In the grand tradition of Pop Feminist, I have to love on Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a minute.
I picked up my sister’s box set of the first season DVDs to stick on in the background while I was working on various things, and got sucked in. I’ve never been one for regularly-scheduled TV viewing (except for a stretch of Pokemon and Batman Beyond addiction in college, but that was strangely social–my entire floor in the dorms would gather to watch) so I never got into Buffy back in the day like most teen goth chicks did. Plus, I was a little older–Buffy started in 1997, when I was a senior in high school.
I am absolutely not embarrassed to admit that I loved Sarah Michelle Gellar on All My Children, the soap that my mother’s watched since she was in high school. I grew up with AMC and the other ABC soaps, and Sarah Michelle Gellar was a super-sweet villainess back in the day. (It is completely criminal that she doesn’t have the acting career she should–TV success so often does that, doesn’t it?)
Anyway, I’m digressing. The best part of Buffy for me so far–I’m now way into the second season– is watching the Angel-Buffy romance unfold. The meta humor, snappy dialogue:
“A normal teenage girl and her cradle-robbing creature of the night boyfriend,”
“How did you know that?”
“I lurk.”
Yeah, it’s unrealistic, but who needs realistic? Real teenagers are boring. But there was enough real teen drama sprinkled throughout Buffy, coupled with winning characters and, yes, man-pretty in the form of David Boreanaz. (Yes, I like him because he reminds me of a certain ex–that’s my issue, and none of your bizness.)
Of course, the Buffy-Angel romance turns into the ultimate “girl has sex and the world ends” story, which is definitely an antifeminist plot structure. But Buffy doesn’t wilt away or feel guilty. She goes on and continues to kick ass, and though she can’t kill him right away, she certainly works on it.
And the boyfriend losing his soul after having sex with her? What better metaphor for the post-sex freakout that might be a stereotype, but is so because it happens quite frequently? (C’mon, what straight girl hasn’t had a boy freak on her after she’s slept with him? Oh, I’ve got stories…books full of stories.)
Also, I think the success of Buffy opened the doors for the wave of female action heroes we’ve seen in recent years (see entire film career of Milla Jovovich, Keira Knightley (minus costume drama) and Lara Croft).
There are mountains of academic work on Buffy, and I’m not even going there right now. Suffice it to say that talk of the Twilight books, which I am now tempted to read for the laughs and the feminist analysis, got me thinking about why teenage girls have this attraction to vampires. The blood metaphor sprang to mind.
Blood is something teenage girls are just learning to deal with, and the sexy vampire is a way to make blood powerful, while still allowing that it’s scary. And the otherworldly boyfriend, the bad boy who watches over her and shows up to help, but is still ultimately a monster? Yeah, that isn’t wish fulfillment coupled with teen fears writ large.
And while I dislike the plot device of the girl’s losing her virginity spawning evil, I do like that eventually Buffy had to take care of herself, without Angel.
Buffy herself is a perfect example of what I’m always discussing on this thread–the pretty blonde girl who gets written off as stupid. Buffy is a nerd at heart, though, and she’s smart, sassy, and witty. She’s what every girl wants to be–and yet she’s rejected by the cool kids and has to deal with things on her own.
This isn’t in any way coherent, and maybe someday if I have spare time (who am I kidding?) I’ll write an actual paper or two about Buffy. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy watching.
Posted: September 3rd, 2008 under Feminism, Media.
Comments: 5