1. According to Braun (2000), the liaison between Buffy and Angel demonstrates the “emotional complexity of many ordinary human relationships” (para. 9). She also states that the series in general “demonstrates adult love quite well in its exploration of the aggression that accompanies intimate love relationships” (para. 10).In what ways do you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer achieves this?
2. The forces of darkness in Buffy, including vampires, demons and monsters are often symbolic of the experiences we encounter as we move from adolescence into adulthood. How can Buffy’s relationship with Angel be discussed in this way?
3. Why is the use of symbolism or metaphor, as seen in Buffy, often a more engaging or meaningful way to explore human experiences?
4. How does Buffy the Vampire Slayer play around or question traditional stereotypes often seen in more traditional forms of television?
5. The week 11 screenings contain evidence of the “moral ambiguity within the main characters” (Braun 2000, para. 15). Can you discuss this and provide examples from the screenings?
Question 1: Buffy loves Angel so much that she gives her virginity to him. After the perfect sexual activity, good Angel turns to be the evil Angelus. She thinks it is her that causes the transformation of Angel, so she has responsibility to correct it. It is just like many ordinary and intimate relationships that one party tries to take over the duties of their partner or other family members. They feel they are responsible for their partners.
More over, Buffy even tries to kill the evil Angelus with more wiolent and aggressive because she wants to 'redeem herself and ease her guilt' (textbook, p68). The previous lovers turn to be enemies. As Beth Bram says, both Buffy and Angel 'contain the capacity for great love and great aggression toward each other'(p69), don't we see that often the split couples turn to be enemies of each other no matter how close they used to be?
Question 5: On the screen of Buffy, we couldn't see who is the absolutely villain or who's the perfect hero. Sometimes the villain can be good, sometimes the hero may present his/her own dark side. The moral ambigity is also reflected in other sceens or stories. As the writer says, the sensitive band member is transformed into a vicious werewolf in some particular days; a now-human teenager was once a demon(p69); Thus, it makes sense that in our real world, sometimes you may find a hateful person who you think absolutely a bad guy might have some shiny points. On the other hand, a good person you respect so much may show his selfishness under certain circumstances. As complex as human being, I believe each person has his/her double characters -good side and dark side. Stories on screen just reflect those, though they may be exagerated a little.
Q4. First of all, Buffy challenges the forces of gender stereotype (Wilcox and Lavery, 2002, p. 4). The slayer is a high school girl, who would be suitable as a victim traditionally. Secondly, Buffy is a show about supernatural forces but it deals with real issues and concerns in life for teenagers. The generation gap (Wilcox and Lavery, p. 4) is one example. Occasionally, Giles (the librarian) doesn’t understand the language Scooby gang uses and has to have it explained. One other thing is that Buffy uses supernatural theme as a way to speak/express issues. According to Wilcox & Larry, ‘the problems that teenagers face become literal monsters (p. 4)’ in Buffy. The episode, ‘Out of mind, out of sight’, featured an invisible girl killing and threatening people at school. This is because people around her had failed to notice her (Giles in the episode says that as people perceive her as invisible), the lonely girl has become an invisible monster. This episode shows one of the problems teenagers face. As even Buffy and Cordelia could share it, the feeling of loneliness is universal but for some, like the invisible girl, it is too harsh. In the show, painful loneliness of unpopular girl is depicted and people started to realize that they share responsibility.
5. I agree with what you said Min Zhang. I also think each individual may have both good and bad side elements and they may not be separable in a way; it can be only matter which side weighted more. Each individual can be cable of behaviour of good or bad/evil. A good person who may not be always entirely good, he or she also can harm other person’s emotion unconsciously or in some occasion on purpose Moreover, though Min mentioned, I also once have heard that the evil-like characters are from one’s a narrow selfishness. This moral ambiguity has been shown on the relationship between Buffy and Angel on the screen.
