Public Knowledge has just released their new series of four video interviews called “We Are Creators Too” that focuses on artists who push the boundaries of copyright law. First to be featured was Nina Paley whose Sita Sings the Blues feature film (set to music from the Public Domain) reveals the timelessness of an old Indian folk tale while simultaneously exposing the archaic nature of copyright. Francesca Coppa, fan, academic and keeper of women’s vidding herstory is also featured along with Jonathan and myself.

Public Knowledge is a great resource for remix artists and vidders because they acknowledge that Fair Use is a right, not a privilege. As artist, we can only continue making new work with the hopes that the product and process decreases copyright confusion and encourages the use of new media technologies to sustain media literacy and critical thinking about popular, and proprietary, culture.

Part 4 – Francesca Coppa

Part 3 – Jonathan McIntosh

Part 2 – Elisa Kreisinger

Part 1 – Nina Paley

Category: About Remixing
Topic Tags: activism, copyright, corporations, fair use, REMOVED, rights, television, vidding

Mary C. Matthews at VideoPancakes remixes the now infamous anti-gay marriage “gathering storm” ad by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). She combines it with footage from the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers to create a promo for a new fictitious reality show called “Gay Marriage Chasers”. Over the past month, the ridiculous homophobic NOM ad has been thoroughly lampooned and parodied by the Colbert Report, Funny or Die and dozens of others online. Matthews’ remix is unique in that it seamlessly splices together two pop-culture phenomena to create a hilarious critique of the fear mongering and over dramatic nature of the original.

Category: tv commercial
Topic Tags: religion, rights, sexuality, television

All the Identity Correction videos posted below are remixing Dow Chemical’s recent series of TV ads and playing on the company’s rather twisted and ironic tag line “The Human Element”. Like many other corporations involved in ecological destruction and human rights abuses, Dow is currently running a multimillion dollar PR campaign trying desperately to re-brand itself as a responsible, social conscience and above all human company. The remixes take that propaganda campaign and deconstruct the message than (re)construct it in order to expose some of the nasty truths behind the chemical company. From their refusal to pay reparations or clean up the Bhopal disaster to their supplying of the US Military with Napalm to the catastrophic effects of Agent Orange on both people and the environment of Vietnam.

by youtube user forbhopal.

by youtube user jpgsg9

by youtube user lamesbond.

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Category: tv commercial
Topic Tags: advertising, corporations, dow chemical, identity correction, rights

Another Star Wars themed remix found on youtube, this one taking the audio of Obi Won Kenobi’s famous monologue in A New Hope: Episode 4 where he explains The Empire to a young Luke Skywalker and mixing it with footage of the Bush Administration and it’s War in Iraq. Here also is another slightly different version of this mash-up.

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Category: movie trailer
Topic Tags: bush, rights, star wars, terrorism, war

A short anti-anti-piracy ad remix.

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Category: tv commercial
Topic Tags: government, rights, war