Buffy vs. Twilight 'Prosumer' Adventures
Monday, October 12, 2009 by carrie
Having just had the lecture on the idea of media ‘prosumer’ I was reminded of a reference that was made in my Sociology and the Media class just last week. We were shown a YouTube video that was in my opinion a very relevant example of the ‘mashups’ that were described. In the weeks leading up to the release of the second Twilight film, I found the Buffy vs. Twilight film clip highly entertaining. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM This is a homemade clip, creating an apparent love connection between Buffy and Edward, in which he is overly obsessed, while she is less than interested.
Introducing a narrative and comedic twist to both original texts, it is a self described “example of transformative storytelling”. Targeting sexist gender roles of the Twilight stories, this clip is a humorous remix of popular culture. As part of the Web 2.0 movement, this video exemplifies the consumer interacting and engaging with the text. But most of all, attempting to create their own meaning and messages with the traditional text. The author in this case described the work as “a metaphor for the ongoing battle between two opposing visions of gender roles in the 21st century.” This is ambitious of a short YouTube video clip, yet speaks volumes for the ‘prosumer’ described in today’s lecture. It is characteristic of the agency gifted to consumers to become their own producers with the increasing proliferation of Web 2.0.
In terms of the idea of labour relations with Web 2.0 I think it is easy to see that there would be a degree of time and energy invested into creating such a video. The labour required however, wouldn’t in this case be displacing those that create films for a living. Creation of a new text in this case was not intended to replace the originals. I think it was more to highlight the issues this author has with the message or content of the original Twilight saga. I found it interesting that the majority of the people that engage with texts in such a way are often fans of the original. In this instance I think the ‘prosumer’ is not likely to be a fan judging by the clips description as to what inspired them to make the clip in the first place.
This clip definitely introduces the internet, in this case YouTube, as a ‘platform’ as described in the lecture. Rather than simply viewing the series of Buffy or the Twilight film, the author here was able to engage and show the world their interpretation of the two.
Introducing a narrative and comedic twist to both original texts, it is a self described “example of transformative storytelling”. Targeting sexist gender roles of the Twilight stories, this clip is a humorous remix of popular culture. As part of the Web 2.0 movement, this video exemplifies the consumer interacting and engaging with the text. But most of all, attempting to create their own meaning and messages with the traditional text. The author in this case described the work as “a metaphor for the ongoing battle between two opposing visions of gender roles in the 21st century.” This is ambitious of a short YouTube video clip, yet speaks volumes for the ‘prosumer’ described in today’s lecture. It is characteristic of the agency gifted to consumers to become their own producers with the increasing proliferation of Web 2.0.
In terms of the idea of labour relations with Web 2.0 I think it is easy to see that there would be a degree of time and energy invested into creating such a video. The labour required however, wouldn’t in this case be displacing those that create films for a living. Creation of a new text in this case was not intended to replace the originals. I think it was more to highlight the issues this author has with the message or content of the original Twilight saga. I found it interesting that the majority of the people that engage with texts in such a way are often fans of the original. In this instance I think the ‘prosumer’ is not likely to be a fan judging by the clips description as to what inspired them to make the clip in the first place.
This clip definitely introduces the internet, in this case YouTube, as a ‘platform’ as described in the lecture. Rather than simply viewing the series of Buffy or the Twilight film, the author here was able to engage and show the world their interpretation of the two.