Watching Supernatural

Based on the recommendation of Henry Jenkins, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities at M.I.T., New York Magazine will feature the fan vidder Luminosity, along with other media artists. You might recognize Luminosity’s work from the “Women’s Work” vid above, which I believe was featured in a Supernatural Fan Convention.

Regardless of what you think of the themes running through the above fanvid, you have to admit that it’s like a sucker punch to the gut when you first see it. Back when I first saw it this past spring/summer, I distinctly remember that some people claimed it made them cry. Others ranted about how completely one-sided the views in the vid are. To me, that’s the mark of a truly lasting and worthy piece of fanwork: one that’s so distinctive and provocative that you can only either love it or hate it. There are no grey areas within the vid itself, and it certainly doesn’t allow for much ambiguity of feeling.

As to all the hoopla surrounding this vid, Luminosity says:

“Women’s Work” is a critique of the eroticization of the violence done to women in all media, not just Supernatural. Women are sexually assaulted, murdered, and then laid out in artistic tableaux, chopped into pretty, bloody pieces. They usually further the plot, but they’re hardly ever a part of the plot. We wanted to point out that in order for us to love a TV show–and we do–we have to set this horrible part of it aside. A lot. Often. Sisabet [the co-vidder of the project] and I believe that we could have made this vid using almost any show, from Heroes to CSI, but we are fans of Supernatural. We care so much about a show that we want share it, make an argument, highlight a character or situation, lampoon something, evoke a mood. I’ve also made four other Supernatural vids that celebrate the show, the arc, the relationship between the brothers and the genre itself. (Source)

TAGS: supernatural, fanvid, Luminosity