As a brief introduction, I took a class this past semester (Fall 2018) called Remix Practices. We analyzed the definition of a remix and the different forms that it can take (text, image, audio, video, etc.), while also getting to apply that knowledge to weekly multimedia remixing practices. It was probably my favorite class I've taken in graduate school, and possibly in any school. For our final projects, we could create any type of remix of our choosing, using any topic we liked. My final project was an audio remix of different cell phone sounds and references to phones in popular music.
After submitting our final projects, we had one last assignment. We chose a classmate's project and could remix their work somehow. I chose my friend Weiqiang's project, who remixed clips from HBO's Game of Thrones to juxtapose the relationship and character development of Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, two immensely important characters who have quite a bit in common, but don't share much screen time throughout the series. His final video can be found below, and my remix (and explanation) of his remix is underneath.
WARNING: Potential spoilers and/or intense Game of Thrones fanboying ahead
To recap, and as mentioned before, Weiqiang's final remix project was a juxtaposition of two critically important characters from HBO's popular TV series Game of Thrones, who haven't shared a lot of screen time throughout the show so far. The two characters are Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow (of House Stark). He used their meeting at Dragonstone from Season 7 to set the stage for his video, and then cut back to their previous encounter from Season 1 to highlight the origins of their relationship, then showcased some of their individual adventures from in between. I thought Weiqiang's video was excellent: well edited, well organized, and it made me want to binge-watch the entire series over again.
In Season 1, Tyrion accompanies a group of young men north to the Wall, where the men are to "take the black" and become men of the Night's Watch. One of the men is Jon Snow, who is voluntarily joining the Night's Watch, whereas most men join as a form of banishment or punishment for crimes. Tyrion takes an interest in Jon Snow for this reason, and also because Jon comes from the Stark family, who is the Lannister family's largest rival in Westeros. Before heading back to King's Landing, Tyrion takes on a mentor role for Jon Snow in their brief time together. They both continue on their own paths and undertake some unbelievable adventures and harrowing near-death experiences over the course of the next 6 seasons, before meeting again at Dragonstone, as envoys for Danaerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons and newest favorite challenger to the throne of Westeros.
I have read the Game of Thrones books, and watched the TV series several times through, so I was excited to be able to remix Weiqiang's project. I created a poster for the video he assembled (and also for the upcoming season 8, in a way). My archive is below, and the final product is beneath it.
In their meeting at Dragonstone, the two characters remark how they've gained scars since their last encounter, so I tried to find pictures online that displayed their faces with the scars. As I mentioned before, these two come from rival families in Westeros, so I put their faces on either end of the poster, situated around the character who brings them back together: Danaerys Targaryen. I used the Stark and Lannister house sigils to indicate the powerful alliance that Danaerys has manifested, and used her Targaryen sigil to replace the "O" letters in the "Game of Thrones" title, since she intends to make a move on the Iron Throne. I gave the logo a fiery looking backdrop to make it more visible, and to draw attention to the fact that Danaerys will be using dragons (and their fire) in her conquest.
Another interesting thing about this poster (and the alliance) is that there are conspiracy theories abound regarding the relations between Danaerys, Jon, and Tyrion. Jon Snow was introduced on the show as a bastard son of Ned Stark (the most honorable character in the series), and it later comes to light that Ned was actually caring for Jon as a favor to his sister (who died in childbirth). It is rumored that the man who got Ned's sister pregnant was a Targaryen, which would make Jon a Targaryen by blood. Jon and Danaerys end up becoming a love interest in the show-- which is super weird-- but also inadvertently follows a long (dark) Targaryen tradition of incest.
There is also some mystery surrounding Tyrion's heritage. He is a dwarf, and his mother also died in childbirth. Tywin Lannister, Tyrion's father, despises Tyrion and tries to have him killed on multiple occasions. There are rumors that Aerys Targaryen, a previous king, was infatuated with Tywin's wife and may have tried to bed her, which potentially could've led to Tyrion's birth, his mother's death, and Tywin's contempt. Also, in the 6th season, Tyrion meets Danaerys's dragons, touches them, and even unchains them, without getting eaten or burned alive...another possible hint at his bloodline.
Lastly, when Targaryen's ruled Westeros in the past, they always ruled/conquered in groups of three. Three Targaryens atop three dragons (which is why there are 3 heads on the dragon in the Targaryen sigil). If the above rumors are true, and it becomes known that these three Targaryens have finally come together in Westeros, it sets up an EPIC season 8 of the show.
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