Script<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen I was thinking about my remixing project, I had different ideas. Initially, I considered focusing on Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift to reflect on the experiences of internationals trying to fit into the new country\u2019s culture but it didn\u2019t feel as impactful as addressing the representation gap I saw in The Great Gatsby (2013) <\/em>film adaptation,<\/em> which I previously worked on in unit III project. The Great Gatsby<\/em> film is famous for exploring the American Dream but they fail to include black characters in their narrative. They used them in the background roles which denies them the right to be part of the American Dream that the film portrays. As a black individual, I find it challenging to connect to the story that claims to speak about universal dreams but doesn\u2019t take into consideration what people of color experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBuilding on this observation, my project focuses on introducing a Black character into The Great Gatsby narrative, someone who actively challenges the idea of the American Dream. This character is the contrast to the wealthy individuals in the film who symbolize success and excess. In my remix, the black character is a servant at Gatsby\u2019s extravagant parties whose position was overlooked in the narrative and the novel itself. This character questions the guests about the racial barriers that keep people like them far from achieving their dreams. By introducing this character, I hope to bring attention to the gaps in the original story and highlight the reality that the American Dream is not inclusive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the objectives of this remix include criticizing how The<\/em> Great Gatsby<\/em> makes the American Dream seem perfect, showing how it\u2019s attainable but the film itself forgot to represent a certain group which indicates some people can\u2019t achieve it even if they work hard. It overlooks the struggles and contributions of Black communities, especially in the 1920s, a time when Black culture was growing in places but wasn\u2019t really recognized in the main stories. The character I added to the story becomes a voice for the individuals left out who can\u2019t speak what\u2019s in their minds. Through their conversation, the server asks the main characters questions that make them and the audience think about whether the American Dream is fair. For instance, in the scene where the servant tells Daisy \u201cYou can work twice as hard and still find yourself standing outside, holding the door for those who were invited in.<\/em>” I believe this not only challenges Daisy but also disrupts audiences\u2019 thinking about the inequalities of race and class in this narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn addition, this remix is a powerful form of critique because it reexamines and reshapes the original work. By adding this new character and perspective, I could challenge the ideas embedded in The Great Gatsby<\/em> and show how the story could be more inclusive. For me, remixing wasn\u2019t about rejecting the original novel or the film adaptation. Instead, it was about having a conversation with it, pointing out its blind spots, and imagining what the film could look like if it embraced diverse experiences and considered more voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs I worked on the remix, I thought a lot about how remixing, originality, and identity are connected. Remixing is a creative process that transforms existing works into something new, and it often reflects the identity of the person creating it. In my case, my background as a Black African influenced the way I approached the story. I brought my own experiences and questions into the narrative, asking what the American Dream means for someone like me which is where I transformed the Great Gatsby Film Adaptation into something new which reflects on my identity as well. I added new dialogue, visual elements, and a fresh perspective that wasn\u2019t part of the original. This mix of old and new is what makes remixing such a unique form of storytelling, it honors the original work while making room for new voices and ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout this process, I learned that remixing is not just a creative act; it\u2019s also a way to critique and engage with the original material. To make the server\u2019s role impactful, I had to analyze the themes and ideas in The Great Gatsby carefully. I asked myself questions like, \u201cWhat is the American Dream in this story?\u201d and \u201cWho is missing from this picture?\u201d This critical thinking helped me shape my remix in a way that felt meaningful and true to my goals. In addition to that, this project also taught me how important representation is in storytelling. By creating a character who represents people excluded from the original story, I could show how narratives change when everyone\u2019s voices are included. It reminded me that representation isn\u2019t just about adding diversity for the sake of it, it\u2019s about telling richer, more complete stories. In addition, this project also challenged me to think about questions in storytelling. Whose voices are included, and whose are left out? I hope my project inspires others to think carefully about the stories they watch or read because they show there are so many different experiences in our world and most of them are presented in stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, remixing The Great Gatsby<\/em> was a way for me to imagine a more inclusive version of the American Dream by retelling a story that includes individuals who were originally kept in the background. By adding a Black character who challenges The Great Gatsby<\/em> narrative, I could show that the Dream Gatsby seemed to have achieved wasn\u2019t universal. It was shaped by race, class, and privilege. I believe my remix is a small step toward creating a story that is inclusive, not just a few. I hope that this project makes people think differently about The Great Gatsby<\/em> and the messages it sends. More importantly, I hope it inspires others to question whose stories are being told in the media and whose are left out. After all, everyone deserves to dream and to see themselves reflected in the stories we tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Link to the project Script When I was thinking about my remixing project, I had different ideas. Initially, I considered focusing on Welcome to New…<\/p>\n
Continue ReadingThe Dream That Wasn\u2019t: Reimagining The Great Gatsby Film<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":7726,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-an-original-remix-fa24","category-fall-2024","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1138\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-09-at-3.54.47\u202fPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}