In the article, “Staking Her Claim: Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Transgressive Woman Warrior” Frances Early discusses the independence of Buffy’s character, which also has a strong desire to pursue peaceful means of problem solving. What I thought was particularly interesting about this article was the perspective on Buffy’s independence. Although in some ways, the article describes it in feminist terms, I think that it has more to do with pure independence, not just female independence. One of the scenarios that are discussed in the articles has to do with the unstable relationship between Buffy the Slayer and the Initiative (22-23). The episode discussed deals with the final butting of heads between the modern military organization and the traditional methods of the past, where Maggie Walsh attempts to assassinate Buffy when she refuses to follow her orders. Although we see Buffy as the strong female lead in a feminist way, there is also the fact that she is simply standing up for her beliefs and encouraging others to do so. However, not only does Buffy fight for her beliefs, she also helps Riley to do what he thinks is right. This is challenging because Riley had always had faith in the authorities and believed that they were doing the right thing, but when he realizes that this is not the case, he has difficulties standing up for himself. The fact that Riley was so involved with this progression of events suggests, to me, that this particular episode was more about the flaws in authority and the need to stray true to yourself, than about the female figure standing up for herself. As the article says, “[Buffy] represents the discerning and ethical citizen’s ability to take a stand against evil wherever it is found,” (23) not just the need for a powerful female figure. This relates to the other aspect of the article about Buffy’s desire for peaceful means of dealing with ‘slayage’ problems (21). In these examples, Buffy further demonstrates her great strength of will and strong morals by not allowing herself to ever step across the line of slaying versus murder or slaying for the wrong reasons and unnecessarily.
This aspect of the article and Buffy relate, in many ways, to the episode “Hush” that we just watched. Although there was slayage and violence, it was interesting that the way to actually kill the gentlemen was not with weapons, but with the simple use of the voice. Even though this example isn’t as dramatic as those discussed in the article, it is still a way in which Joss Whedon has created an incredibly strong moral character who sticks to her beliefs without falter. Much of this is emphasized through the fairytale telling of this story, since it is the young princess who must find her voice in order to save the town, not the strong handsome prince with his sword and steed. This peaceful element of Buffy is something that I have rarely considered and something that we haven’t talked about at all. The fine line that Buffy is able to walk between peace and doing what is necessary is incredibly interesting and something that must be very challenging, as a writer, to maintain.
Early, Frances H. "Staking Her Claim: Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Transgressive
Woman Warrior." Journal of Popular Culture 35.3 (2001): 11. Academic Search
Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.
Katherine, you make a really interesting point. You're certainly right that we've rarely considered the peaceful element of Buffy and how important it is to understanding her strength of character. It's always refreshing to encounter a hero that hates to shed blood and refuses to accept that they can become used to killing. It's clearly a struggle for Buffy, but it shows that she is more than a hero; she's a human being struggling to do the right thing. This makes the show, for all its supernatural elements, accessible to people. Thus, she truly is a figure that everyone, not just girls, can look up to.
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