Nathan 1Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Morals or Madness
Whilst many people have been staked through the heart by the emotionally charged characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or had their souls hexed with levity by the witty, 'BuffySpeak', something George Orwell would've found comical given his predictions reagrading the demise of any sensible form of communication, BtVS at it's core is a program concerned with serious existential themes. Yes there's the familiar good vs evil that permeates any reputable fantasy drama, but never before has it been done in such a way that, reminiscent of Bergman, it anoints the blessing of self-reflection like holy water onto the viewer.
What happens when the supposedly evil vampires have souls, forcing them to live lives of redemption, tortued by the past, and kept in a suspended state of duality in trying to do what's right whilst taming the beast within. What happens when the seasonal 'big bad' takes the form of that which our very moral stability is dependent upon. Whether it be Season two and sixes attack on free will and humanity through Angelus, the vampire with a soul and Willow, good girl gone bad. Or season three and four's government assault through Mayor Wilkins and the miitary operation that is the Initiative. What about the season finale personifying religion through Caleb the priest, the warrior of the original or 'first' evil.
What happens when the vampires, demons and forces of darkness are just shrewd allegories for ideological concepts of equality, sexuality, politics and just about every other controversy that keeps you up at night.
What happens when the supposedly evil vampires have souls, forcing them to live lives of redemption, tortued by the past, and kept in a suspended state of duality in trying to do what's right whilst taming the beast within. What happens when the seasonal 'big bad' takes the form of that which our very moral stability is dependent upon. Whether it be Season two and sixes attack on free will and humanity through Angelus, the vampire with a soul and Willow, good girl gone bad. Or season three and four's government assault through Mayor Wilkins and the miitary operation that is the Initiative. What about the season finale personifying religion through Caleb the priest, the warrior of the original or 'first' evil.
What happens when the vampires, demons and forces of darkness are just shrewd allegories for ideological concepts of equality, sexuality, politics and just about every other controversy that keeps you up at night.
It's All Geek To Me
Just one question what does the text have to do with the title of the post?
The question is never answered in the post. Just a thumbnail sketch of a great show. I would love to read what you have to say about the deeper themes in the show. Or addressing the very question that you have posed.
This is not a criticism just a request to answer the question that you have posed because it is a good one.
I appreciate your comment and realise that I have not really gone into as much detail as I could have done regarding specific examples of how morality plays an integral role in the development of our heroes. To be honest my original intention was to just raise awareness of instances of such themes in the show by posing questions, to make others realise there was more to it than meets the eye. I do plan on doing future posts on Buffy and thankfully it is a series in which someone could do a post per episode, as there is plenty to say about it. At the moment I am working my way through the Angel boxset and will probably do some posts on that; but like I say I will definately be getting back to doing a closer critique of Buffy when I get round to watching it again.
Thanks for your interest.
Nathan
Phantasmelodia
It is also unexpected that a show like this can turn darker and more solemn this beautifully through season 6 & 7 and still not loose its comical grip.
Thanks for throwing your 6 cents on Buffy. Now if you'll excuse me, I head out to watch "Hush" (one of my favorite episodes) again.
Film Banana
I'll take a wild guess and say that Angel and Firefly are your other 2 favs lol. I agree with you about the Initiative; I wasn't a big fan of Riley's character as he was too clean cut (when he got into offering himself as chow for the vamps he became a lot more interesting). The Adam monster was a great idea though, and I thought the makeup was really well done. I reckon Whedon was getting some of his alpha male frustrations out with the army guys who kind of felt threatened by Buffy, which I thought was great.
Season 6 was probably the best and it's true what you say about the comedy never taking a back seat. The way the season used The Trio, it's probably the funniest season as well as being the darkest.
'Hush' is a great standalone episode. Loved the Giles lecture scene. Adios fellow Buffan.