20 years later: I'm watching "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" again
12.10.2023
Translation: machine translated
From magnificent trash to teen drama to dark dystopia: the vampire epic that accompanied my adolescence ended 20 years ago. The new edition is now available as an audiobook. On this occasion, I'm looking back - and ashamed.
In 2003, so 20 years ago, the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was broadcast. At a time when series and films in the German-speaking world often had their own names. Buffy contre les vampires was the title of the drama (in French) we loved. Some of the cast of the time are reviving the series on its anniversary in audiobook form. But with lead actresses Sarah Michelle Prinze-Gellar and Alyson Hannigan out of the picture, it takes place in a parallel universe, with vampire "Spike" as the main character.
I'm reminiscing about old memories of the series (and the introductory melody, yes!); for the occasion, I watched it again.
What "Buffy" is about
The plot is quickly told: in each generation, a girl is born to fight evil. She is what is known as the Vampire Slayer. In the millennial generation, it's Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Prinze-Gellar), a 16-year-old high school student. The teenager arrives at a new high school in the fictional Californian small town of Sunnydale.
From day one, she finds herself under the watchful eye of the school librarian, Rupert Giles (Anthony Steward Head), who is actually a "Watcher". He is to train the Slayer and guide her in her fight against evil. Headmaster Snyder also has his eye on her, as she doesn't go unnoticed. He's so hostile to her that you wonder if he isn't a demon himself. And then there are the classmates, who are divided, as at school, into groups of the "cool", the "nerds", etc.
The best of 90s trash
Although Buffy initially has nothing to do with her "destiny" and wants to make a fresh start, she is soon convinced otherwise by Giles. For it turns out that she didn't end up in Sunnydale by chance. It's here that the Hellmouth is located, through which demons can pass from the hell dimension to the earth dimension and wreak havoc on Earth. Although the continent was only discovered and traversed in 1492, this has been happening for thousands of years. Well, in the US-centric West of the 90s, no one wondered about this little error in logic.
That's how Buffy's fight against evil began. And the challenges of everyday life as a teenager. At first she is accompanied by the aforementioned Giles and her two friends, Alexander "Xander" Harris (Nicolas Brendon) and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan).
In this phase, Buffy has to deal with a lot of things.
In this phase, the series focuses on standalone episodes. In doing so, future Avengers director Joss Whedon comes up with some hellish monsters, each more absurd than the last. For example, a giant grasshopper that can take on human form. In this way, it seduces male teenagers with its "attractions" (vulgarly, its breasts) to have sex and then devours them.
Or a demon who was locked in a book with banishing spells a long, long time ago. The pages of the book, and therefore the demon, have now been scanned. The demon turns into a virus and destroys transport systems, hospitals and Internet banks. The episodes always start tragically, often with the death of a teenager, but they're so trashy that they often make me laugh in front of the TV.
Season 3: First Shades
What's great about the opponents being hellish creatures is the simplicity. After all, their motivations don't need to be explained. Ultimately, they come from hell, are therefore evil and aspire to the destruction of humanity. Full stop.
From season 3 onwards, the characters gain a bit of depth for the first time, in my opinion. First up is Faith, who is also set to become a Slayer. Although she's initially a close friend, her "selfish" and "frivolous" (read more like independent, self-assured) nature comes up against the ill will of Buffy's friends. After a series of events, they disown her.
A feeling of jealousy, loneliness and the "search for a stable father figure" finally drive her into the arms of Richard Wilkins III, the mayor of Sunnydale. A demonic villain whom she aids in his bid to devour humanity.
For the first time, the lines between good and evil blur, motives become human and character morphing takes place. Although this season also ends with punchlines and a trashy monster, the series is starting to change somewhat. For its own good.
The series takes off
From here, the series makes a clear change; for the better. With characters like Professor Walsh, Tara and "Dark WIllow", Buffy definitely bids farewell to the "good versus evil" scheme and stereotypical characters. The plot is also becoming more complex and the stories more varied. The plot and twists are surprising.
Elements of young adult life such as money problems, addiction, fear of losing loved ones and human blows of fate make an appearance. This draws me much more into the action and connects me to the protagonists. The bleak outlook and overall depressing atmosphere make this a gripping teen drama, with much more at stake than monster hunting.
Buffy breaks down sexist clichés. Really?
I remembered Buffy as an absolutely revolutionary series. It broke stereotypes. A woman as the great heroine who saves the world; the "girl in distress", the role of extra for decorative purposes. And what's more, without the teaser clothes of Wonder Woman. Oh, but how wrong I was.
At the start of the series, 26 years ago, I was 12 years old and didn't think much of it. When I watch the series again in anticipation of the audiobook and this article, I have to take back what I said. Especially for the first few seasons. For one thing, they're still riddled with lines of dialogue that make me shudder with embarrassment: "The exchange student must be a demon; no real woman leaves home without lipstick", "Nice little dress Willow, no eHey, I just went into the girls' changing room because I heard someone screaming; well I think wink".
Moreover, in the early seasons it's mostly girls who have to be rescued; only the lead actress herself is an exception to this rule. And even then, only superficially. Indeed, beyond her powers, which she did not acquire herself, but which were conferred on her by higher forces, she is quite powerless. The Watcher Giles, the Watcher's Council and the male vampire Angel plan, instruct and decide without consulting her. Assaults, justified by tradition, also take place regularly.
She acts only as an executive body. If she ignores instructions and concocts her own plans, this is always blamed on her stubbornness and rebellious nature, with some indignation. Not her right (and ability) to make her own decisions. As a result, moral conversations between her and her Watcher are frequent, with the latter reminding her that she must listen to him in future. All the while following the motto: "This time it may have gone well, but...".
The only female authority figure, Buffy's mother Joyce, has no influence or control over her daughter. Her orders, recommendations or even requests are deliberately ignored. Added to this is Buffy's struggle with her destiny as a slayer. She would so much like to be "a normal girl", who can do "what any normal girl does", as she says several times. Like in season 2, when she almost jeopardises the survival of the human race because one man, Angel, takes his love away from her (before confessing it again). Ok... Or the would-be slayer, Faith, who, out of frustration and loneliness, joins the demon Olvikan.
Things that the emotionally stable men in the series obviously don't do in this situation. These resort to alcohol, the macho rite of revenge (Angel, Giles) or prefer to move away to face the pain of separation alone (Oz). Only the vampire Spike hints at a similar emotional vulnerability; approximately from season 5.
Overview: hasn't aged as well as I thought it would
It's amazing how selectively the brain stores memories. Apart from the trashiness of the early seasons, I had few bad memories of the series. In doing so, it only belatedly delivers on its promise of "women's role portrayal". The qualitative increase in content was just as late. That is, when Buffy, after the death of her mother, finds herself alone and has to look after her younger sister. She has an equal relationship with her classmate and soldier Riley Finn. And her best friend Willow develops magical powers and, along with her partner Tara, sheds her useless sidekick status. She becomes Buffy's main co-combatant. It's only at this point that the series more or less does justice to my memories. Despite my disenchantment, I'll give the re-release a chance and look forward to seeing how the story develops in the new format.
Headline photo: Disney
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
