Saturday, September 18, 2010
What would Buffy do?
“What would Buffy do”?
This was the question Jonathan McIntosh asked himself while making Buffy vs Edward, a mashup of the popular television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the iconic teen vampire flick, Twilight. It was constructed in response to “the way in which romance and gender roles are constructed in the Twilight series” (McIntosh, 2009, July 1). McIntosh contends that what Twilight reinforces are the “antiquated sexist gender stereotypes”, with Bella the weak and passive heroine, constantly needing protection, and Edward an almost patriarchal figure, possessive and domineering (McIntosh, 2009, July 1). Buffy on the other hand has been one of the few strong, independent, female role-model television characters who shows us how to handle the supposedly creepy and stalking-type behaviour of Edward.
The reaction to this remix has sparked an overwhelming response, with discussions and conversations on youtube, blogs and forums, about the way our popular culture all too often passes off romance using this “obsessive and predatory male behaviour”(McIntosh, 2009, July 1). What has been exciting for McIntosh is the feedback from young girls and how the mashup speaks to them. Dawi Zarni, age 10, and a Twilight fan stated, “It’s really good, I like the girl power it showed. I’ve watched it like 10 times and showed it to my friends. It’s the best thing on the internet!” (McIntosh, 2009, July 1).
The most important aspect of this whole episode is the fact that in the old film days before this new media convergence people would discuss a movie after they had just seen it. There would be reviews in newspapers and magazines, but it would have been a passive experience with just a few voices of journalists or academics raising concerns. Now there are new affinity spaces of empowerment for social comment online that are creating a voice to open up the discussions on these gender norms.
There have been many critiques of the gender stereotypes portrayed in the Twilight Saga in newspapers, magazine articles, and online blogs and forums but this clever remix of juxtaposing the weak (Bella) with the strong (Buffy) in this particular format of transformative storytelling has engaged this 21st century audience. McIntosh should be applauded for creating this appropriation or mashup which by its very participatory nature was accessed by millions on Youtube and provides an excellent example of how to raise awareness and reflect on gender representations in popular film.
Reference
McIntosh, J. (2009, July 1). What would Buffy do? Notes on dusting Edward Cullen. WIMN’s Voices: A Group Blog on Women, Media, AND... Retrieved September 17, 2010, from http://www.wimnonline.org/WIMNsVoicesBlog/2009/07/01/what-would-buffy-do-notes-on-dusting-edward-cullen/
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Hi Bernadette,
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that when i first came across this wonderful mash-up last semester, I found it clever, hilarious and very, very interesting, but didn't actually go much further than that. that is to say, I didn't really consider what the creator was trying to do, or what message he was trying ot make. reading your blog, however, it now makes a whole lot more sense, and I have even more appreciation for what McIntosh has done.
I completely agree with your assessment about the most most important aspect of the whole episode being the creation of new online spaces fo discussion and critical analysis of issues and messages in film and television. it is so important for youth today to be able to have a voice and an input into the kinds of discussions that are going on around them. They are no loner mere spectators in these important conversations and that is incredibly important and exciting.
I also think that the way in which McIntosh has made his point here about the way gender roles are constructed in many popular culture texts today, not just Twilight, is fascinating. Instead of adding to the discussion merely by writing a blog or commenting on a forum, he has decided to make his point more visually and in a way that is most likely to appeal to young people, especially young girls. it is a perfect example of how much more participatory today's media landscape is, and I think that that's very exciting.