Journal 6 - Desiree DeMarco

From the reading, we learn that “repetition of the same is governed by nostalgia” and is referred to as “bare repetition.” Bare repetitions are routine, and most of the time, inflexible. For example, the rules to a game like Monopoly. Even though the history of the board game can be traced back to the early 20th century, when it was known as “The Landlord's Game,” and there have been over a thousand variations of it, they all have the same basic premise and set of rules- the object of the game is always to become the wealthiest player through buying, renting and selling property.

An ethical assemblage, on the other hand, is one that Arola defines as, “a process of repeating that pays homage without insisting upon essences.” The authors also point out that in order for an assemblage to be ethical, the artist needs to move from the “I,” and instead focus on the “we.” In other words, we need to ask ourselves, for whom does this new assemblage benefit? For example, the multiple adaptations of famous books such as The Wizard of Oz. The original novel by Frank Baum was written in the early 1900s and featured dark and gory scenes. The famous movie with Judy Garland was much more family-oriented and was even transformed into a musical. The Wiz, which featured Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, was geared toward a more African American audience, and Oz: The Great and Powerful, with James Franco, took creative liberties as a prequel to Dorothy’s story. All these adaptations put their own unique spin on Baum’s classic story to cater to the different audiences of their times.

The Arolas describe a “worthy” assemblage as one that opens up new possibilities for thought. To them, a good assemblage is responsive, innovative and productive, and novel. A hurtful assemblage would not meet any of these standards and would instead, “rip off” another artist. I believe the best way to go about handling potential hurtful assemblages would be to take legal action. We have things like Fair Use in play that outline the rights to reproduce, use and share copyrighted works without direct permission from or payment to the original copyright holders, BUT only if said reproduction is for purposes that include research, criticism, news reporting and teaching. If someone were to essentially “steal” an original work for his or her own benefit, the best course of action would be to report it.