The Remix as Transformative Storytelling

I’ve spoken a lot in my work before about fan fiction and the potential it has for transformative, subversive social and political commentary on narrative discourse and ‘D’iscourse. Above is a remix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight (with a little bit of Harry Potter thrown in for good measure) used to “hack” pop culture and make various tropes and discourses transparent. The creator explains:

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.

I think this is very clever and I’m keen to use it with my students to illustrate aspects of digital culture and transformative works.

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One Response

  1. This is brilliant, it’s almost perfectly seamless. I love the idea of hacking popular culture too. It reminds me of a video I uploaded to YouTube a few months ago – a TV advert that did a similar sort of thing but used voice-overs to ‘hack’ the text and reinvent it:

    Was great to catch up with you at Greenwich – hope you had a safe journey home and enjoyed Paris!

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