tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9204080274406469.post2208078474879806720..comments2023-05-27T01:23:41.984-07:00Comments on Barbaric Poetries: Why So Campy?christopher lirettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07995726854485863726noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9204080274406469.post-12006651162436043742011-04-18T15:13:33.223-07:002011-04-18T15:13:33.223-07:00Buffy the Vampire Slayer is intended to be comedy,...Buffy the Vampire Slayer is intended to be comedy, not horror, as is evident in the name of the series. Much of this comedy is derived from the seemingly irreconcilable identities of "Buffy"- skinny teenage blonde Valley Girl who loves shopping and "Vampire Slayer"- powerful killer with the world on her shoulders. The premise for the show is absurd, and it must be portrayed in a fitting medium. That means in humorous B-movie style, not heavy-handed horror. Who would name their child Buffy anyways? Is it short for anything? Joss Whedon delivers the cartoonish campiness of Buffy with a self-aware wink to the audience. I do think that this campiness, at least in the earlier seasons, detracts from Buffy as a believable heroine. Even though we realize that serious themes are packaged inside this bubblegum wrapping, it's difficult to identify with Buffy.andrea chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856777134210160785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9204080274406469.post-18685180480681557332011-04-16T23:24:50.130-07:002011-04-16T23:24:50.130-07:00I definitely agree that the campiness in Buffy mak...I definitely agree that the campiness in Buffy makes it much more entertaining and watchable. When you're operating in a world where vampires exist simultaneously with high school students, you simply have to accept the fact that comic relief is required or else resign yourself to hours of somber seriousness that will bore the audience to tears. Drama and humor go hand in hand and I think every story, no matter how serious or dramatic, needs humor to both provide some relief for the audience and to make the dramatic elements more dramatic in comparison.<br /><br />I think the necessity for humor is especially true in stories with a heroine instead of a hero and instead of detracting from their effectiveness it actually adds to it. It's definitely no accident that Joss Wheadon chose to use a female character with an ultra feminine name (Buffy is just about the last name I'd expect for a vampire slayer) and physique as the main character. I think he knew that this would add an additional element of interest to the show, giving him plenty of opportunities to play with our expectations of a female character and poke some fun at it all and also to make the dramatic elements of the show that much more dramatic when they happen to a woman.Brice Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847727997862899627noreply@blogger.com