In “Surprise”, Angel gives Buffy a ring as her surprising birthday present with his heartful love. And later they make love together in Angel’s apartment. However, late that night, suddenly Angel wakes from sleep and runs out with pain and senses strangeness himself. He finds himself he is losing his soul of good. He kills an innocent person viciously. Moreover, in “Innocence”, he appears in the scene completely reverted to the evil ‘Angelus’. Through the two episodes, they show the moral ambiguity can turn into evil at any moment (Braun 2000, p.69).
Q4: Buffy is really an odd ball compared to traditional forms of television, not only in terms of its plot and theme in contrast to other works in its own genre, but also in terms of the way it is presented on television. First of all, it provides a stark contrast to other ‘horror’ TV series or movies. For example, traditionally, when a young blonde girl walks into a dark valley in a horror movie, you’d expect her to be attacked and killed, but Buffy offers an alternative outcome to the situation: the bad guys get a good beating and then a stake through the heart. It provides a really different outlook on society and life, by ridding the audience of the set belief that women are defenceless and vulnerable. It is also unique in its presentation on TV, in that it contains characteristics of traditional vampire horror as well as those of comedy, romance and tragedy; really the whole shebang in terms of the elements of different television genres.
Q4.I agree with your views on this question. Buffy doesn’t follow the traditional stereotypes of what earlier female heroes did. Wilcox and Lavery (2002) also comment that audiences enjoy and are pleased about the challenges.
Seemingly, Buffy does not look strong or tough, rather, traditionally, as Harim said she would be fit for a victim, as a pretty high school girl. She is just like any girls who want to be looked pretty, always wears short-mini skirts and black boots. Although Giles always gives out instruction to Buffy and her friends, it is Buffy who takes an active role and goes out fighting against vampires.
She plays well of cute and attractive teenager girl side of her part but when it comes to slaying vampires, she is very decisive and powerful in her own will to destroy vampires. Rather than seeking help from other powerful characters, she is independent and goes out herself to protect her close friends as well as any non vampires, i.e. innocent humans.
I agree with Min Zhang and Harim regarding how everyone has their good and bad/dark sides. There are many well known sayings to this effect; 'a street angel/home devil', 'a wolf in sheep's clothing', 'everyone has their public and private faces' etc. In the Buffy series revenge comes through strongly. Braun (2000) suggests; 'placing the show's heroine in the position of seeking revenge' allowing us to see her 'capacity for rage'(p.68). We certainly see that in Buffy and in real life we all know stories of the scorn of revengeful people and their capacity to retaliate in ways that often stun the observer!
I believe Whedon utilizes the 'shock factor' in Buffy by having her character alternate between the way that you would sterotypically expect the pretty, blonde, typically defenceless and vulnerable victim, that Harim, Ni and Hannah mentioned to act, then alternate to the violent, revengeful, agressive other side of her character.
Q3. I would like to briefly touch on the use of metaphors. Not the symbolic form but the use of metaphors in the script 'Goodbye Iowa' starting on p.35. There were a large number of metaphors used in a relatively short block of text, eg. of some: 'a bleeding broken record'(p.36), 'she's a better soldier than you' (p.39), 'the joint is jumping', 'the one who was almost made a demon sandwich', 'throw me a bone' (p.40). They are powerfully used to engagingly depict personality and experiences by applying the words to objects that they don't literally denote.
Hi Guys, I found mistypings in my comments. The fifth line of Q5, the word 'cable' should be 'capable'and in Q4, 'your view' refers to 'Harim's view'. Did you reckon them? Sorry for the mess :)
I agree with what Hannah and Renabrab said about the two sides of human beings. Sometimes, movies or TVs really show the core nature of mankind and their relationships through different kinds of stories. Under the interesting or fussy story details, the producers or the writers reveal the true nature of creatures.
As the questions above, writers/producers use symbols and metaphors to explore human experiences. It not only occurs in Buffy, also in many other TVs or movies. No matter how different or unique a story is, there always hide some cores or true natures of humans.
