Slash Vidding: Editing and Media Representation

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I did my undergrad thesis on the role of editing in relation to the lack of queer representation in the media. This is the visual analysis that went along with it and, considering what this channel is about, I thought to share with you all.

So even though there's a lot of stuff missing I wish I could've included this is a summary of all the topics I covered in my thesis.

All interviews are credited in the end credits, many of them belonged to the documentary The Celluloid Closet (1995) which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Media Representation.

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Voiceover: Jorge Núñez
Editing: Lucia Gilibert

Sources:
The Celluloid Closet (1995)

[SnowFalls]

This was so interesting to watch! Never before have I seen this actually put into words like this. It was educational even for me, and this is part of my life - so I hope other people who see this from an outsider's perspective will understand now why this is so important to us. I could watch a whole more hour of this. Love the examples you edited to explain the process. Well done, truly, it's one of your best works!

[witchology]

this is beyond amazing. and educational and just wow. also LOVED the part where you play the johnlock clip backwards. Perfectly captures the power of editing. i might just show this to all of my straight friends and family who dont get the power of this community. might just be my favorite video of all time. thank you for your creations.

[xxbludger]

Incredible work. It's obvious you put a lot of thought and effort and care into exposing both a problem prevalent in our community today, and also the ways fans take it upon themselves to address that very problem. This is definitely not a project that someone outside the editing community to do as great a justice as you have.

I especially am glad of the fact that you choose to highlight f/f relationships just as much (or even more!) as the m/m ones. Too often LGBT women don't get the same focus as their male counterparts.

On that same note, it would have been great to see how the LGBT identity intersects with other identities, a common example being race, and understanding how some biases can still exist even when fans transform film/TV to have a more LGBT-friendly perspective. The strongest example is the uproar following Lexa's death on The 100, and many fans of color pointing out that The 100 had already had a pretty bad history of mistreating its characters of color (Wells and Raven immediately come to mind), but that same uproar wasn't there during those times.

Other examples I would add would be which canonically straight characters do fans gravitate toward to portray as LGB? More often than not it tends to be white characters (here an argument can be made for the fact that characters of color already receive so little screen time, so it's incredibly difficult to edit with their scenes. However, the same logic can lend itself to the opposing argument, which is that fans already have the ability to construct scenes that have never existed before, so creativity is not limited.)

Wonderful work overall!

[procrastinationblues]

This is an insanely brilliant video essay! So clear, easy to understand and well researched. Your editing is amazing, the breadth of your clips and your match to dialogue make it so engaging to watch. The interviews and voice over you selected just perfectly articulated exactly what I’ve felt when I make my own AU slash vids or seek out other editors slash vids. I also love that you mentioned important concepts like the trope ”Kill my darlings” and that you included clips from “The Celluloid Closet” it’s one of my favourite documentaries. Excellent video essay! You’re also just a brilliant editor of slash vids in general. Very glad I’m subscribed.

[Bnazf]

7:38 quite honestly killed me. lu, this is incredible. I love the message, I love the way you explained fanvids and how we alter things according to our perspective in order to have what we so desperately need, I love the sound, I love the colors, I love everything. you've always been an inspiration to me <3

[youmademeseeit]

Amazingly informative, especially for people outside of this community. This explains so well why editing was and still such a popular thing especially in the lgbtq+ community. Thank you for creating and uploading this.

[Ladygrev]

This was REALLY good - I love video essays, and this was as gorgeously done as anything I've ever seen on Every Screen a Painting and the like, plus it got me right in the gut - I'm an SQ shipper, and seeing those scenes I know so well with a voiceover about how we're not imaging the romantic overtones to their presentation meant a lot.

[cece_mich]

Great message and very informative video. I'm thinking of sharing it with people when they ask about LGBT representation. Femslash vidding is my main hobby and I'm so happy to see more people making, watching and understanding these videos.

[JthePowerf]

This was so well done 🙌🏻🙌🏻 thank for for sharing with us. Your SQ manip with the book was fab. The clips from the Children’s Hour never fail to rip me up

[CaroFreeSpirit]

Increíble. Adoré cada palabra, y además concuerdo. La edición de vídeos es un medio de expresión tan lleno de posibilidades. Y el mensaje en este caso trasmitido está explicado a la perfección. Felicidades por la tesis, Lu! Y gracias por mostrarnos tu hermoso trabajo.

[damnvers]

Wow. Me parece un muy buen análisis de consumo de medios. Las audiencias ya no son pasivas, las nuevas audiencias son muy vocales en cuanto a lo que les gusta y lo que no. En cuanto al fanvid como forma de expresión, me parece muy acertado lo que señalas y es una de las razones por las que la representación es importante, la gente busca sentirse identificada con historias y personajes, y es evidente que si no la encuentran pues tomarán los medios para crear su propia representación ya sea en cualquier tipo de fanwork. Lo que me hace optimista del futuro del cine y de la tv, ya que estos mismos fans pueden llegar a ser la próxima generación de creadores de contenido que podrán ver sus historias reflejadas en los medios en los cuales fueron ignorados por tanto tiempo.
Excelente trabajo, felicidades.

[BlackGekikara]

I don't understand nothing (in the narration) but I love it!

Excellent video, thank you for this. More people need to see this

[chocolatelina]

this was very informative! thank you!
Although I made SQ videos, I had never seen things in this way... the numbers are quite scary almost like people of color in movies/tv shows.
as a straight black woman, for me "shipping" SQ was so natural. Incredibly natural. and I am very grateful because it opened me to a new world. educated me to issues that I would never in my life think of.

[TheSerialLove]

Oh my Lexa, how did I not see this before? The topic of my thesis was actually LGBT representation in American and British media (TV and film). This is very well made and very informative. Brilliant job!

[jl]

this is supercat/supercorp validation and I love it

[nallie]

this is incredible!! so well done and it perfectly sums up & delivers an important message. if i ever need to explain to someone why representation in media matters to me so much, i'll show them this video. thank you

[Moon-fgco]

Excellent representation. Of the community, the fans, fan vids, ships and of your thesis. Congratulations on finishing. This was such a great topic and I'm happy that you strived through the end. Thank you. I'd love to read your thesis too but unfortunately I don't understand Spanish. Maybe I'd just google translate :)

[Cassaravi]

Thanks for uploading this, so well-done and comprehensive. Glad to see you made it to the end, and in such an impressive way. :)
I'm going to a conference next month and I wanted to speak about this topic but more generally, the way fans, mostly marginalized communities, have become active consumers instead of passive ones, and why it's a significant thing and why it matters, but had to change it to sth else (still fandom-related but not as impactful) because of how little time's left & other stuff. Watching this made me remember how salty I am still haha. It was really so very good, congrats again!

[thelasagnabear]

Really loved it. And I'm glad this was created for a thesis. Amazing video, thank you.

[miserychic]

Very interesting watch. Thanks for sharing. 💜