Assignment 8

What is meant by remix/remediation?


Remediation/remix simply means taking one medium and transforming it into another. An example would be turning a book into a movie or vice versa. In remediation, no acknowledgement is given to the original work. For example, a movie based on  a Jane Austen book would not give credit to the original text in any way. This would be done in the hope that the transition from book to movie was so seamless that the viewer wouldn't notice. Remediation can also be an alternative form of categorizing and discovering information. A photograph might be upload to an online website so more people can view it. A speech given by the President might be sent to YouTube so students can cite it in projects and so on.


How does it affect a text's message?


Depending on the intent, it can alter a text's message or not. The goal of some people might be to remove all traces of the original work to create a new piece that does not reflect the original inspiration. This would alter the text's message because the original text would not even be cited anymore. However, others might want to make adaptations where they acknowledge where the inspiration came from (like a Stephen King novel) but also strive to create their own message. I believe that it all depends on whether the new creators want to keep the original message or not.


Does any of what Bolter and Grusin are saying contradict Walter Benjamin? 


Benjamin argued that changing a medium around leads to the loss of its aura. Bolter and Grusin claim that this can happen and it can also not happen, depending on the situation. Less extreme forms of remediation can capture the original essence of the work while more extreme remediation projects try to make the original work invisible in the viewer's mind. It all depends on the intent of the people remediating. So, Bolter and Grusin are not necessarily contradicting Benjamin but they are saying there's more to the situation that just losing the essence of an original work.

A nice graph that lays it all out

Look, it's Walter Benjamin!