25 CRVs

Vote Different by Phillip de Vellis, 2007 [1:14]

Hillary Clinton is “Big Brother,” reassuring her congregation that she wants them to be “part of her team,” as they slowly march in unison towards the assembly hall. A young, colorful blonde woman runs towards the hall holding a sledgehammer being chased by riot police. She has an Obama logo on her vest. As she reaches the hall, she swings the hammer round and launches it at the big screen of Hillary’s face, destroying it and leaving everyone shocked.

The Reel President by Morgan Schwartz and Amy Sharp, 2007 [13:41]

A host of US presidents star in this CRV that compares the role of president to being a Hollywood actor. We are presented with a barrage of appropriated footage of real life American presidents, from Roosevelt to Truman, Clinton to Bush, Nixon to Reagan—contrasted with footage of fictional TV and film presidents, portrayed by actors such as Martin Sheen, Michael Douglas, Anthony Hopkins, John Travolta, Denis Haysberg and Harrison Ford.

Revolution ’08 by Davy Force, 2008 [5:48]

In this fast-paced, remix, TV Sheriff takes us on a critical journey through the failed Bush administration from 2000-2008, to the presidential election campaign between Obama and McCain to an attack on the American media, ultimately calling for revolution of the people in the face of the absurd spectacle that American politics has become.

Apocalypse by Daniel Lucchesi, 2007 [4:23]

Luchessi explores a number of themes through appropriated footage, initially focusing on the act of remixing itself, that is, looking at previously published works as raw materials to be reused in the creation of new works. The remix takes the form of a music video, nodding to the established style of Negativland, and also samples from their work.

Cassetteboy vs The News by Cassetteboy, 2012 [2:43]

This remix of the BBC News is a highly amusing satire that also functions as a critical commentary. The primary critique is leveled at primetime news broadcasting as the remix cleverly recontextualizes words and phrases uttered by BBC News anchor, George Alagiah, into ludicrous tabloid-esque superficial headlines.

A Fair(y) Use Tale by Eric Faden, 2007 [10:13]

A Fair(y) Use Tale is at once an educational film about the nature of copyright law and a critical commentary on the over-extension of such laws by companies like Disney. The film unfolds over five “chapters,” each dealing with a separate aspect of copyright, from its basic definition, to fair use and the public domain, and a justification for using exclusively Disney clips to make an example of a company that has misused copyright law in the name of profits.

You Must Respect Copyright by Negativland / BigInAlbania, 2007 [2:31]

The video depicts scenes from the 1968 Stanley Kubrick movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the apes are evolving into man, as they smash skulls with bones around the monolith, whipping each other into a frenzy until one ape hurls a bone into the sky. As it spins, we cut to an image of an orbiting space station and fade to black on an image of the earth as seen from space.

Jeremiah Wright Painting a Picture of US Aggression by Diran Lyons, 2009 [2:00]

The remix takes Wright’s powerfully and passionately delivered oratory and matches the words comprising his rhetoric with images from movies, TV shows, re-enactments and news footage that show us the shocking truth of what we are hearing.

Jake Gyllenhall vs Obama by Diran Lyons, 2010 [7:00]

We are presented with a harsh critique of America’s role in perpetuating war in the Middle East, propped up by a claim that the primary reason for this is that American politicians and corporations wish to take Middle Eastern oil for themselves. The video features Jake Gyllenhaal reprising his roles in Jarhead and Donnie Darko, remixed with footage of Obama.

War on Imagination by Xavier, 2006 [2:01]

The remix jumps from Berlin 1989 to New York 2001, as the twin towers come crashing down. This juxtaposition of two incredibly significant and symbolic historic moments produces a psychological contradiction—the former representing a new found freedom, the latter a new found fear and legitimate reason to restrict freedom for all. The remix challenges the viewer to “be the change that you want to see in the world.”

Countdown: Ralph Nader by Guerrilla News Network, 2006 [4:13]

Countdown is an expertly produced critical remix video that centers on a speech by political activist, Ralph Nader to frame the ongoing struggle between big business and democracy and the power of the media. The primary claim of the remix, through Nader’s dialogue is that “the system is not working.”

Manifestoon by Jesse Drew, 1995 [8:17]

In Manifestoon, we are presented with a vast array of animated cartoons, appropriated from the history of early American Disney and Warner Bros. animation, set to a voiceover narrating excerpts from Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto (1848). The clips have been very carefully sampled and selected to poetically portray the words uttered by the narrator at each given moment in a visually illustrative manner.

Prime Time Terror by Joe Sabia, USC Annenberg, 2011 [7:20]

An academic research project has been conducted in which eight American prime time TV shows have been analyzed to determine how terrorism is depicted in these shows compared to “real life” (as portrayed by the news and political announcements). The remix is a very fast-paced and entertaining way of communicating research data.

