Journal 6

Although one would not necessarily think about assemblage on a daily basis, I find that assemblage itself is very common. I find it especially relevant in through today's celebrities, such as the Kardashians, who have been using previous iconic styles worn by other high fashion celebrities and giving them a subtle remix to make it their own. An ethical assemblage is one that is created through creative repetition, which from our reading Arola defines as, "a process of repeating that pays homage without insisting upon essences." They also argue that in order for an assemblage to be ethical, it cannot benefit just one individual -- but must rather benefit everyone as a whole. To make an assemblage ethical, the author must combine an aspect of something and combine it with a similar aspect to create an assemblage that is still accurate to the borrowed piece from where it was taken.

         An example of Arola's bare repetition that struck me immediately as I was reading, would be a priest reading from the Bible during mass. Growing up Catholic, I was not aware of how this daily act of mine could be regarded as a bare repetition. An example of an ethical assemblage, would be the X-men series from the Marvel movies. Linking the various characters from individual movies and comic book series allows for everyone to benefit from an interaction of these valued characters, especially to a younger crowd. Combining the original characters from the comics, displays that this assemblage still allows for the original versions of the characters to be incorporated and created into something new, making this an ethical assemblage.

       Potentially harmful assemblages would be unethical assemblages. These assemblages would only benefit one individual and an example of that would be when a rap artist takes a track from another artist and remixes it to its unoriginal state to claim it as his own. He would then benefit from creating a new song and gaining a potential for higher fame and increased pay. We should not allow such assemblages from taking place, by incorporating laws, such a copyright and enforcing them. Fair use rules ensures that an ethical assemblage because it ensures that copyright laws are followed. Since circulation DOES have the potential to affect an assemblage's ethical status, it is even more crucial to be sure that Fair Use and copyright laws are enforced.