Journal 6 Raeann Niebel

When I think of examples of assemblages, music seems to be the most obvious example. An example of Bare Repetition would be singing hymns in a traditional Catholic mass. These are the same hymns people have sung for hundreds of years in the same environment, with the same instruments, and with the same connotations. The only thing that changes is the group of people singing the songs. The hymns remind those singing of the rich Catholic tradition. An example of an ethical assemblage is Jay Z’s remix in his song Otis (feat. Otis Redding). In this song, he exemplifies good creative assemblage because he ethically respects the rhetorical sovereignty of Otis Redding’s soulful R&B sound and message using it as the ontological framework of the song. In the spirit of good assemblage, he also implements his own lyrics, rap, and innovative means to make the song appeal to the culture of today via novelty. He still pays respect to Redding’s song and culture, but also creates an assemblage that more greatly appeals to people of today.

Potentially hurtful assemblages are bad assemblages. If an assemblage is hurtful, then it does not carry out the facets of a good assemblage. If it’s potentially hurtful, then it does not fully respect the rhetorical sovereignty of the original piece. In my opinion, it’s fair to criticize theses assemblages. According to the reading, an assemblage should be responsive to a situation, innovative and productive in that it enacts new functions, provide a new way of seeing things, and always benefits the “we” over the “I” of an audience. If an assemblage is created that does not value the inherent rhetorical sovereignty, then it has a right to be questioned and disparaged.

Fair use ensures that assemblage is more than bare repetition in most environments. This is because fair use makes sure that copyright issues are adhered to. Circulation can affect an assemblage’s ethical status, but that is because circulation allows a piece to reach new audiences. For example, in an instance where an assemblage praises the illegal immigrant community, that is beneficial and ethical for the illegal immigrant community. However, this would be ethically wrong to a legal immigrant community and to American citizens. Circulation is important because it directly effects audience.

Circulation of a new assemblage, especially if it’s a good assemblage, makes people think about the old author and the new author. In a good assemblage, it will make people respect both parties and both texts.