The article "'My God, It's Like a Greek Tragedy': Willow Rosenberg and Human Irrationality" by James B. South is mainly an analysis of Willow's irrational behavior towards the later episodes of the series. It discusses her desire to be a best friend, not a side-kick (It also discusses her anger in season six, but that's irrelevant because it hasn't happened yet.)
The main quote from this article that interested me was "Willow Rosenberg's character trajectory over six seasons provides us with a compelling study of the issue of irrationality, and forces us to confront the possibility that irrationality can be unintelligible, not just a mistake" because while watching Tabula Rasa, I was thinking about how as the show progresses Willow just starts making bad choice after bad choice, and it's hard to notice at first because it happens gradually, and often it seems like little mistakes at first.
I think "Tabula Rasa" is the defining point in which the audience finally realizes that Willow is not just making mistakes and slipping up, she's being irrational. The irrationality of a character who has had such a solid, intelligent, and reliable personality throughout the series throws the audience for a loop, and forces them to realize the development of characters over the years. On Wheedon's part, I think this is genius. To be able to develop characters as he does and keep his audiences guessing, he is able to turn Buffy into something tangible that audiences can relate to.
(Sorry this post was so late.)
South, James B. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale. Vol. 4. Chicago and La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 2003. Print. Popular Culture and Philosophy.
I always love it when authors turn the traditionally and historically reliable and trustworthy character into an irrational borderline bad person. Talk about a curve-ball. It definitely forces readers to confront the good and bad within themselves.
ReplyDelete