Tuesday 15 October 2013

Angel is disturbing

I'm doing a rewatch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the brand new reactions I'm having so far are disturbing considering how much I used to appreciate the show. If you're wondering - Yes, overanalyzing has become a thing for me.
I'm halfway through season three now and Buffy is really being punished for everything she does! For instance...
  • Buffy sleeps with Angel for the first time - he turns into a monster, ridicules her and tries to kill her.
  • Buffy dresses a certain way - she gets called a slut and is told by teachers and the principal it's her fault when she's sexually assaulted by some dudebro on the swim team.
  • She feels powerless about her situation (you know the one where she's the Slayer who was destined to die at 16 to save everyone on the planet...) - she gets screamed at and told she's oversensitive and should just suck it up.
  • She runs away because she wants to protect her friends and needs time to process killing Angel - she gets screamed at and told she's stupid as she returns to Sunnydale. Noone asks her how she's been, how she feels or what happened to make her leave.
  • When Angel comes back and Buffy hides him - they actually ask her what right she has to love him. Again with the yelling at her.
  • Buffy's mum! Holy hell, all the times that she talks about wanting a "normal dauther" instead of a Slayer... Sometimes, it's an excellent metaphor for a child coming out as LGBT to their parents but after a while it gets old. Old as balls.

This coming from the people that are supposed to be her friends and family. Her Scooby Gang. They are being dicks to her. No wonder she doesn't want to share her thoughts with them. Though I have to say, for being a 16-year-old she's taking it pretty well.
Also, Buffy is 15 the first time Angel sees her and falls in love with her instantly. He's 270! AND he follows her around everywhere she goes. Creepy much? (Come to think of it, it's not much better than Twilight when you read it like this, is it?)
Another problem with Buffy is something most tv shows suffer from; all main characters are white and if there are any non-white characters they're most probably antagonists or small side characters and gets killed off quickly.

The only character that I fully and completely adore is Oz. Galloping gargoyles, again with me falling for the werewolf. Tss.

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