Buffy the Vampire Slayer-A Tribute and Yes I Promise This Will Relate to Literature

With this newfound Kindle Fire, I have rekindled my obsessive watching of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Words cannot describe how much I love this series, in my mind it beats both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in some ways. Although I love these others series of books and movies, yes I did just admit that to the cyber world and am not the least amount ashamed, nothing can trump Buffy in my mind. Out of all the television shows I have watched lately, this one is the kicker-it has loads of thematic elements, symbolization, and quirky characterization. 


I went ahead and read over the scripts of several of my favorite episodes. We read Hamlet did we not?  That is considered fine literature and now I will now go ahead and explain how in some ways I believe that Buffy can be considered a play in its mini-drama episodes and that the work of the writers in creating the script and action can be considered a work of literary art in its quirky and creative nature. 


Angel: You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. You should be with someone who can take you into the light.  Someone who can make love to you.
Buffy: I don't care about that.
Angel: You will. And children.
Buffy: Children? Can you say jumping the gun? I kill my goldfish.
Angel: Today. But you have no idea how fast it goes, Buffy. Before you know it, you'll want it all, a normal life. 
Buffy: I'll never have a normal life. 
Angel: Right, you'll always be a Slayer. But that's all the more reason why you should have a real relationship instead of this, this freak show. (Buffy is stunned.) I didn't mean that. 
~~Season 2, Episode Becoming Part II ~~


In this story, Buffy Summers is a headstrong and confident young vampire slayer-she is strong, cunning and at a level of maturity well above that of her peers. She symbolizes the best of the female race, she is the modern superwoman who battles evil at night and attempts to live a normal high school life by day. This, in its own sense is deeply ironic. She is forced to grow up quickly after learning about her calling to protect humanity from the evils that go "bump" in the night. Not only is being eighteen hard enough with all the vampires trying to kill her, but she is madly in love with one of them, the only one with a soul. Though Buffy is Angel's world, he knows that she cannot be with him forever, that it is not right or fair to essentially to deprive her of her human life. Many of the scripts presented this underlying theme of forbidden love-the heart wants what it cannot have. But the thing is, both Buffy and Angel fight to stay with each other through it all, and even though he ends up leaving her, it is with love in his heart and care for her well-being and for her opportunity to live a normal life. When you look at a television show, a play, or a movie, the quality of the acting depends not only on the actors themselves, but on the power of the written word that they enact. Reading through these scripts, the writers injected powerful emotion into these words, just as one would find reading a dark drama such as Hamlet or Julius Caesar. The emotion is raw and hits the heart of the reader-you can sympathize for Buffy and Angel's struggle, you root for them to find a way to be together and when they don't, you experience their  subsequent struggle and pain. 


Another major theme presented is that of friendship-Buffy lives a dangerous life and it is a major risk to be her friend but Oz, Willow, Xander and Cordelia are always there to help Buffy in her calling in any way that they can. Xander symbolizes loyalty and perseverance in the face of strife, he cares greatly for Buffy and goes so far as to work with Angel, whom he despises for previously hurting his best friend, when Buffy is in danger. Willow is Buffy's rock to lean on when she feels down-Willow is like the actual willow tree that can represent a symbol of nurturing and motherly care. Cordelia is a tricky character in the fact that though she seems like the typical high school ring-leader, she is also a very down to Earth and conscious figure. She does not seem to grasp in the beginning the importance of Buffy's job as she is absorbed too much in herself and her life, but after Buffy saves her from dire trouble several times, Cordelia begins to realize that she needs to improve her own self-preservation and strength. And then there is Buffy's Watcher Giles. He is a conservative British scholar, one that becomes the father figure that was missing from her life. He provides her with guidance and understanding in the different aspects of the many opponents she battles throughout her journey to her destiny. He is also her protector, sacrificing his life to save her. He helps Buffy to realize that it is important to consider all aspects of a situation and do extensive research to figure out an approach to a problem. Each character molds Buffy into the hard and successful warrior that she grows to be. Without these friends, there is no way that she could have achieved her success. This is evident in the character of the new Slayer Faith who without support and guidance is lead towards the dark side and attempts to help an evil and murderous monster take over the world.

Faith:  (exasperated) When are you gonna learn, B? It doesn't matter 
what kind of vibe you get off a person. 'Cause nine times out of ten, 
the face they're showing you is not the real one.

~~ Season 2, Episode Consequences

Faith without the support of friends,  family, or a watcher becomes rogue and wild after her first and accidental killing of a human being. She is Buffy's future is Buffy had not had her friends and family to support her. This brings out a theme that one man can't take on the world alone, it is with friends and family at one's side for support that one can find the inner strength to achieve anything.