Remix Literacy and Fan Compositions

Although remixing has lately received increased scholarly attention in the rhetoric and composition community, studies commonly focus on examples of remixed objects rather than the compositional strategies used by remix composers themselves. In this study, I recount the voices of individuals who participate in online communities where videos, music, and texts from popular culture are remixed by fans: Lost Video Island, OverClocked ReMix, and Remix Redux. The aims and abilities these composers described to me constitute a developing area of digital literacy that I call remix literacy, a term that draws attention to the skills needed to create remixes that are deemed effective by communities. I find that the skills of a remix literate composer are fundamentally rhetorical, making this area of study important both for literacy scholars interested in understanding the self-sponsored activities of creative composers online and for composition instructors concerned with adapting their pedagogies to the skills I have found are needed for effective communication in fan communities.