Notes on Remixing the Presidential Election and the Influence of Vidding

January 13th, 2009

It has been a couple months now since I released my latest political remix “So You Think You Can be President?” (SYTYCBP). In that time it has been viewed around 20,000 times via various video-sharing sites and has been linked to and discussed on blogs about remix culture, politics and humor. Not bad for a politically transgressive and critical video, especially considering its nine minutes long and has a relatively slow narrative build which does not exactly follow the formula for political humor on YouTube. So a week before Obama’s inauguration I wanted to write this wrap-up post to share some of my creative process, motivations and influences for that project.

Over the past two years we saw a flood of remix videos on the topic of the 2008 US presidential elections. Some were creative, entertaining or down right hilarious but ultimately, for me, many ended up feeling a bit like amateur commercials eerily similar to the candidate’s own nationwide television-advertising campaigns. I had hoped this torrent of politically inspired mash-up activity would yield more videos critical of the election process, of the presidency as an institution or of the candidates’ strikingly similar policies on key issues. I had for the most part been avoiding participating in this remix frenzy but as November 4th drew closer I was still disappointed with most of the remixed messages created thus far. So I decided to throw my own remixed perspective into the ring.

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So You Think You Can Be President?

October 21st, 2008

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Watch & share on YouTube – Read my post on why I made this remix

So You Think You Can Be President? is a re-imagined reality television show where candidates compete for American votes!

Presidential hopefuls must present their positions on major issues in front of a live studio audience then face hard-hitting critiques from our panel of judges. Viewers at home will delight in the spectacle as candidates are challenged in ways never before seen in mainstream media.

In this week’s episode, only two weeks before the election, Senator Obama and Senator McCain have their feet held to the fire over shockingly similar positions on energy and foreign policy.

Who will be this season’s champion and take home the grand prize? You’ll have to watch and decide for yourself, then participate in the show by casting a vote* for your favorite performer on November 4th!

*Some restrictions may apply. In certain areas these include, but are not limited to, faulty electronic voting systems, racist voter laws and/or voter roll purges. See your local polling place for details.