The show starts off making it clear that Buffy has a reputation of a trouble maker. The adults just assume that she is a typical teenage girl that makes bad decisions, but it's really because she fights vampires and saves the world numerous times. She seems so normal; she wants to be a cheerleader, to have friends and date, but she cannot because of the duties she has as her generations slayer. As a teenager that is a really large amount of responsibility to take on and although Buffy sometimes strays from the path she should take to do her job correctly, she normally is able to handle the responsibility like an adult with a lot of experience. Buffy is normal in that she has her best friends that she relies on no matter what and in that she sometimes makes rash decisions or mistakes, making her seem like someone "insignificant." When she gets into slaying mode and starts taking on the vampires threatening the world, she is absolutely extraordinary.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Insignificant Versus Extraordinary
I've really enjoyed watching Buffy so far so I decided to find out more information about the show. "Writer Joss Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was really the first incarnation of the Buffy concept, just the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary". I really feel like this hits home. Buffy is just a normal high school girl who doesn't seem special, yet she is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This reminds me about the duality theme that we talked about in class. I've noticed the theme of duality a lot through the Buffy episodes since our discussion in class. For example, there's duality in Angel as a good vampire and Angelus. There's also duality with friendships (such as Faith - even though a better word would be turncoat). We also talked about the duality of the ages - Buffy and her friends versus Giles and Buffy's mother. I found it hilarious and ironic that Wesley, although much younger than Giles, seems to be the odd man out even though he sort of falls into Buffy's age group. Wesley needs to learn a lot more if he wants to do his job right, and he is quite naive. He needs a mentor (like Giles) to teach him how to handle situations that he is not ready for (like vampire attacks). I feel like these dualities make the series even more interesting and intriguing. It adds even more spice to the show.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to look back on this post now after having seen all of the assigned episodes; Buffy in her daily life is most definitely extraordinary by the end of the series. She is there for her friends, deals with the loss of her mother, takes care of Dawn, and ultimately (although this is part of her supernatural world) sacrifices herself to save Dawn and the world.
ReplyDelete