Virginia Kuhn

2017

The Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, Special issue on Remix Rhetoric, David Beard and Lisa Horton, Eds. 7: 2

This essay argues for considering remix—defined as artifacts that employ the semiotic registers of word, sound and image—as an emergent and vital form of cultural expression and communication. After tracing the ways in which the Trump administration has appropriated the language of the liberal left, using strategies employed by those with progressive political agendas, the specific affordances of remix are highlighted. These features—its polyvocality, its embrace of history, its focus on medium specificity and its accessibility—are potentialities of the form, even as they are not always activated. Taking examples from recent documentary films that make extensive use of archival foot- age, I maintain that remix can aid communication across difference and contribute to media literacy.

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