allow them to become creative and try different beats to create their own mixes.