12 comments:
1. According to Braun (2000), the liaison between Buffy and Angel demonstrates the “emotional complexity of many ordinary human relationships” (para. 9). She also states that the series in general “demonstrates adult love quite well in its exploration of the aggression that accompanies intimate love relationships” (para. 10).In what ways do you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer achieves this?
2. The forces of darkness in Buffy, including vampires, demons and monsters are often symbolic of the experiences we encounter as we move from adolescence into adulthood. How can Buffy’s relationship with Angel be discussed in this way?
3. Why is the use of symbolism or metaphor, as seen in Buffy, often a more engaging or meaningful way to explore human experiences?
4. How does Buffy the Vampire Slayer play around or question traditional stereotypes often seen in more traditional forms of television?
5. The week 11 screenings contain evidence of the “moral ambiguity within the main characters” (Braun 2000, para. 15). Can you discuss this and provide examples from the screenings?
6. Did you enjoy the Buffy episodes this week?
Question 1:
Buffy loves Angel so much that she gives her virginity to him. After the perfect sexual activity, good Angel turns to be the evil Angelus. She thinks it is her that causes the transformation of Angel, so she has responsibility to correct it. It is just like many ordinary and intimate relationships that one party tries to take over the duties of their partner or other family members. They feel they are responsible for their partners.
More over, Buffy even tries to kill the evil Angelus with more wiolent and aggressive because she wants to 'redeem herself and ease her guilt' (textbook, p68). The previous lovers turn to be enemies. As Beth Bram says, both Buffy and Angel 'contain the capacity for great love and great aggression toward each other'(p69), don't we see that often the split couples turn to be enemies of each other no matter how close they used to be?
Question 5:
On the screen of Buffy, we couldn't see who is the absolutely villain or who's the perfect hero. Sometimes the villain can be good, sometimes the hero may present his/her own dark side. The moral ambigity is also reflected in other sceens or stories. As the writer says, the sensitive band member is transformed into a vicious werewolf in some particular days; a now-human teenager was once a demon(p69); Thus, it makes sense that in our real world, sometimes you may find a hateful person who you think absolutely a bad guy might have some shiny points. On the other hand, a good person you respect so much may show his selfishness under certain circumstances. As complex as human being, I believe each person has his/her double characters -good side and dark side. Stories on screen just reflect those, though they may be exagerated a little.
Q4. First of all, Buffy challenges the forces of gender stereotype (Wilcox and Lavery, 2002, p. 4). The slayer is a high school girl, who would be suitable as a victim traditionally.
Secondly, Buffy is a show about supernatural forces but it deals with real issues and concerns in life for teenagers. The generation gap (Wilcox and Lavery, p. 4) is one example. Occasionally, Giles (the librarian) doesn’t understand the language Scooby gang uses and has to have it explained.
One other thing is that Buffy uses supernatural theme as a way to speak/express issues. According to Wilcox & Larry, ‘the problems that teenagers face become literal monsters (p. 4)’ in Buffy. The episode, ‘Out of mind, out of sight’, featured an invisible girl killing and threatening people at school. This is because people around her had failed to notice her (Giles in the episode says that as people perceive her as invisible), the lonely girl has become an invisible monster. This episode shows one of the problems teenagers face. As even Buffy and Cordelia could share it, the feeling of loneliness is universal but for some, like the invisible girl, it is too harsh. In the show, painful loneliness of unpopular girl is depicted and people started to realize that they share responsibility.
5. I agree with what you said Min Zhang.
I also think each individual may have both good and bad side elements and they may not be separable in a way; it can be only matter which side weighted more. Each individual can be cable of behaviour of good or bad/evil. A good person who may not be always entirely good, he or she also can harm other person’s emotion unconsciously or in some occasion on purpose Moreover, though Min mentioned, I also once have heard that the evil-like characters are from one’s a narrow selfishness. This moral ambiguity has been shown on the relationship between Buffy and Angel on the screen.
