The Death of the Author and the Rise of the Editor: A Study on TikTok Edits

Edits are the word and phenomenon, decoded today. In a nutshell, these are one-minute-long videos on TikTok with cuts from audiovisual productions. Accompanied by popular music or their original lines, or adapted versions thereof. Their visuals are usually intact, but TikTok editing tools open a sea of possibilities. They are popular among the young members from Generation Z.

Recently, Netflix joined the edits trend with a clipping function for mobile-users. They are the first streaming platform to do so. The videos generated come with the Netflix watermark and are limited in length. Their goal is to reduce piracy.

One way to understand this phenomenon is to see edits as the natural evolution of fanfiction. For decades, fans have used written stories to re-interpret characters and plots, bending narratives to fit their own desires or to explore new "what if" scenarios. Edits simply take this same creative drive and translate it into a visual language.

The Meme-ification of Cinema: Subverting Meaning Through Edits

Edits is a manifestation of pure postmodernism, the artistic movement from the late 20th century. It involves taking snippets from various audiovisual productions, cutting them into short segments, and remixing them with popular music or original lines, or recreating. In doing so, they mirror the postmodern tendency to break down traditional narratives and create new meaning through the juxtaposition of disparate elements.

Edits rely on intertextuality, drawing on a wide range of sources including movies, TV shows, memes, and viral videos. By remixing these cultural artifacts, edits create a pastiche of references that reflects the fragmented nature of contemporary media consumption and cultural production. Additionally, they contribute to the hyperreal landscape of social media, where the boundaries between authentic experience and mediated representation are increasingly blurred, especially now in the era of AI.

Like many postmodern works, edits often exhibit self-awareness about their own construction. Creators may play with the editing process itself, incorporating text overlays, filters, or visual effects to draw attention to the medium's artificiality and blur the boundaries between reality and representation.

Edits frequently employ irony and parody, subverting the original context of the source material for humorous or satirical effect. This ironic distance reflects a postmodern scepticism toward grand narratives and traditional authority, instead embracing a playful, irreverent attitude toward cultural icons and conventions.

The Post-Author World

Moreover, edits reflect Roland Barthes’ ideals from the mid-20th century, when he coined the theory of the 'death of the author.' Although he is an author from the modernist era, this theory reflects his perspective on the transition from modernism to postmodernism.

Essentially, Barthes challenges the perception of the author as the sole authority on the meaning of their work. Instead, he suggests that meaning is produced through the interaction between the text and the reader, with multiple readings and interpretations. Barthes also questions the idea of the author as a persona or construct within the text, rather than a direct representation of the author's beliefs or identity.

Therefore, he opens up space for readers (and now viewers) to interpret characters and their actions in relation to broader cultural and historical contexts, rather than solely in terms of the author's biography or intentions. Edits provide an opportunity and power for readers to recycle stories and create something new, or being a part of a fandom to honour their devoted idol.

This impulse to recycle is not limited to fan communities. The entertainment industry itself has embraced an era of remakes, prequels, and reboots, aiming to squeeze every last drop of storytelling juice from pre-known universes. This commercial repetition, driven by a desire for guaranteed profit and the comfort of familiarity, mirrors the creative recycling seen in fan edits.

Both phenomena rely on the same fundamental principle: the power of an existing universe and its characters to generate new meaning without needing to build a world from scratch. It's a symbiotic relationship where both creators and fans are drawing on the same well of established ideas.

Edits Speak Louder Than Studios

On the one hand, there are many advantages of edits phenomenon, particularly among young people. It promotes accessibility by breaking down social, geographical, and political barriers among the global population, while also providing access to knowledge and culture.

Many young people now have access to world cinema, addressing the battle of supply versus demand and challenging the dominance of the Anglophone audiovisual industry, which often neglects subtitles. Even countries accessing and rediscovering their own audiovisual footage, which previous generations were careless to preserve.

Engaging with other cultures is the key to intellectual enrichment, as it fosters broadened perspectives, critical thinking, cultural appreciation, creativity and innovation, adaptability, global awareness, and personal growth. It universalizes experiences and connect individuals from diverse backgrounds. Even though, the capitalism still rules, excluding some poor communities with the lack of access to base sources and technology is expensive.

The Copycat Generation? Edits, Influence, and Imitation

On the other hand, a concern associated with these edits is the issue of copyright, which is intertwined with the broader problem of the internet's lack of regulation. While the internet was discovered in the 1960s, it has become ubiquitous since the 1990s.

Since then, it has been perceived as a kind of no man's land, with many individuals and groups leaving their mark. Hackers, haters, and even children have contributed to shaping the digital landscape. This can be worrying, especially considering that young people are still in their formative stages and may be easily manipulated or influenced, particularly in terms of media literacy.

Notably, the Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura conducted a groundbreaking social experiment in the 1960s involving children, parents, and a Bobo doll. The study focused on children aged 3-6 who observed aggressive behaviour demonstrated by adults toward the doll, and then displayed similar behaviour when left alone with the Bobo doll. Bandura concluded that the learning process was significantly influenced by observing social interactions.

Applying this conclusion to the context mentioned, it becomes evident that when individuals consume any media product, their behaviour can be influenced by it. People tend to mimic or model their behaviour based on what they see. In the contemporary age, this phenomenon is constantly demonstrated by children's reactions to trends from digital media, as they become copycats of popular behaviours. Moreover, it raises the question: will they be able to distinguish between the blurs of the cyberworld, edits, and the real world?

Edits: The End or the Evolution of Filmmaking?

The remaining question is: are edits the future of filmmaking? If they are indeed an extension of fanfiction, the answer leads us to an intrinsic dependency. After all, by their very nature, edits don't create from nothing; they feed on a source, requiring original content to exist. They are a symbiotic art form that appropriates and recycles but does not originate.

However, the young generations have a selective attention mechanism that favors short-form content due to its instant engagement and personalized nature, leading to difficulty with longer content like movies for some.

Edits might not replace the cinema, but they are challenging its rules, and perhaps, rewriting the language of visual culture itself. The start is already notable with the prevalent vertical consumption format, which fundamentally reorients the viewing experience away from the horizontal tableau of traditional filmmaking.