My goal in this analysis is to evaluate how Remix as discourse is at play across art, music, media, and culture. Remix, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, informs the development of material reality dependent on the constant recyclability of material with the implementation of mechanical reproduction. This recycling is active in both content and form; and for this reason throughout this book I discuss the act of remixing in formal and conceptual terms. I focus on Remix as opposed to remix culture, which means that I consider the reasoning that makes the conception of remix culture possible. Remix culture, as a movement, is mainly preoccupied with the free exchange of ideas and their manifestation as specific products. Much has already been published about Remix under the umbrella of remix culture in terms of material development: how it is produced, reproduced, and disseminated. Its conflicts of intellectual property are also a central point discussed by activists such Lawrence Lessig, a copyright lawyer whom I reference throughout my investigation. As I evaluated the principles of Remix for this analysis, I came to the conclu- sion that as a form of discourse Remix affects culture in ways that go beyond the basic understanding of recombining material to create something different. For this reason, my concern is with Remix as a cultural variable that is able to move and inform art, music, and media in ways not always obvious as discussed in remix culture. Remix culture is certainly founded on Remix, and for this reason it is referenced repeatedly through my chapters; but remix culture is not the subject of this investigation mainly because it is a global cultural activity often linked specifically to copyright; and Remix, itself, cannot be defined on these terms.
Navas, Eduardo. Remix Theory. Vienna: Springer, 2012.
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