It's hard to believe that a show like Buffy The Vampire Slayer could possibly be 20 years old now. It seems like only yesterday that the pint-sized superhero was running around and staking vamps with her trusted weapon, Mr Pointy.
Flanked by "the Scoobies", Buffy Summers was unlike any pop culture role model women had ever had before. Blonde, academically so-so and more into fashion magazines than the literary classics, she seemed less like the quintessential Final Girl than the ditzy cheerleader who gets bumped off in the first act. But into every generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a chosen one – and in 1996, Buffy Summers' number came up.
Much has been written about the feminism of the Buffyverse. Television in 2017 features richly complex women, broad in their diversity (though there is still much further to go) and with a variety of different strengths on display. There's Jessica Jones, Scandal's Olivia Pope, Michonne from The Walking Dead, all of the women in Game of Thrones, to name just a few. But in the way back of 1997, when shows like Dawson's Creek, Friends and Ally McBeal reigned supreme, Buffy and her friends were a revelation.
BTVS creator Joss Whedon once told the A.V Club that he "designed Buffy to be an icon, to be an emotional experience, to be loved in a way that other shows can't be loved". And the show's enduring popularity is evident in the way fans both young and old still excitedly talk about their favourite episodes, their favourite Big Bads and whether or not they ship Buffy and Angel, Buffy and Spike or maybe even Buffy and Willow.
Last year, I sat in the packed out ballroom of a renovated pub for a Buffy-themed trivia night designed to separate the true fans from the pretenders (we came second, but only because we lost a point on a ridiculous bonus section that required us to draw something.) About eight years before that, a dear friendship almost irreparably imploded after an initially polite disagreement over the necessity of a character's death turned into a full-on screaming match on a public street. Even now, there is fierce debate over whether or not season eight and beyond (delivered in comic book form years after the series finished) should be considered canon or not. (I am a firm no.)
There are so many things I love about BTVS as a whole, but to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary I thought I'd share just five of my favourite moments.
1. Ben is Glory, Glory is Ben – "The Weight of the World", S05E21
In season five, the Big Bad is an erratic narcissist named Glory who also happens to be an almost invincible God. Halfway through the season, we discover that Glory and her Earthly-bound brother, Ben, have been forced to share a body. But the magic that keeps the two intertwined thwarts the memories of any human mortal who sees them morph. This leads to a very funny scene in an otherwise high-stakes episode in which the very perplexed Willow, Giles, Xander and Anya keep asking the vampire Spike if there might be some kind of connection between the two characters. As an aside, this is one of my go-to analogies for explaining how so many people keep missing the correlation between gender inequality and violence against women. If you ever see me say, "Do we suspect there might be some kind of connection between Ben and Glory?", you'll know what I'm talking about.
2. Klimt vs Monet – "The Freshman", S04E01
Season four is probably my least favourite of all the Buffy runs, not least of which is because it sees the introduction of Riley (aka Captain Cardboard) and the exit of Oz. The Initiative is a silly premise and Maggie Walsh sucks. But it does contain a great temporary villain in the form of episode one's Madonna-like vamp, Sunday. For some reason, I'm just tickled by her running tally of which Impressionist artist her freshman victims have packed to carefully blu-tack up on the wall – Klimt or Monet. It's funny because it's true. (Klimt, here.)
3. Mayor Wilkins' good advice – "Choices", S03E19
One of the most interesting pairings of the whole series comes via secondary slayer Faith and the Big Bad of season three, Mayor Richard Wilkins. As "The Wish" (S03E09) showed us, Faith is everything Buffy might have become if she hadn't had a loving mother, friends and a (still living) Watcher around to keep her grounded. But for all his wickedness, the Mayor develops genuine feelings of paternal care for Faith after she defects to his service. This culminates in an hilarious exchange in which, having implored her to drink her milk up, he chides: "There's nothing uncool about healthy teeth and bones!" Classic Mayor.
4. Buffy's long winded speeches – "Storyteller", S07E16
One of the most appealing things about Buffy is how flawed she is. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and this can lead to her treating other people with disdain or impatience. In season seven, this manifests in a lot of long-winded, do-or-die speeches. But in "Storyteller", Whedon breaks through this pomposity by using former "supervillain" (the super is debateable) Andrew to break through the fourth wall and speak to an imagined audience. "Honestly, gentle viewers," he says, "these motivating speeches of hers tend to get a little long". It's essential comic relief in what has otherwise been an especially dark and brutal season. Plus, Tom Lenk as Andrew is A+++.
I think of this speech whenever I'm feeling a little fragile or lacking in feminist chutzpah. Print it out and stick it on your wall.
5. Make your choice - "Chosen", S07E21
But speaking of Buffy's speeches, damn she gets them right most of the time. And there's no greater moment in all seven seasons than the final call to arms Buffy issues to the group of potential slayers. This is the moment that Buffy incontrovertibly cemented its place in the feminist canon.
And listen, you just have to read it. Me, I think of this speech whenever I'm feeling a little fragile or lacking in feminist chutzpah. Print it out and stick it on your wall. Buffy survived, and so will you.
"So here's the part where you make a choice: What if you could have that power … now? In every generation, one slayer is born … because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power … should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer … will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power … will have the power … can stand up, will stand up … every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"
Happy 20th birthday, Buffy! You really did save the world a lot.
0 comments
New User? Sign up