I’ll just get right into it. There is one factor about writing about new media that has plagued me the most during the construction of this paper. It is the fact that my topic is extremely new and while there is plenty of actual examples of subject matter(see below link), there is almost no writing about the actual media itself. Many people enjoy the form of media, but either no one has thought critically about the form of media, or, no one has taken the time to publish their deeply pensive thoughts. It seems that even the blogs aren’t addressing Mashups in a critical way. It is like everyone assumes that it is just part of everyday life without any need to examine the phenomenon.
My thesis proposes the claim that the Mashup, while appearing to be a simple musical feat created for personal enjoyment, is actually being used as a tool to connect people of different races/social groups. I believe that it can easily be proved with logic and a one on one discussion. However, writing academically is not about this type of persuasion. It requires someone of some importance in the past having said something similar to the claim being made so that they can, in turn be used as a stepping stone. Their word vouches for the claim of the author. With new media, people are so busy enjoying it, that few people take the time to make a claim so that a student, like me, trying to create an academic essay can say “So and so said this twenty years ago, so what I am saying is true.” I can’t piggy back off of someone if no one is available.
Another problem with writing about new media is the fact that it indefinitely will be old someday and with the way that the digital age has made innovations even easier to create, it isn’t usually long until a new media is an old media. What I write about in my essay will not be of any purpose to future generations except possibly to be used to study historically. “What the early two-thousand generation thought new media was.”
I think that is a really interesting perspective that I never thought about– mashups such as the one in this video truly can merge different types of music. Considering a lot of music genres are stereotypically assigned to different racial groups and classes, the song then intertwines these groups into one piece of art–perhaps giving them something to relate about or a way to understand one another.
Scott- I want to take issue with the claim you make in this post when you say: “My thesis proposes the claim that the Mashup, while appearing to be a simple musical feat created for personal enjoyment, is actually being used as a tool to connect people of different races/social groups. I believe that it can easily be proved with logic and a one on one discussion. However, writing academically is not about this type of persuasion. It requires someone of some importance in the past having said something similar to the claim being made so that they can, in turn be used as a stepping stone. Their word vouches for the claim of the author.” Maybe I don’t want so much to take issue with you, but to assure you that if you can make a strong logical argument, you don’t need another academic to confirm your ideas. In fact, if you’re just mimicking what someone else has said, it’s not an original thesis. So persuade us in your definition essay with your own logic. Trust yourself!