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Nikki PalenzuelaLogan BeardenENC1145-1323 September 2013A Very Potter Remix “Everything’s a Remix,” this saying applies to almost everything: songs, stories, movies, and more. In addition to those, musicals are almost always a reproduction of something else. A Very Potter Musical, in particular, is a classic example of a remix. Not only does it copy the story line from the famous Harry Potter series, but it also transforms the story into something new. Performed by college students, the musical exudes hilarity due to its parody set up; therefore it was only right that it be put on YouTube. The meaning of the text altered and the audience definitely changed. Through the use of parody, the characters change and it invites in a new type of audience to watch, mainly those of the college age. Thus, proving comedic parody appeals more a certain age of people, and this remix makes this clear.This is exemplified in the Yule Ball scene of the musical. Unlike the movie, the musical’s characters are a more exaggerated, comical version of those in the book. The college students that act in A Very Potter Musical use foul language and sexual innuendos to change meaning from the book, and thus produce a parody. This satirical piece changes the words and actions while keeping the underlying storyline of the Potter series. The song “ Granger Danger,” sung by Ron and Draco during the Yule Ball scene changes meaning by explicitly saying what they are feeling for instance in the chorus sung by the two boys, “I’m falling in love, I might be falling in love with Hermione Granger…”(Team Starkid). While it is quite clear that Ron begins to reveal his love for Hermione through his loss of words in the Goblet of Fire, “‘Well,’ he sputtered, looking thunderstruck, ‘well--that just proves--completely missed the point--’” (Rowling, 432) it is not as obvious as it is in the song. But, when Draco begins to proclaim his love for Hermione in this verse, “She is the hottest girl I’ve ever seen…” (Team Starkid) the meaning of the book is changed completely. The playwrights took Draco’s jeering remark towards Hermione, “You’re not telling me someone’s asked that to the ball? Not that long molared mudblood?” (404) from the novel and turned it into a hidden love. In the book that statement is portrayed as Malfoy’s hatred of Hermione, but in the musical the insults are shown as perhaps covering up a crush, like Ron points out. After Ron says, “Why all the insults, Malfoy? Covering up a crush?” (Team Starkid) Malfoy stutters and acts as if he was caught off guard and tries to act cool. This satire allows for thought that maybe Draco did have an untold love for Hermione, but that could never be expressed in the books because there was no need, and it would not fit well. The musical also breaks down barriers that are created in the book. For example, Ron and Draco are both singing “Granger Danger” a duet that automatically connects them by a common thought. But, in book context, the Malfoy’s and Weasley’s have an extreme border line of class hierarchy between them shown earlier in the novel, “So…going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There’s money involved as well, you know…you’d be able to afford some decent robes if you won…” (168), in this quote the audience sees the condescending taunting is common with Malfoy, therefore one would never see them put on the same level of vulnerability. Also, as in all musicals the songs within are meant to give insight to a character or move the plot along, and in this case the song, “Granger Danger,” is the absolute thoughts of Draco and Ron, an aspect that the book can not provide because it is written from Harry’s point of view, but the musical allows multiple points of view of different characters, thus intriguing new and diverse audiences. As a result of the change in meaning and comedy, the audience transformed as well. The musical’s focus on comedy more than sequential plot allows for anyone to follow along. But, the immature nature of the characters really limits the YouTube viewers from probably middle school to college. Some jokes made in the musical as in the Yule Ball scene when Draco gets an erection, are not appropriate or perhaps incomprehensible for young child audiences. Therefore, it appeals to young adults, even those who are not hardcore fans, because anyone can appreciate humor. The appealing aspect of the musical to its viewers is that it does not require past knowledge of the books, unlike the Goblet of Fire, it only requires a sense of humor; which A Very Potter Musical definitely provides. The characters themselves are different; Malfoy is played by a girl, adding to the hilarity of Draco’s crush on Hermione, Ron walks in drunkenly with a beer bottle and slurs his speech, and finally Hermione awkwardly dances and grinds with other characters. These character personalities make the audience much more engaged and entertained because of the far stretch from the book characters. Also, Ron has more girl trouble, a problem the audience has experienced to at least some extent, and therefore it is funny in an exaggerated, immature way. While the same problems arise in the book, the scene between Ron and Hermione is quite dramatic and perhaps boring to some readers. But, in the musical is it made it a relatable experience and makes the audience chuckle because of the extreme personality difference, like Ron when he mumbles, “I showed her, I showed her so good…” (Team Starkid). The blatantly spoken subtext also gives the audience a new perspective on what the characters really meant in the books. It’s comedic when viewers are given, “what they really mean,” for example, when Hermione suddenly looks beautiful she says, “I used to not think looks were not important, but now I think they are more important that anything!” That statement is funny because it’s somewhat true, but the irony in her words makes it a piece for satire. It is first ironic in her sarcastic tone, something more easily noticed through acting rather than text, but also because Hermione in the book would never subject to that type of reasoning. In addition to these, a musical in itself tends to be humorous because the mere act of breaking into song is not a common occurrence, and certainly not capable of being produced through a novel, so audiences find it interesting and comedic when songs are made to express a character’s feelings. The verse, “This could mean danger…” (Team Starkid) creates laughter because of its implication that loving Hermione is unsafe. Ron cannot be caught liking Hermione because he has been teasing her since the two met, and Draco, a pureblood wizard, can certainly not be in love with a mudblood. All these examples show the effect of visuals, the actors’ faces, gestures, and tone make it easier for the audience to understand, it also adds to the humor.While A Very Potter Musical uses parody to draw a certain audience in, it also turns some people away. Majority of Harry Potter fans will be intrigued to watch a musical based off their favorite story, but there are some hardcore fans that do not want to see Rowling’s creation soiled in any way and young fans that aren’t allowed to view the musical. The musical does this in a way because the characters are making fun of the book characters and in reality twisting the storyline to have a different significance. Some may enjoy that or at least appreciate the changes, while some won’t be happy to see loss of substance. Therefore, the musical loses a certain set of viewers because readers of the book are more prone to desire a film adaptation not a parody of their beloved series. For example, some fans may be upset that the argument between Hermione and Ron became a joke because Ron playfully says, “Wow, Hermione, when did you become so shallow? When?” (Team Starkid) as a result, writing off the scene as unimportant. In the book, the argument is much more heated with extreme tension between the two shown in their discussion after the ball, “‘Well, if you don’t like it, you know what the solution is, don’t you?’ yelled Hermione…her face screwed up in anger. ‘Oh yeah?’ Ron yelled back. ‘What’s that?’ ‘Next time there’s a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!’” and Ron is deeply depressed but for a reason the reader is not exactly sure. In the musical it becomes a funny situation because Ron acts more immature and gets over it quite quickly. Most fans would want a significant scene occur between the two, because in the novel it is not comedic, it’s saddening. But, of course that is what a parody is intended to do; to make an audience laugh when really they should be crying, and that is enforced through this medium of video, it is much easier to produce laughter from an audience when it is physically shown instead of read.From my analysis of remixes, particularly A Very Potter Musical, it is clear that any remix creates a new meaning from what the text originally meant. In this case, parody transforms the book into comedy to make an audience laugh, it does this through the use of gesture, tone, and facial expressions; all acting techniques that cannot be expressed in the words of a novel, therefore, drawing in new audience members. Remixes are a part of mass culture, which mean it appeals to majority of people. A Very Potter Musical is comedic, and easy to understand, therefore contributing to mass culture, and this is possible because of its remix of Harry Potter series.Rowling, J K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Print.Team StarKid. “A Very Potter Musical Act 1 Scene 11.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jul. 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2013 ................
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