Textual Poaching

The existing media piece I chose was 80s pop songs, specifically those sung, and sometimes written, by females. I identify as a female so this media-some of the lyrics, messages, and stories shared, as well as the female voices-are things I may identify with. I also identify as someone who should have been a teenager in the 80s, and many of the artists included in this piece were teenagers, or a little older, in the 80s. 

My remix brings these hits to our modern day as I lip sync to the music on the radio. I have always loved 80s music and my dad (who was a teenager in the 80s) raised on 80s pop and rock. I often combine this with my passion for lip syncs and over the years have developed a collection of videos. The reserve of videos on my phone are a mix of songs sung by male and female artists, but my female voice identifies with the female artists. 

Historically, females have sometimes been represented in the media as a "pretty face", and many of these pop artists are singing songs written by men. By using videos of myself lip syncing, I am furthering that idea of using someone else's work and being a "pretty face" with it. My project also comments on the music video craze that began in the 80s where the artists or singers lip synced to their songs to create a music video. 

Having so many options for expressing an identity of mine was a bit overwhelming. Suddenly I was bombarded with the number of things I considered a part of my identity--a sister, daughter, friend, female, student, signer, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, homeschooler, BYU Cougar, teacher, theatre artist, storyteller, lover of ice cream and burgers and fries and chocolate, musician and lover of music, movie watcher and theatre goer...the list goes on and on! That is both an opportunity and limitation in using this project in a school. It is an opportunity to see how many things make up who you are and how we might all have something unique in common with someone else. It can be debilitating because of the lengthy list of possibilities. Being able to discuss this with students, and finding their intent, becomes very important. Pin-pointing their goal of expression or impact will be crucial in helping to narrow down their project. We go from a broadening of perspective, to show how many identities and mediums are available to us and to the project, and then narrow down the parameters again. Using questions to converse about the topics of identity is vital. Make observations, ask questions, be open, figure it out, find out what makes you you.