So for all her witty repartee and valley-girl banter, Buffy is terrible a communicating her true feelings. By giving Sunnydale the literal silent-treatment, Joss Whedon offers her and the rest of the Scooby Gang an alternative to conversation. This gimmick acts in two very distinct ways. It’s an excellent device because it makes the viewer stop to think if their own speech is essential to communication, which as “Hush” shows, are two very different things.
Firstly, the Buffy and Riley relationship. Unless they are building a relationship between OPEC nations, their actual discourse is useless. Each is so preoccupied with keeping their secrets, that nothing ever gets said. But when nothing can be said at all, their emotions take center stage. This is obvious when the two bump into each other on patrol and share their first kiss. The scene is not cluttered by deceiving dialogue, and its amazing what can happen without all the Buffy babble.
The second is what makes the Gentlemen so terrifying. As humans, we fear what we don’t know. The Gentlemen are aesthetically eerie, but for the majority of the episode the Scooby Gang is in the dark to the terrible truth. What’s worse, is because they can’t discuss the problem, it only perpetuates the darkness.
As an aside. We have had several class discussions about technology, and how much easier things would be for Buffy and her friends if they had cell phones. But when they are reduced to “texting” in its most literal sense (writing messages on white boards/projectors), they struggle. Thoughts?
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