Each student will choose an existing, mediated representation of the culture, race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, etc. with which he/she identifies. The representation may be in any medium—film, photograph, visual art, poetry, literature, advertisement, news article, song, music video, etc.—but it should be older than the student. Students will remix the representation so that their new creation demonstrates their negotiation of this aspect of their identity and how it has been historically represented in media. Artist statements should include a discussion of the correlations and contradictions between his/her ‘self ’ (perspectives, practices, etc.) and this historical representation of this aspect of his/her identity.
Here's some examples of creating new things from things you stole:
Textual Poaching as a Representation of Power Structures
Students will work in pairs to write a 4-6 page film script that takes place around some historical event (which took place before the students were
born), and focuses on a character(s) who is NOT a famous historical figure. Scripts are to utilize standard screenplay formatting. Artist statements
should include a discussion of the dynamic between character (attitude,
belief, behavior, etc.) and context (cultural practices, political climate, etc.).
Students must reference at least 2 legitimate historical sources in their
artists’ statement, discussing how the information they gathered in their
research informed the creation of their script (including dialogue, scene
descriptions, etc.)
A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.
The film tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
The film tells the fictional alternate history story of two plots to assassinateNazi Germany's political leadership, one planned by a young French Jewish cinema proprietor, and the other by a team of Jewish-American soldiers led by First Lieutenant Aldo Raine.