In “Surprise”, Angel gives Buffy a ring as her surprising birthday present with his heartful love. And later they make love together in Angel’s apartment. However, late that night, suddenly Angel wakes from sleep and runs out with pain and senses strangeness himself. He finds himself he is losing his soul of good. He kills an innocent person viciously. Moreover, in “Innocence”, he appears in the scene completely reverted to the evil ‘Angelus’. Through the two episodes, they show the moral ambiguity can turn into evil at any moment (Braun 2000, p.69).
Q4: Buffy is really an odd ball compared to traditional forms of television, not only in terms of its plot and theme in contrast to other works in its own genre, but also in terms of the way it is presented on television. First of all, it provides a stark contrast to other ‘horror’ TV series or movies. For example, traditionally, when a young blonde girl walks into a dark valley in a horror movie, you’d expect her to be attacked and killed, but Buffy offers an alternative outcome to the situation: the bad guys get a good beating and then a stake through the heart. It provides a really different outlook on society and life, by ridding the audience of the set belief that women are defenceless and vulnerable. It is also unique in its presentation on TV, in that it contains characteristics of traditional vampire horror as well as those of comedy, romance and tragedy; really the whole shebang in terms of the elements of different television genres.
Q4.I agree with your views on this question. Buffy doesn’t follow the traditional stereotypes of what earlier female heroes did. Wilcox and Lavery (2002) also comment that audiences enjoy and are pleased about the challenges.
Seemingly, Buffy does not look strong or tough, rather, traditionally, as Harim said she would be fit for a victim, as a pretty high school girl. She is just like any girls who want to be looked pretty, always wears short-mini skirts and black boots. Although Giles always gives out instruction to Buffy and her friends, it is Buffy who takes an active role and goes out fighting against vampires.
She plays well of cute and attractive teenager girl side of her part but when it comes to slaying vampires, she is very decisive and powerful in her own will to destroy vampires. Rather than seeking help from other powerful characters, she is independent and goes out herself to protect her close friends as well as any non vampires, i.e. innocent humans.
I agree with Min Zhang and Harim regarding how everyone has their good and bad/dark sides. There are many well known sayings to this effect; 'a street angel/home devil', 'a wolf in sheep's clothing', 'everyone has their public and private faces' etc. In the Buffy series revenge comes through strongly. Braun (2000) suggests; 'placing the show's heroine in the position of seeking revenge' allowing us to see her 'capacity for rage'(p.68). We certainly see that in Buffy and in real life we all know stories of the scorn of revengeful people and their capacity to retaliate in ways that often stun the observer!
I believe Whedon utilizes the 'shock factor' in Buffy by having her character alternate between the way that you would sterotypically expect the pretty, blonde, typically defenceless and vulnerable victim, that Harim, Ni and Hannah mentioned to act, then alternate to the violent, revengeful, agressive other side of her character.
Q3. I would like to briefly touch on the use of metaphors. Not the symbolic form but the use of metaphors in the script 'Goodbye Iowa' starting on p.35. There were a large number of metaphors used in a relatively short block of text, eg. of some: 'a bleeding broken record'(p.36), 'she's a better soldier than you' (p.39), 'the joint is jumping', 'the one who was almost made a demon sandwich', 'throw me a bone' (p.40). They are powerfully used to engagingly depict personality and experiences by applying the words to objects that they don't literally denote.
Hi Guys,
I found mistypings in my comments.
The fifth line of Q5, the word 'cable' should be 'capable'and in Q4, 'your view' refers to 'Harim's view'. Did you reckon them? Sorry for the mess :)
I agree with what Hannah and Renabrab said about the two sides of human beings. Sometimes, movies or TVs really show the core nature of mankind and their relationships through different kinds of stories. Under the interesting or fussy story details, the producers or the writers reveal the true nature of creatures.
As the questions above, writers/producers use symbols and metaphors to explore human experiences. It not only occurs in Buffy, also in many other TVs or movies. No matter how different or unique a story is, there always hide some cores or true natures of humans.
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