Tuesday, June 23, 2009

So Many Vampires So Little Time

From Salon Magazine

Buffy fans: read this The spirit of the Vampire Slayer lives on in kickass young heroines of urban fantasy fiction


June 23, 2009 | Seventeen years ago a high school cheerleader in Southern California learned that she was the one girl of her generation chosen to stop the spread of evil -- namely, by slaying vampires. The cinematic incarnation of Buffy Summers wasn't a notable success, but when she returned five years later, this time to the small screen, a cult classic was born.

Though it's been off the air for six years now, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" lives on, in the theses of hundreds of culture studies grad students, in a series of comic books by creator Joss Whedon, in persistent rumors that some or all of the TV show's cast members may unite for a film (with or without Whedon), in seemingly countless spinoff novels, and of course, in fan fiction. But Buffy persists in other, less obvious ways, as well.

Whedon's original idea, to take "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie" and make her the hero of the story, mutated into a remarkably flexible and inventive way to portray the terrors of adolescence. The supernatural elements of the stories provided Buffy and her friends with more than just monsters to kill; they served as metaphors for everyday identity crises and social anxieties, most famously when Buffy and her boyfriend, the redeemed vampire Angel, consummate their love, whereupon a gypsy curse renders him suddenly cruel and hateful.

Read on

This is a premium article for Salon so you might have to get a free day pass to read it -it's worth it

2 comments:

Rose said...

Hey Dallas,
Great article. BTW, I got in without a membership. I forwarded the link to my husband, since he was a big Buffy fan.
He also asked me, not so long ago, if I were interested in watching "this new HBO show about vampires". Can I pick 'em, or what ? (smile)

" Dallas " said...

Great Rose -sometimes when they say "premium" they require a subscription. I have one -so, I cant ever tell whether non subscribers can see the articles - but salon is good about free day passes.