All Media, All Malleable

In the past, when most artists finished a project, it was done. When Michelangelo put the down the chisel after sculpting David, it was complete, and offered up for the ages. The same was true when he put the last brushstroke on the Sistine Chapel. And he certainly wasn't about the hand his chisel or paintbrush to his fans, and say, "here, have a whack at it yourself!"

Today, artistic works are increasingly far more open-ended. In the case of film directors like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, they certainly don't mind revising their own past works. There's big money to be made in re-releasing new versions of old film to DVD and movie theaters: the 1997 reissue of Star Wars, with new digital effects, made more than twice the money that its first run grossed 20 years earlier. Its release onto DVD this year--in yet another new version-will make Lucas tens of millions of dollars more.

The makers of South Park had a lot of fun satirizing the remade versions of E.T. and Star Wars in an episode called "Free Hat". Trey Parker, the co-creator of the show, appeared on camera in a mock commercial promoting a "digitally enhanced re-release of the very first pilot episode of South Park":

Announcer: Coming, this summer! It's the digitally enhanced re-release of the very first pilot episode of South Park! Yes, the classic, rough, hand-made first episode is getting a make-over for 2002! The simple, funny aliens are now super badass and kewl! Flying saucer? No longer cheap construction paper, but a 4.0 megapixel constructed through a masterpiece of technology! Everything's new! New is better!
Trey Parker: When we first made South Park, we didn't wanna use construction paper. We just had to because it was cheap.
Matt Stone: And now with new technology we can finally remaster South Park, make it look sharp, clean and focused.
Trey: Expensive.
Announcer: Yes, all the charm of a simple little cartoon will melt before your eyes as it is replaced by newer and more standardized animation!
Trey: For instance, in the scene at the bus stop, we always meant to have Imperial walkers and giant dewback lizards in the background, but simply couldn't afford it.
Announcer: Get this special enhanced version quick, because another enhanced version will likely be coming out for 2003!

South Park was poking fun at billionaire film moguls revising their works. But what's a curious new addition to the puzzle is that audiences, who were once merely passive consumers of culture (pop or otherwise), more and more are manipulating it as well.

Article Author: Ed Driscoll

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