the remixing phenomenon

Whacking Bush:Tactical media as a play, was an especially interesting and relevant chapter for me following the current presidential race\debates. The opening pages of Meikle's chapter was amusing, with a rather serious undertone. For instance, George W. Bush's State of the Union address was cut with audio samples from other speeches, then remixed to, " create an arresting new hybrid," (p.376). This concept of remixing is an entirely new phenomenon in, not only marketing, but also finding new and more creative ways of creating political satire for in our case, the campaign. Meikle also makes the interesting and disturbing point that more people were 'remixing' Bush than were voting for him,"(376). This is a scary thought for politics.

The concept of reality is also a crucial point Meikle makes, "In the digital era, this competition remains fierce, but the raw material is no longer in such short supply. Defining reality carving up and exploiting that resource is one of the central phenomena of the media," (p.368). This may be an under exaggeration, Meikle states that media exploits reality, I would take it a step further and say that media not only exploits reality, but  manipulates and distorts it in  new and even more creative ways.

 

My question is what really is tactical media? Meilke describes it as a: "slippery term, a tool for creating, 'temporary consensus zones' based on unexpected alliances . . . alliance of hackers, artists, critics, journalists and activists . . . flexibility and mobility," (369). This concept can be thought of in modern terms especially with our political system. Anyone can and will do anything to get their point across in a political context. Does this mean this phenomenon of remixing is a beneficial or counter productive artistic expression?

-Anna-