Exegesis

For my final project in Asian Cybercultures, I decided to create this blog. This blog began focusing on remix culture and how Japanese commercials have influenced the popular internet culture of memes and GIFs. This blog aims to communicate the theory that we (as a society) live in a remix culture and many cultural and lifestyle areas are governed by remix. What I have discovered in my research, is that memes and GIFs are a part of remix culture. I chose to look at remix culture through these trendy communication platforms because they huge part of the online world. 

Memes and GIFs (and remix culture in general) are able to be enjoyed all over the world because most don't include a language or cultural differences. But I found they all have one thing in common, satire. 

I find it hard to comprehend how some Japanese advertisements would help to sell the product as they seem so bazaar and unrelatable. But research has revealed that the Japanese consumers this campaign is directed at, identify with the advertisement’s mood and tone, rather than the content. The ad makes them feel happy and that's why it works. The same can be said for the many remixes that have evolved from the original content. GIF's and memes make us happy which is able to cross cultural boundaries and that’s why they work. 

The foundation for many of my blogs are Japanese commercials. I enjoyed incorporating advertising (which is my major) and asian cybercultures to create a better understanding. Having never done blogs before I found writing in an informal way difficult, and I often think my ideas were lost. I would of liked to expand my ideas and thinking even more, if it weren't for time restraints. But overall I am pleased I pushed myself to try something completely different and have enjoyed the course because of it.

The Critical Analysis of a Creepy Dog

The Japanese commercial – you’ve got to love it. There is nothing quite like it to captivate, entertain, horrify and leave a typical western consumer with their mouth hanging open and scratching their head … all within a matter of minutes.

For those of you (and I’m sure I’m not alone here) who have found themselves in the wee hours lurking in the ‘weird’ part of the internet, you will know what I’m talking about. But for those who are yet to stumble into this alternate sphere – be warned. Like that Californian hotel made famous by the Eagles, you’ll find you’re fair share of ‘twisted’ and it’s invariably hard to leave.

What is it about the ‘weird’ that attracts audiences and that is so specifically typified by Japanese advertisers? Is it the juxtaposition of characters in situations that make us laugh at the absurd? I challenge you to check out the ad above and refrain from experiencing even mild amusement.

Well Japan you have done it again! You have offered us hours of joy from a single TV commercial. Check out the Calbee Consomme Punch flavored potato chip commercial. It captured a generation with a cute dog and won a global following along the way. Okay. So maybe not ‘cute’ isn’t the best word to describe the dog in this ad, perhaps ‘creepy’ would be a better adjective. This ad was remixed into a gif and became super popular, travelling with increasing momentum through the veins of the internet community.

The Urban Dictionary defines a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is an image file that is compressed to reduce transfer time. It is a form of computer image that moves as an animation, because it consists of frames, like a movie with no sound.

This GIF is an example of remix culture. Similar to a meme, original content is used to create something that has an entirely different meaning. I, like many others, saw the GIF before knowing it was part of an Japanese advertisement.

As an Advertising student, I find it hard to comprehend how this advertisement would help to sell the product. My research has revealed that the Japanese consumers this campaign is directed at, identify with the advertisement’s mood and tone, rather than the content. The ad makes them feel happy and that's why it works. The same can be said for the many remixes that have evolved from the original amusing clip. GIF's (mostly) makes us happy which is able to cross cultural boundaries and that’s why they work.

Sponge-Bobble merges East and West.

Either the McDonalds they serve in Japan contains some pretty powerful hallucinogenic drugs, or Sponge Bob is a monster who steals the souls of naughty children and terrifies them so much they scream. At least that’s what this advertisement would have you believe. 

Celebrity Ray William Johnson introduced the original Ad in this Youtube video, starting a viral sensation among Western audiences were taking by. Just like the Japanese they just enjoy this ad’s epic-ness. But, without mincing words, they also got a kick out of the Japanese actor’s mispronunciation (‘Spongey-Bobble’) and its phonetic translations. What does that say about us, here in the West? (a discussion for another day I think)

Remix culture – it’s everywhere. This video is a good example of how remix culture and Western and Eastern pop culture can come together to engage and entertain audiences. In this example, they’ve taken my favourite Britney Spears song (and don’t judge, we all secretly have one), remixed it with what is essentially a ‘trend or fad’ and given both a longevity that, otherwise, they may have not achieved. If ‘attention’ is currency, it’s a win for the advertisers, their client and Brittany. This copy transforms and combines remix culture, in the process overcoming cultural barriers and delivering new content for everyone to enjoy.

Before Robots Take over....

This is it. They are coming. Robots are taking over the world!

A dramatic introduction I concede, but now I have your attention, please, indulge me and let me explain. I didn't care that robots were helping to build cars and I tolerated it when robots started acting in films. BUT I will not sit quietly while they infiltrate the only sacred place left on earth (or at least the middle class part of it)... our shopping centres!

