Challenging gender norms and conventions is an important but difficult task. In the latest of a series of videos seeking to do just that, BuzzFeed Pop reversed the genders in several classic movie scenes, ostensibly aiming to make viewers confront their own expectations of gender. After showing several of the reversed scenes alongside the originals, the video asks, "Is seeing men and women like this uncomfortable?" and then, "Why?" The assumption seems to be that most people will answer yes, but that will vary for many viewers depending on their individual backgrounds and beliefs.
I personally didn't feel uncomfortable watching the video: By putting the gender-reversed scene next to its original, it comes off almost like a parody, rather than a commentary on the double standard of film and often problematic representation of women.
The Twilight scene of the vampire character telling the human that she's been watching him sleep for months was creepy regardless of gender, and I found many of the other swaps kind of funny, too.
In a previous video addressing the same theme, BuzzFeed Pop replaced women in commercials with men, and though definitely humorous, it got the point across more efficiently. While some may have seen the original commercials before, they weren't so familiar with them that the edited versions seemed like a simple parody. Viewers could laugh at a man lying naked on a bed covered in Doritos, while questioning why a woman would've been in that situation to begin with.
Such famous movie scenes in this most recent video, however, may lessen that impact with their familiarity.
Watch the videos below to see what each makes you think about gender.
Image: Buzzfeed
