What is a Critical Remix?
Have students access the student chapter What is a Critical Remix? and have them sort the examples into creative and critical remixes.
When they have completed the exercise, ask students: What is the difference between the examples in the first column and the examples in the second?
If students don’t identify the difference, point out that the examples in the second column were all made to make a critical point about the texts being used: “Buffy Versus Edward” uses the remix to compare how the two texts portray gender and relationships; “Wes Anderson, the Substance of Style” uses the opening sequence of The Fantastic Mister Fox, as well as other films, to examine the director’s style; and “McDonald’s Ads Versus the Real Thing” uses footage from McDonald’s ads and original footage to show the unrealistic portrayal of McDonald’s food in its ads.
On the other hand, “Garfield Without Garfield,” “Hercules,” “Nightwing: The Series” and “Star Wars” do not use their original texts in a critical way but as platforms for the remixer’s creativity.
Point out that whether a remix is creative or critical does not relate to the kind of remix it is: edits, reboots, fan-made media and mosaics can all be critical if they have some kind of critical purpose, either critiquing the works they’re based on (many fan-made works do this by shifting the focus to under-represented characters) or using the works to do social or political commentary.