David Kiefaber has reported on adweek.com:

“Airport clothing-store outlet United Arrows built a custom window display in its Tokyo location in which Marionette Bots (half mannequin, half robot) were wired with Kinect technology to mimic the movements of anyone facing them. The bots were all wearing United Arrows fashions, of course. On the one hand, big ups to anyone making creative use of puppets these days. On the other hand, the only thing more off-putting than a department store mannequin is one that dances joylessly for the public's amusement. At least these things had the good fortune to exist in a polite culture. In an American airport, they would have been touching themselves inappropriately and humping the windows within 10 minutes.” It’s already hard enough to get a shop assistant to help you in a busy store. Will a robot crash when it is over worked? The idea of robot shop assistants is pretty far-fetched but as you can see from this video, it’s happening.

But its more than my emotions about the ‘sanctity’ of shopping that has me opposing this horrifying development. Let me be clear.

(Paint me like one of your french ladies)

Reasons when I will never let a robot help me shop:

1.      Malfunctions. Wrong assumptions about what I want. If a robot was programed to look at my current Google searches to determine my style I shudder to imagine how I would be dressed. My top searchers currently are fishing, Taylor Swift and apple computers. These searchers are hardly representative of what I would prefer to wear (and just so you know, the fishing and T-swift search was for a present and the Apple computers were for a school project).

2.      The awkward scripted conversations. Remember the pre-recorded voice call to an insurance company?Imagine having to contend with that when shopping. 

Computer: What are you looking for today? 

Me: I want a new bra.    

Computer: What size are you? 

Me: 10D.   Computer: Please repeat that. 

Me: (a little louder) 10D! 

Computer: Sorry I didn't quite get that. 

Me: (yelling) I AM A SIZE 10D!

3.      Cold dead lifeless eyes. Just creepy.

4.      And malfunctions. Imagine if the robot went crazy and started pinching me.

My Meme Addiction

I have joined the throng, been sucked in with the masses. So I’m going to declare it loud and proud (well maybe not proud – I’m not that evolved yet): I am a meme addict. I can lose hours looking at memes on poplar websites such as 9gag. I charge through cyberspace; seeking gratification one meme before quickly flinging myself with abandon to the next. Clearly I have no shame. I’ll get my giggles where I can. And then I move on.

For the uninitiated, let me, I mean, Christian Bauckhage explain: “Internet memes are phenomena that rapidly gain popularity or notoriety on the Internet. Often, modifications or spoofs add to the profile of the original idea thus turning it into a phenomenon that transgresses social and cultural boundaries” (Christian Bauckhage).

Put more succinctly, a meme uses the idea of remix culture to create something new with a new meaning. But it’s not only laughter or titillation the meme seeks. According to the Urban Dictionary, “A 'meme' doesn't have to be funny, provocative or even make sense."

Most memes fall into one of three categories:

•       Quirky stuff that isn't funny but mildly entertaining;

•       Pathetic stuff that fills you with vicarious despair; and

•       Revolting pictures that could be presented to some alien jury as evidence that humanity is cancer.”

Hmm, doesn’t sound so attractive when put like that so how is it that I, and thousands of other procrastinating, antisocial young students like me from around the globe, are able to enjoy (or at least be mildly stimulated by) the same joke? What is about memes that enables them to cross cultures and overcome language barriers so successfully? Is it simply that most people understand (and appreciate) satire? Is that the secret?

Youtube: A place for cats, tutorials and weird Japanese commercials (Remix Culture)

Youtube: who’s hooked? Whether is its copious cat videos, the latest must-see music video or ‘current’ current affairs, Youtube is the place to go.

But what is it that makes today's youth (in particular) so enchanted by a three to five minute video? It not hard to see the correlation between the length of a typical Youtube clip and the attention of span today's young media consumer. In fact, the popularity of Youtube reveals something about today’s mass media audience that, until now, may not have been quite so obvious: that is, people want their entertainment fast and then they move on.

Enter, remix culture – what was old, is new again. You find a song, you love a song, you tire of the same song until … your favourite DJ remixes it. And we’re back! Take the remix of the 1997 Aqua song ‘Barbie Girl’. Thanks to the remix a new generation of consumers are enjoying the song and the old fans are back enjoying it again.

(Yes, I am a 12 year old Girl)

But what makes the remix different to the original song? And what about copyright? These are just some of the question that emerge when talking ‘remix culture’. Is it ethical to ‘rip off’ the creative work of others to create a remix, and essentially, to make money? How much does the original work have to change for it to be classified as a remix? It appears the flood gates have opened and we are only just beginning to navigate the murky waters before us. According to American academic Jude Yew, “Remix culture has received significant media attention but is focusing more on the battles surrounding the legality of remixing under copyright law.”
(Jude)

(The Evolution of Remix)

It isn’t only the music industry that is feeling the impact of the remix phenomenon. It encompasses the adaptation of an original content to create a new piece of work. You can find examples of remix culture everywhere. Whether it’s a remix of your favourite song, a meme or gif created using a scene from popular culture or even copying someone's written or artistic work entirely but putting your own spin on it. Remix is everywhere, but is perhaps best described in the ‘Evolution of Remix Culture’. Clearly, it is here to stay so the challenges for creative people who work in this space will continue until we can adequately answer how much original content has to be changed to be considered a new piece of work? It’s an ethical mountain in front of us. So who’s up for the climb?