At this year’s OVC, pop culture hacker and video artist Jonathan McIntosh demonstrates how video remixing can be used as a critical media literacy tool for school kids.

Embedded in the 25,000 TV commercials children are subjected to every year are a set of specific social norms and values about gender roles. Behind the colorful pieces of plastic and sugar coated cereal on sale are deeply restricting attitudes about gender. Gradually, they teach kids of all genders what is expected, what is desirable and what is possible in their lives as adults.

So how can kids be empowered to not only understand their media spaces, but also talk back—responding to a hundred million dollar marketing machine in audiovisual terms? In his presentation, Jonathan will show how simple remix video tools can be used in classroom settings to deconstruct and creatively re-frame gendered TV commercials. Jonathan has been running educational remix workshops for students for several months. He’ll share how his students learned new media technology, video editing, fair-use rights and critical media literacy.

At last year’s OVC, Jonathan McIntosh premiered his video remix, Buffy vs. Edward, to a filled auditorium at NYU. Minutes after his 15 minute session finished, the remix went viral on YouTube and hasn’t let up since. It’s been viewed 3 million times, featured on NPR, Jezebel, Slate, the LA Times, Vanity Fair and the NY Post. The remix quickly reached cult status and was subtitled into 30 languages by fans from all over the world.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the first Open Video Conference, the Webby nominated remix is being re-released in a special BitTorrent edition that includes all 30 subs, higher res video, better sound quality and deleted scenes that did not make the final cut. Here’s the torrent link and come to this year’s OVC (October 1-2) for the world-premiere of Jonathan’s next remix!