One of the great things about having the ability to pull together content from across the web into a dynamic, remixable video is that it allows us to create our own commentary on the culture that surrounds us.

 
Recently, a group of students and mentors  attended a Maker Party remix-a-thon in Torrance, CA hosted by the National Alliance for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and co-presented by The Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC). For two action-packed days, the students learned about media literacy, creative ownership, copyright law, fair use and remixing. They teamed up to produce a collection of interactive digital stories that reflect their feelings on some important social issues of our time.
 
 

Check out two of the fantastic videos created at the event. What do you think of the issues they raise?

13-year-old Diego Share-Vargas created this powerful video on gay rights:
“Everyone is created equal, but not everyone is treated equal. The right to love is often infringed by people who believe that love only exists between a man and a woman. The LGBTQ community should have the right to love and to happiness.”
 

Lucy Mendez and Bernardo collaborated on this video about cultural weddings:
“We wanted to show the differences and similarities of how just like for a culture there is no one perfect wedding no one culture because its unique to everyone. What connects us all is something bigger and deeper. Weddings, like cultures, are perfect and unique to each individual they are about love and unity.”
Now press the remix button and have your say! Popcorn Maker allows you to:

• alter the videos by changing the music, videos, graphics or photos
• add additional resources or educational information
• create your own Popcorn videos from scratch using dynamic elements from the web

Popcorn Maker can import content from Youtube, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Google Maps, Flickr, Wikipedia and more, allowing you to use the best of what the web has to offer to create social commentary on the issues that matter most to you.
“The fact that I could deconstruct [a video] meant that I could take it apart and see it in the parts that it is. It makes me think about it and understand what it is, and understand what the person who made it is trying to tell me, and I can play with it and change the message even more…which really empowers me.” – Diego Share-Vargas, age 13

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