New media gives us the ability to expand our creativity to endless extents. The creation of mashups are a prime example of this ability. Whether it be videos mashed together, mp3s, or even videos and mp3s, the outcome is often spectacular. One instance where mashups of these sorts have gone viral were with clips of Disney characters combined with rap songs. While Soulja Boy's song, "Crank That", was on the top of Billboard's Hot 100, it was unexpectedly combined with a clip of Winnie the Pooh and several other characters. As unexpected as its creation, the reception was as well; yielding thousands of views. Luckily, Disney felt this was a fair use of its copyrighted content, so this video continues to exist on Youtube after almost a decade.
Mashups created through the use of new media allow us to foster our ideas and express them in a way quite admirable to others. It gives us the ability to break boundaries and change things up in ways they were never meant to be. You wouldn't normally hear a Jay-Z track with a Beatles instrumental on it and you'd never watch a normal television series be turned into a movie trailer. Being an audience with limited ability to actually influence what exactly goes on in songs, videos, or television shows, mashups give us the ability to do it all on our own. It doesn't matter if we're combining a rap song with Disney characters, it's all about our creativity and expression.
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