From video remix artist and media activist Jonathan McIntosh comes this fantastic video that puts clips of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (okay, Freudian moment, I just typed Vampire Spayer…) together with footage from the movie Twilight, in which vampire Edward Cullen falls hard for a human girl but won’t, you know, bite her or anything, because that would be too much like teenagers having sex, and we know that never happens.
In this remixed narrative Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s an example of transformative storytelling serving as a visual critique of Edward’s character and generally creepy behavior. Seen through Buffy’s eyes some of the more patriarchal gender roles and sexist Hollywood tropes embedded in the Twilight saga are exposed in hilarious ways.
— Jonathan McIntosh, from his commentary on Buffy vs Edward
McIntosh’s remix is beautifully edited, funny in places, genuinely creepy, and pretty searing in its commentary on what many fiction writers and screenwriters (and directors and producers and readers, not to mention scadillions of teenage girls and boys out there) think constitutes “romantic” behavior between people. If you know a teenager, or a so-called grownup who acts like one, park them in front of this video and tell them the only part of this dynamic that is remotely okay are all the parts where Buffy takes care of herself. And then beat them on the head until they understand that she shouldn’t have to.
You don’t need to be a Buffy fan or know the Twilight story to follow along…
Enjoy.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s like a generational thing- GenX Buffy meets GenY Edward. I am so tired of hearing about Edward from starry- eyed teenaged girls.
And so well done-Jonathan McIntosh truly is an artist.
What a delicious and smart treat! Jonathan McIntosh rules, and you, Kelley, for spotting this gem spreading the word.
I’m a big Buffy fan, so I should have know better… but it took me two Twilight books to clue in on the dangerous, sexist, prude game Meyer was playing. This was way before the series went mainstream and its effect became amplified and plain for all to see. Still, sad, sad, sad that I can be so gullible and foolish. But, hey, I caught up and made amends before the third and fourth books polluted me any further, swore to never watch the movie or contribute another cent or syllable to the Twilight mantra. The least I can do now is spam all my friends with McIntosh’s insight.
karina, I read the first two books as well and didn’t stop and give myself the d’oh moment until about halfway through the second book… It’s such a common message that sometimes I just don’t see it anymore, either because I am so fucking used to it, or just so fucking tired of it. Hard to say where the difference lies 🙂
heidiannie, my pleasure to share. I love finding things like this that are smart and well-done and so spot on!