Planet of the Arabs by Jacquelline Salloum, 2005 [9:00]

Planet of the Arabs represents a biting critical commentary on the portrayal of Arab people in Hollywood films. We are presented with a “supercut” in the form of a fictional extended movie trailer of scene after scene from well-known movies that contain Arab characters.

A Message from Unilever by Rye Clifton, 2007 [1:22]

This video is a remix of the Dove Onslaught commercial, which depicts a young bright-eyed, innocent-looking girl being exposed to images of the “perfect woman” as portrayed by the beauty industry. The remix ends with a stark message: “Talk to your daughter before Unilever does.”

The Power of Chevron’s Human Energy by Jonathan McIntosh, 2008 [0:57]

The remix opens with scenes of incredible human “progress” as we see increasingly complex highways and overlapping flyovers appear over an urban landscape. A suburban housewife drives through her neighborhood passing one fast food chain after another—there is little else to see. This CRV is a powerful critique of Chevron, and oil companies more generally. It takes the form of a sixty-second TV commercial that attempts to appear as if it were a “real” ad.

Election Collectibles by Bryan Boyce, 2008 [4:40]

This remix is a surreal depiction of Bush and Gore as TV salesmen on a shopping channel attempting to get people to “phone in” and purchase cheap, tacky election 2000 memorabilia for extortionate prices. The pervading theme is “unbelievable,” as ‘Bush constantly reiterates this term in relation to the apparent value for money of the items for sale.

Go Forth and Revolt by Go4thRevolt, 2011 [1:00]

Go Forth and Revolt is a reactionary remix in response to Levi’s Go Forth commercial, in which Charles Bukowski’s poem The Laughing Heart was coopted and matched with images of youth living life to the full, including participating in riots and protests. In the remix, a new text layer discredits the capitalist agenda of Levi, scene-by-scene, culminating in an all-out call for revolution.

Electronic Behavior Control System by EBN, 1995 [5:32]

This remix is a searing critique of television and advertising, presenting them as forms of brain-washing mind control from which, it appears, we cannot escape. Images of politicians, actors, TV show hosts and celebrities from all walks of life speak to us through the television and explain how we are being psychologically manipulated by the words and images we see.

I’m a Ginger by Jacob Saucier, 2010 [1:19]

I’m a Ginger is a frantic, high energy remix, which ridicules one particular red-haired YouTube user called “CopperCab,” whose original upload Gingers Do Have Souls has been watched over forty million times. The remix takes the form of a remixed music track, an audio-collage where guttural sounds form bass notes and repeated words produce interesting rhythmical motifs.

Stop Calling Me a Homo by National Cynical Network, 2010 [2:12]

This remix by the National Cynical Network is an example of subtle, anti-gay propaganda. It seems to perpetuate the notion that gay individuals are legitimate targets for ridicule, to be mocked and laughed at, bullied and disregarded. The remix targets a 12-year-old YouTube user known as Scott (“ChristianU2ber”) who rose to fame through a series of vlogs he uploaded in 2009, in which he debates the acceptability of gay marriage, concluding that it is a sin.

Lambeth Walk: Dancing Nazis by Charles A. Ridley, 1941 [2:18]

The remix depicts scenes of Hitler and an army of Nazi soldiers stepping time to the extremely popular tune in 1941, the Lambeth Walk. The footage (which was appropriated from Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will) is recut so that foot-soldiers march in time with the music, stepping forwards and backwards rhythmically, mimicking the popular dance steps in a comical way.

Winter is Trumping by Huw Parkinson, 2016 [2:40]

Winter is Trumping depicts an alternative universe in which Donald Trump interacts with characters from Game of Thrones. Armed with a Valyrian steel sword named “Deal-Maker,” Trump embarks on a quest through Westeros to take care its border policies. He stops people at the gates of the city, proposes that a wall needs to be built to prevent undesirables from entering, and finally decides that he would like to bring back waterboarding before blowing up a fleet of enemy ships.

Technology Transformation: Wonder Woman by Dara Birnbaum, 1978 [5:22]

In this remix, we see numerous scenes from the 70s TV show Wonder Woman of the protagonist transforming from her “normal” self into Wonder Woman. This is accomplished through a loud blue-and-white explosion that encompasses the entire screen. Prior to and post-explosion, Wonder Woman spins around in a circle on the spot.

I Am Not Moving by Corey Ogilvie, 2011 [7:11]

Clinton and Obama deliver carefully worded speeches condemning the Libyan, Syrian and Egyptian governments for the manner in which they have dealt with the Arab Spring uprisings, applying excessive violence upon their protestors, withdrawing and violating fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press and suggesting that such regimes are running out of time. At the same time, we see US police beating American Occupy protestors in the streets of New York.